McFatty Monday? It ain’t so pretty this week.
APPARENTLY, you cannot go several weeks without weighing in, eat whatever the hell you want, drink chocolate peppermint martinis in New York, & then spend a week laying in the sun & not pack on the pounds.
LIFE IS SO UNFAIR.
I could go on & on about how disappointed I am, how I worked so hard & blah blah blah blah BLAH, but in all honesty…I had a damn good time. & I don’t regret it, even if the consequences show on the scale. I went on vacation in every sense of the word. I didn’t blog, I didn’t worry about weight, I didn’t think about work or our house being on the market or Harry’s first birthday party. I CHECKED OUT OF THE BUILDING. I woke up in the morning & had eggs & grits with my family. I snacked on peanuts & M&M’s, a classic family treat. I had mudslides ocean-side with my sister-in-law & enjoyed a beer at the Avett Brothers concert with Nate. & one time, I ate a piece of chocolate pie IN BED. Because I was on vacation in every way possible.
I think we all need that once & a while. To just wash our hands of every stress in our lives, take a deep breath in, dip some Oreos in a glass of whole milk, & reconnect. Spend hours laughing over the dinner table with family. Learn the proper way to not burn a pancake on a Tuesday morning. Curl up on a porch swing with a glass of cider & a good book. Go for a long walk on the beach, but not at a run.
Even if that means a few extra pounds.
Yesterday, I came back to reality. I made Nate pancakes, but had my own Ham & Cheese Omelet. I packed my lunch for Monday, making sure my veggies were ready. I answered my emails, did three loads of laundry, & cleaned the kitchen. Vacation is over in every single way.
Look….in my perfect world, chocolate pie has no calories, The Momma’s monkey bread is NOT made with two cups of brown sugar, & lounging in the sunshine actually burns more calories than a long run. But reality is that those things will pack the pounds on you faster than you can say “one dollar sweet tea from McDonald’s.”
mmmm, peanuts & M&M’s.
& to me, this is where LONG TERM versus SHORT TERM comes into play.
Short term, I effed myself over with that chocolate pie. I gained weight. I disgraced the Nutrisystem plan. Short term, the scale is up several pounds, I packed on some water weight by not watching sodium content, & I’ll have to work harder to take those pounds back off. Short term, it sucks. But long term? Long term, it’s a blip on the radar. Will I remember these ten vacation pounds after I take them back off? No. But I will remember the nights around the dinner table at the beach, telling my brother that he makes the best twice-baked potatoes ever.
& everyone knows that if I can give one of my brothers a sincere compliment, it is so worth ten pounds.
What did you do this year on vacation? Did you stick to your plan, or live it up a little? More importantly, WHERE did you go on vacation & was it the time of your life? Because y’all, I wish I was back at the beach. Returning to reality is so freakin’ hard.
We went to the beach in May and we did have the time of our lives enjoying our first family vacation with Abby! I had recently been diagnosed with Celiac so I had no choice but I agree that returning to reality is SO hard!
Vacation is a beautiful thing. You and your honesty are more so. Congrats on being able to check out on vacation. Too many people are unable to do so.
This reminded me of my honeymoon… I worked my butt off to get to my wedding weight, then went to an all inclusive resort in jamaica for our honeymoon and gained 10 lbs in 1 week!!! And 2 years later I am still carrying them around… but it was 100% worth it! It was the best time, and best food, ever!
I think there is something to be said for being able to completely escape from reality. Leaving that stress behind is so huge. I’m glad you were able to do it.
We went to France and England, drank lots of wine and beer, ate so much cheese and bread and fish & chips. I even packed my running gear…didn’t bring it out even once. Gained a few pounds and even more great memories!
We vacationed in Ohio for a little bit earlier this summer – visiting my brother, sister-in-law, and niece for her first birthday. I actually tried to stay on track with eating while I was out there because I know they eat such crappy stuff. (A lot of fast food). So for us, coming home and being able to eat fruit and fresh food again was awesome!
LOVE that you totally went off the grid for a week! I missed your blogging, but love your ability to just turn everything off. Diets on vacation are hard – and probably not as meaningful as just truly relaxing and enjoying family!
We spent a long weekend at the beach with my family, but not long enough to truly be considered a vacation. Maybe next year!
We went camping. And thankfully it was only a few days long, not an entire week, so I didn’t gain any weight. Plus not having a kitchen and being in the middle of nowhere helps…
Good attitude! Whenever I gain some weight back I always like to think “well, I lost it once, I can lose it again!”.
I find the post really interesting. It shows just how unhealthy your relationship with food ( and long term weight loss) is.
You see ” stepping away from it all” as gorging incessantly.
I see stepping away as turning off my cell phone, turning off my computer, paying with cash and living out of my pocket, not off of computers and technology, walking around barefoot, even in public, not putting on makeup.
I think that maybe you should revisit what your real intentions for weight loss are. Because it seems that you feel that nutri system first off isn’t a life long thing, but something to get you to 180, where you will go right back to “stepping out” of it and throwing back 12 pounds of candy.
I’m not trying to sound so critical, but this is coming off way critical.
To answer your questions, we went on 2 small kid vacations this year. One to Hershey Park and one to Mystic CT. I didn’t turn on my phone or computer for an entire day ( not really an option to totally unplug when you own your own business) and I tried to enjoy. We went to the beach, we went to the aquarium, on some rides, to the boardwalk.
I don’t associate food with pleasure, I associate food with fuel and I’m usually running on empty ( which is my problem losing weight, I don’t eat enough, or enough quality)
Anyhooo. I’m thrilled you got away! You deserved it.
I have that same attitude about vacation, but my problem is I’m not disciplined enough to get back on track. it’s a neverending battle with my awful will power.
This summer we went to the beach for vacation, also. It was really fun, but obviously much different with a 1 year old. In October, H and I are going to Puerto Rico for 3 nights without our son. Now that will be a vacation! Even though I will miss him SO much.
I agree with Bonzer that your relationship with food is at the core of your weight loss success. Until you reprogram your brain that food is fuel only and not a source of pleasure, etc I fear you may always battle this. And that is no good. I pray that you finally overcome this issue in your life so you can enjoy everyday, not just the vacation ones
I am so happy I am not the only one letting loose. As long as we get back on track, all will be ok…….xo
http://livelaughpullhairout.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty.html
I think ol’ Bonzer needs to get off her high horse and leave her witchy feedback somewhere else…
And Blair…I’m sooo happy that you had such a wonderful relaxing time with your family. You needed it! Those great memories will make you smile for years to come.
PS – I think most normal people like to enjoy food on their vacations. Don’t let it get you down!
I’m so glad you had a wonderful time on vacation.. I think you did a good job at relaxing and enjoying yourself. And if you gain a few pounds oh well you were on VACATION!! You should enjoy yourself in every aspect..
it’s good to see you back… sorry the scale wasn’t kind to you either.
your vacation sounds amazing… i’m very jealous. the beach is my absolute favorite destination, and we didn’t make it there this summer.
Seriously Sarah? Seriously? Oh that’s right , I’m on the ” only say hooray even if you see someone that maybe is looking for true advice, not enabling or validation” blog.
*eyeroll*
Just an FYI, I suspect that this is Blairs, oh, FIRST time trying to seriously lose weight where this is my 10th time. So I know the vicious cycle of thinking it’s okay to gorge, then thinking it’s okay to diet, but never really having a mindframe that you will eat healthily for life.
But you know, let’s applaud the girl for putting on 10 pounds! That’s really supportive. Duh. Enjoying food is one thing. you can enjoy in moderation. But throwing back a chocolate pie and, oh nevermind, enable away Sarah, enable away.
I am having some trouble staying motivated in my diet/exercise plan too!! I get on track and then we have family/friend visitors or we go home for the weekend and any healthy eating or activity is left in the dust
Did you not LOVE the Avett Brothers?? The hubbs and I just saw them at the Newport Folk Festival and my love for them grew even more!
http://theramblingsofahousewife.blogspot.com/
I agree with you – when you’re on vacation – you’re on VACATION. It means eating what you want, going where you want and doing what you want. It’s about relaxing and laughter and good memories. Not worrying over the calories in a pie or wondering if you can have seconds.
Real life can be overwhelming and stressful and full of choices, when you get a chance to escape for a bit – truly enjoy yourself and let go!
Our vacation this year was for our anniversary – we ate wonderful food at all these local diners we passed in our travels, cooked over the fire at our campsite and just enjoyed a week together. Oh and we got KU so that was the best weight gain choice of all!
Maybe it is just me, but right now my husband and I are trying to lose weight. We are doing the 30 day shred and eating right at home. But we also live 4 hours away from our family, so when we go home I relax and eat what everyone else is eating (in moderation of course). But I try not to feel guilty about it. As long as I am a healthy individual why not enjoy that piece of chocolate pie? It’s called vacation for a reason!
BTW, no vacations for us yet. We are thinking this coming spring. Some of you ladies are giving me some good ideas.
Sorry this is my 2nd post. But I had to respond to some of the comments, especially this one:
“Until you reprogram your brain that food is fuel only and not a source of pleasure, etc I fear you may always battle this. And that is no good. ”
Wow. Are you saying that you don’t enjoy food at all? Because seeing food as a source of pleasure is not a problem. It should be enjoyable. It’s when you overindulge that’s the problem, either because you don’t know about nutrition or because you’re using food as a crutch or to fill an emotional void. And in many of those cases the people who overeat don’t actually enjoy the food they are eating.
While I want to lose weight, I never want to view food as “fuel only”, because how boring would that be. We are lucky to live in a age where trying new food and having options is part of the adventure of life. And while that doesn’t mean people should overindulge every day or even every week, making eating as boring as gassing up your car isn’t the solution.
we live half way across the country from our families. (hubs and i grew up together in highschool) sooo on our vacation we went home to the midwest to visit our families, our farms where we grew up, and one of our friends from highschool.
i watched what i ate. I worked on the farm and helped eveyr day, i did eat more than usual because my mother makes the best chocolate chip cookies. EVER. and its family tradition to eat the dough out of the bowl together lol. not all of it mind you…anyway. i brought my resitsance bands and chalean exteme home with me and worked out as usual. i gained four pounds and lost them teh week i came home and staretd eating normal again. it was wonderful to stay to my own routine but still live it up a little and see my loved ones.
glad you had such a good time, you’ll easily get back into the swing of things now that you’re recharged
Good for you, Blair; that’s called balance. Being skinny will not make you as happy as creating memories. (That’s not to say I don’t understand the value of good health, but you know what I mean.)
I’m glad you had a great vacation. I’m proud of you for turning everything off and truly enjoying time with your family.
My mom and I are taking my daughter to AZ to see her family, unfortunately H cannot go. Last year I just had E so I wasn’t too cautious with what I ate. This year I am going to try and be better because I can’t afford the large vacation gain. I find it takes myself longer to get back into the routine each time it happens. So it’s all about proportions. I don’t deny myself, but the small size will satisfy my craving and I don’t need the large size just to overeat.
If you take a step back, it’s more because you had multiple “diet vacations” in a row instead of spreading them out. Good luck on your new re-commitment.
BLAIR! (I secretly wanted to type your real name but not sure if I could!)
I just found your blog a couple weeks ago, and I just LOVE reading it. Although I have to admit I saw your pic at the top and was like DID SHE CHANGE HER NAME?!?! This whole time I thought you weren’t blogging anymore b/c I had your old address!
Our families are so similar, get togethers = good food. Monkey Bread, Twice Baked Potatoes, Desserts the list goes on and on we love all those too. I’m so glad that you enjoyed yourself, I feel like vacations should be vacations!! It sounds like you are back on track and you’ll get those couple pounds off in no time! I just love how honest you are because you know EVERY WOMAN ON THE PLANET faces this!
Talk to you soon! Hope you and “Nate” are doing well!
-Leah
Welcome back..glad you had a nice vacation!
Cheats are do good at the moment…not so good on the scale! I had a week of cheats too. Oh, and a little something else too!
http://www.ajdplusthree.com/2010/08/how-fortuitous.html
I agree that sometimes we all just need to let go of food rules, ENJOY, and make some memories. Yay for such a high-quality time of enjoying life and that precious family of yours:).
Vacation and relazing is so worth taking a step back from the scale!
This summer we didnt go anywhere:( Usually we spend a few weeks in Europe and enjoy way too much pasta, wine, and other fatty food. Since we have the baby we decided to spend more tiime at home and so we re-did the backyard adding an outdoor kitchen, new furniture, and a puppet area for when S gets older. My hubby constructed the furniture while I did the yard work. It was great fun but now I need a vacation!
I have given up, but that’s because I am pregnant. I am going to be trying to stay on a balanced highish protein to carb ratio diet, in an effort to prevent gaining too much and to prevent getting GD again if I can. We’ll see how that pans out.
This is my issue with Nutrisystem… the second you step away from their food, you gain weight. You can claim they are reteaching you the ways of eating, but it doesn’t appear from these two weeks like that is it at all.
You’ve already heard about my vacation, but I also did snorkel for the first time at Cape Lookout and I LOVED it! It’s almost like meditation…just the sounds of the water and your breathing.
And I ate whatever I wanted…9PM trips to Dairy Queen are a beach tradition with my family.
You are up to 208? Wow, that’s quite a binge. You have put on almost 20 pounds in several months. That’s significant.
Again, you need to examine your relationship with food, not just food itself. Ditto all of the comments that suggest Nutrisystem only works when you stick with their plan…as soon as you get off the plan, the weight will come back. Really look at WHY you are eating, not just what you are eating.
vacation? what’s that???
we’ve been joining gma & gpa at the lakes outside of town. gpa got a new boat, so mostly it’s the boys on the boat and gma gets to hang out w/jackson. we grill, have a few hrs in the sun, maybe dip our toes in the water (if it’s safe).
all those hot dogs and s’mores will add up eventually. i’m just sad we haven’t had bbq’d at home w/friends at all. it just went too fast.
back to the real world. http://talesfromthepoobox.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/the-weight-i-have-to-lose-thats-not-on-my-ass/
but, you have a fantastic time, and renewed your soul. THAT is what counts!
http://laceyslaughablelife.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty-monday-week-6.html
i try my best to make exercising a way of life, even while on vacation. now, of course I don’t exercise on a daily occurrence while on vacation, but I still make a point to go a couple times a week. that way, you have NO feelings of guilt for going a little crazier on your meals.
I’ve only read a few of the comments but… I have to say that if you have an unhealthy relationship with food then so do i. and I’m totally fine with that.
Seeing food as *ONLY* a fuel source?
ugh… that is SO depressing. Personally I think a truly healthy person can probably enjoy the beauty of a full-fat lasagne or mmm… chocolate pie… and then go on with life.
You only have five senses people, and taste is one of them. I love me some veggies, but come ON… my life would be incomplete without french toast with melted butter and powdered sugar…
oh and maybe don’t put so much stock in someone’s comment when she’s admitted this is her tenth time trying to lose weight… she OBVIOUSLY knows the secret to success… ::eyeroll:: of my own.
By the way. I adore food, totally indulge on occasion… and I am a healthy weight. It’s possible. You just have to figure out your own balance. There’s GOT to be some middle ground!!
If you don’t give yourself those weeks of true life enjoyment without guilt, then you’ll never be successful!!
We went to Sweden this summer and I will say, I didn’t care ONE BIT about calorie content in the food and fun beverages! I was there to enjoy my mom and sisters and my baby, and that’s JUST what I did!!!
Now you can focus on you again after that pure bliss
http://outofrealworld.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/losing-weight-is-a-headache/
Jen, dear genius Jen. I’ve had 3 pregnancies in 4 years, only 2 of them resulting in actual births and yes, I’ve been trying off an on to learn how to respect AND enjoy food.
So yes, 10 times may be an exaggeration, but I just had my 2nd child 9 months ago and my first 2.5 years ago, and a miscarriage a year before that.. so I’ve been battling my weight since then.
Shame I had to even waste my time explaining that to you, but evidently I did.
I don’t view food ONLY as fuel, but I don’t find the pleasures in life to be at the bottom of a bag of M&M’s either. How is that healthy? Would you want your children to eat that way and think that way? That happiness is just one candy bar away?
I LOVE food, I love decadent rich chocolate, and overpriced lattes and gooey plates of baked ziti, but not at the expense of all my efforts to LOSE the weight of 3 pregnancies. I can find pleasure from other things in life and I do. That’s really that abnormal to you?
Vacation this year set me off. I didn’t stick to my diet plan at all and am still struggling with getting back on it. I’m makeing the right changes again, slowly, but not all at once like I was before.
I see it as something that I need to work on, but it’s not something to get all upset over.
In my opinion, those beach pictures are the most beautiful ones I’ve seen thus far so who cares how much you weigh??
Also, I always take a vacation from healthy eating while on vacation too. I’ve always battled my weight & I love food but I don’t think thats wrong as long as today you’re back on the band wagon.
God gave us food to enjoy. Why do you think he and the disciples shared a “last supper”?
Moderation is key though & I know you will make great strides back down the ladder this week!
But I forgot to say that when I was at my thinnest, I didn’t enjoy food & it was just fuel and I didn’t take in much of it. I was super thin though. I guess you just have to decide which brings you more happiness, food or being thin? And the balance is the hardest thing to maintain.
Dude, it’s not unhealthy to associate food with pleasure. Great food is the SHIT. It’s better than sex hands down and if you disagree with that you are lying, a nympho or don’t know what great food is. I think I have a very healthy relationship with food. I’m a vegetarian, a very healthy weight, I eat organic, wholesome foods. That being said, I can fucking *enjoy* a piece of pie. I can eat the shit out of a homemade meal from my family while I’m on vacation (because food tastes a million times better made with love
). A great day, with great company, followed by a wonderful, decadent meal is like an orgasm in your mouth. It’s the best thing in the world. How shitty would it be to spend all of your vacations turning down “The Momma’s” food, doing nothing but excersize and eating weight loss meals? Omg, I’m tearing up thinking about it. Like, shoot me now. Great food makes life worth living and you can quote me on that.
Blair was in New York and wanted peppermint martinis and Magnolia cupcakes. She was at the beach with her family on a very needed vacation and wanted her brothers potatos and her Momma’s monkey bread. What a psycho fat slob *eyeroll* Plus, I don’t consider this enabling her because she admitted her mistakes, and was honest about it and is owning up to having to work off the choices she made.
The only thing I will say is that while I’m glad Nutrisystem is working for you the stuff looks like an insult to good food. As much as I enjoy pie I can also enjoy an organic greek salad with some baked salmon and a 1/4 cup of brown rice. For someone who obviously enjoys food like I do I hope you also love and appreciate healthy food. Cause it’s not all like Nurtisystem, darling. xoxo
you just said you’re a vegetarian, now you eat salmon?
holy crap, I’m a bitch. Im re-reading my comments and flat out, I’m a bitch.
But with good reason I think. I only started doing this because I was so motivated by you, and now you’re so flippant about it, and have been for like 2 months now that it’s hard to find you as an inspiration (for weight loss) and that sucks because I like this blog and I like it on mondays.
It’s like Tony Robbins throwing up his hands and saying, ” fuck it all, who cares”
And, part of me is really jaded and pissed because I don’t think it’s fair that you get your food for free from nutrisystem and basically the only thing you have to do is make a choice; Put the right food in my body, or put shit in my body, and you choose shit!
I know for a lot of us it’s hard to commit because it means daily runs for fresh produce, farmer market stalking, a lot of cooking, a lot of cleaning. But all you have to do is rip open some cardboard and radiate your dinner and still it’s not happening! Send me the damn food, I’ll follow the plan like nothing you’ve seen!
Ughhh. I’m just frustrated okay? Just let me be for 5 minutes while I get over it.
Bonzer, I think I love you.
I love vacations and I’m glad you had a great one. And I think it’s wonderful that you have the opportunity and enjoy vacationing with your family! We did a vacation to WDW this summer with my sister, her family and my mom and we had a great time. But we have another vacation next week and I’m also looking it forward to it being just us!
To me vacation equals being about to eat whatever I want. Maybe that means I have an unhealthy relationship with food, and if so, so be it. I view vacation as time to enjoy myself and sometimes that means eating decadent food and drinking a little more beer and/or wine than I normally would. Non-vacation weeks is when I stay on a schedule and try to make healthier choices.
http://auntp.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty-monday-week-32-no-loss-but.html
bonzer: I’m so sorry for your loss. and I get your frustration… you definitely get a chance to rant and be frustrated. I guess I just hope it doesn’t hurt anyone. so go ahead and imply that I’m stupid. that’s ok, no biggie. you don’t know me and I don’t know you. and I’ll admit, I implied you didn’t know what you were talking about either…
but I will say that I hope my children do pick up my eating habits and my love for making and eating good food, both healthy and sometimes decadent. because that’s something I’d really like to share with them. and I hope they also learn that food (or losing weight), like any single aspect, is not ALL there is to life or to happiness. There are definitely two ways to obsess over food. Neither one is particularly healthy in my personal view.
You may have gained an L-B or two, but I’ve found that the pounds that come on really fast, fall off quicker too. I bet most of it is water weight. Being rested and rejuvenated will help too!
We had a brief weekend away to Traverse City, MI in May, but no real vacay this year for us
Not sure what some other commenters seem to have bruised their vaginas on this week, but I think it’s great that you have such a positive outlook on being able to shed those pounds again. Glad you enjoyed your vacation!
I blogged about Kath of Kath Eats Real Food for McFM last week. I love her outlook on food and weight loss. Food is for enjoyment in her house, that’s for sure, but it’s also about making you feel good, in the short and long term. No diets, no restrictions. Love her!
Here’s last week’s post – I was being a good citizen at Jury Duty all day so no time for a new one (yet!)
http://andpuppydogstales.blogspot.com/2010/08/mcfatty-monday-week-13.html
Sorry, clarification: I’m a vegetarian who sometimes, occasionally, eats some sorts of fish. I know some people will say I’m not a “real” vegetarian or whatever and that’s okay. I’ve been doing it for 10 years and it’s quite common for veggies to also eat seafood so I forget. It is what it is.
I like looking at it as “short term” and “long term” goals. The short term this week is that it’s “that” week. So a pound be damned, if I need a cookie, I’m eating it. I know that in the “long term” I’ll be back on the livestrong wagon and losing again.
You go girl, you’re inspiring NO MATTER WHAT!
My hubby & I got away for about 8-9 days & drove to Colorado; just the 2 of us! It was definitely hard to leave our son, but it was so worth it. Now we’re pregnant w/ #2 & so glad that we had some time alone. Who knows when we’ll have a chance to go on vacation alone for a while. This was back in April & it was BEAUTIFUL!
HOLY SHIT give Blair a break, OMG. At least she is being honest about her mess up’s and coping up to them. I have battled my weight my whole life and yo-yo’d so much and I def prob have a bad relationship with food, cause damn i LOVE it….but I also make sure to eat healthy and every now and then splurge a little but I make sure my daughter eats super healthy. Anyways, I am super ENVIOUS of the fact nutri system hooks u up, I wish Jenny Craig would hook me up since I have been on there diet so much….maybe I should contact them LOL.
Nutri System and Jenny Craig are supposed to teach you portions and help work this into your life with real food althought I truly believe Jenny is the one that properly teaches u that but thats besides the point.
Its not a diet, its a lifestyle. Some of us werent blessed with super metabolism and if we look at a cupcake we gain a pound, so if u eat then u work extra hard at the gym or suffer the consequences. When you are super commited you do it and stick to it and u have had ALOT go in in the past year of ur life. I give u credit for how far you have come and in time how far u will get. xoxoxoxo