Last night, I got back from a 10-day trip across the Midwest. A friend and I visited eight ballparks in nine days, which was incredibly fun and incredibly exhausting. I logged nearly 3,000 miles on the road, first driving out to Chicago, and then to Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore and back to DC.
When I left, I made two promises to myself. First, I wouldn’t let a diet stand in the way of a good vacation. That meant not saying no to ballpark staples like Milwaukee bratwursts, Baltimore crab fries and Philly cheesesteaks. Second, I wouldn’t let a vacation stand in the way of my long-term weight loss goals.
To that end, I packed my scale with me in the back seat and sheepishly lugged it into every hotel room we stayed in, making sure to keep track of my daily weigh-ins. I also tried to make at least a few trips to the gym (shoutout to Planet Fitness for existing literally everywhere).
So here’s the bottom line: My goal was to essentially maintain my current weight for the 10 days I was gone, and by and large, it’s mission accomplished. A few good days counteracted a few bad ones, and here I am back where I started.
But it’s not all sunny and roses. Falling out of a routine for 10 days means having to find your way back onto the right track, and so far it’s been a struggle.
For one, I returned home Sunday afternoon with zero motivation to cook or exercise. So instead of following through with my plan of hitting up the gym and grocery store after a quick nap, I turned to GrubHub, ordered Chinese food for dinner and didn’t leave the house. My rationale was that technically I was still on vacation so it doesn’t count, but it took just two bites of my beef and broccoli to start regretting the decision.
And now a full work week lies ahead of me, complete with adult responsibilities that only serve to further demotivate me from sticking to the plan. Couple it all with a flatlining weight loss trend line and I’m starting to get anxious again about the short-term viability of my ambition.
Anyway, it’s lunchtime. Time to go grab a salad.
