Whats the Point of Vacation Without Junk Food?

I recently got back on vacation- and though this was cute:

When I think vacation I think:

BIG juicy hamburgers

Large endless milkshakes (or mojitos after the kids are asleep)

Snickers bars at truck stops

Ice cream cones at the random shopping malls

Here's what I don't want to think about:

Apples?!?!?

Salads?!?!?

Grilled Chicken Breast?!?!?

Boring!!!!!!!!!

I want to read a book- not figure out how to fit in a workout.

But, my thinking on this is a little off.

With a little planning, and a little bit of extra treats- vacation can be enjoyable AND not add back all the calories you worked so hard to keep off the week before.

Restaurants:
Decide ahead of time what "food groups" you're going to eat- and then plan on having ONE dessert if you can stay away from everyone else's fries during the main course (i.e., I will eat one lean protein- a lot of vegetables, a small carb, and some healthy fat)

Snacks:
Pre-make some granola bars, buy fruit where you go, and those chummos dips with pretzels and some extra baby carrots can go a long way. Don't forget to snack, because if you go into meal time starving that will spell disaster.

Meal Planning:
Take a deep breathe- every meal while you're away doesn't have to be gourmet and calorie filled in order for you to feel like you had a nice time. If good food is the ONLY way for you to feel that you've enjoyed yourself- you've got some work to do. If not- try to RADICALLY ACCEPT that you're not eating like a piggie anymore and concentrate on the other things you love about vacation. Multigrain cheerios with cut up fruit works where ever you are - even in a hotel room.

Exercise:
Hotels often have awesome workout rooms, with much better equipment than I have at home. At the front desk they often have walking and running routes you can take in the area. Get up early and take a brisk walk. There is no better way to feel that you've explored a new place than on foot. You'll be surprised how many different things you learn how to experience about new locations when you do it on foot or bicycle.

Treats:
If vacation means ice cream- plan in that ice cream, it's important! But maybe also plan in a long bike ride or swim before or after. Plan in a salad for lunch the meal before the ice cream. And stop at one scoop when they ask you if you want more. Then close your eyes, and enjoy that ice cream. Don't let yourself be distracted and wolfing it down to the point where five seconds later you can't even recall what it tasted like. When you're having a treat, let yourself enjoy that treat.

Now that I'm home from vacation, I'm very happy to have my kitchen back.

And I still had fun, even if I didn't down the pringles and oreos like I would have done a couple of years ago. I needed to separate the notion of good food equals a fun vacation. I am slowly but surely doing that overtime, and radically accepting the disappointment here and there. But I come back knowing that I am the healthier and more in control person I want to be. Which I want more than any Snicker bar- well- more most of the time.

Getting Support from Loved Ones and Wedding Anniversaries

Yesterday was my 13th wedding anniversary.

(with our daughter at her recent bas mitzvah)

This means a lot to me for many reasons. But as I was thinking about what to write about this week- it connected in my brain why this is important to me in my health journey as well.

We are a culture- and women are a gender- that doesn't always value speaking up ourselves and what we need.

It is a real skill to be able to identify that we need support, be able to articulate what it is that we need, and then have the courage to face our own shame or need to be all powerful and be vulnerable to someone else in our life.

People often say to me-

"I can't ask my husband to change what our dinners look like"
or
"I don't want to have to bother anyone else with my eating issues"
or
"Its embarrassing to have to tell my mother in law that I can only eat certain things or that I'm bringing my own food"
or
"I'm embarrassed to tell people that I'm trying to eat differently, because I've tried so many other things before and they haven't worked and I'm afraid of failing again- and having someone I care about know about it"

Trust me, I understand how horrifying, embarrassing, shaming, and feeling needy to someone else can be.

But you deserve it- you deserve the right to have someone make accommodations for you and cheer you on.

You would want someone else you love to come to you and tell you what they need in order to be happy and healthy.

And let's remember that we live in a ridiculous society where we almost need to feel scared to ask about needing healthy foods.

Change is hard- change feels awkward- but we NEED to ask for support so that the people around help us to become the healthier people we need to be, instead of actually making it harder.

So be brave-

ask someone for what you need

tell you spouse or loved one what you need in order to build the healthy life you dream of

be ready to compromise and don't push healthy food on other people that aren't ready for it- but don't accept living a life with cookies and brownies under your nose at all times.

Which brings me back to my husband. I thank G-d every day for my husband, because he doesn't always see eye to eye with my healthy eating decisions. He won't eat half the things I make for myself, and he even has the salads started at the other end of the table from him when we're entertaining guests because he doesn't find them all that appetizing.

But he helps me, he supports me, and he's proud of me for the differences I've been able to do differently in my life. I was afraid to ask him at first. Because it's so not something he's interested in (yet, I'm sure his metabolism will slow down some day and he will be) and it's not something he understands because he has no emotional attachment to food.

But I sat him down, explained how out of control I felt, explained what a friend and enemy food is to me, and talked about how much I want to be a different person when it came to health.

And he agreed- so he accepts much plainer dinners, so that I can concentrate more on my dinners. He watches the kids time and time again so I can go running. He had to deal with the fact that we wouldn't be going to eat as much as we used to. And all of the ridiculous magazines that come our way that I needed in order to learn how to do this new life that I wanted for myself.

But he did it with a smile (sometimes a plastered on smile) and with love- because he knew it was whats best for me. And that meant ultimately better for us.

So I want to take a moment to say thank you to my supportive amazing husband-

But I also want to encourage you to break out of whatever it is that's holding you back about sharing your dreams, your goals, and your needs when it comes to your health. Ask for what you need from those around you, nicely, but with the conviction that you're a priority.

You need to do this in order to be successful.
and
You're worth it!

An "Arctic Vortex"- How Am I Supposed to Run Through This?!?!

Being a "runner" in Chicago in January is not fun. In fact, it stinks, and is a depressing self-defeating piece of my identity.

I have all the running gear- the heavy running jackets, the masks that make you look like a bank robber, the gloves, the insulated running tights, - yes yes it's all in my drawer.

But when you're faced with this:

And recently temperatures that have gone so low in the past couple of days- I don't know how we as human beings live here- it seems that I might just have to resort to this:

Now I hate treadmills, with a passion. When I say I love running, I am not talking about on a treadmill. I feel like treadmill running is usually a slow form of torture, I happen to have one in my basement though.

So guess what happens when it's this cold, this snowy, this icy- and I can't run outside but don't want to run on the dreadmill-

I go days and days without doing anything. The unhealthy, sabotaging side of my brain throws a party and says "woo hoo, we finally got her- that's right, this is miserable, just keep sitting on the couch, eat a bag of tortilla chips while you're there, that's a good girl"

In the cold of winter- this is the time we need to push to be motivated to exercise. It's a time to try something new, try something fun, and challenge ourselves in other ways.

We need to create a cognitive mantra to respond to the sabotaging thought that says- "I'm going to exercise today no matter what- whats up to me is what kind of exercise I do."

Is it a new Jillian Michaels video that I found pirated on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w2ssgjdIts

Is it meeting up with a few friends on New Years to be a little craaazy and face the snowy icey wind head on:

(note the icicles on our eyelashes, thank you for being dumb, dumber, and dumbest with me M and W)

Is it this workout that I tried Saturday night when I couldn't leave the house- which was so hard I felt like I was going to throw up afterwards- in a good way ofcourse:
http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/ironstrength-workout

Is it trying to do short intervals on the treadmill so at least I can keep my mind engaged in that while I stare at my basement wall:
http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/four-great-treadmill-workouts

Or going out with my mother in law to do zumba on a night that's 17 below zero

We just have to keep the mantra up- "It's not if I exercise- it's- which exercise am I going to do?

So it really does stink to be a runner in Chicago in January- but I just tell that runner in me that's dying to come out- don't worry- it'll get warm again one day- or at least after a day like today, I certainly hope so. And if not- I'm collecting miles from generous souls to send me away someone warm- I'm thinking a half marathon in Jamaica in February sounds really nice right now.............................