Vacation goal met - I maintained!

[vita77]

Just want to share. I got back today from a 3-week vacation in France. I'd set a goal to maintain. I weighed in today, and I did it!! It is SO NICE to come back and not feel like I'm digging myself out of a hole.

I decided to stay on Core, but pretend that I'm on week 1 of maintenance. So I gave myself 28 extra points per week, for a total of 63.

That 63 points became my "BCW" allowance (bread, cheese, and wine). They're the 3 things that are so much part of daily life in France that I refuse to go without them. So I was able to spend up to 9 points a day on them if I chose no other non-Core foods. If I wanted dessert, I had to cut back on something else.

It helped that I was staying at my sister's. We never once ate in a restaurant. There were a few dinners at other people's houses.

It also helped that I walked at least 90 minutes a day, and that the summer fruits and veggies are phenomenal...I'm still dreaming about the raspberries and the lettuce from my sister's garden, as well as the apricots and the melons from the local market.

[happy0168]

Vita, where were you in France? My mom just got back from 3 weeks in Paris. She didn't really limit herself with what she ate and she and my sister ate out almost every meal and she lost 3 pounds! I guess all the walking really helped! She's now more in shape than ever and when we went to the gym the other night, she outlasted me on the machines!

Good for you on maintaining while over there! I'm sure it can be really difficult--especially since there's no low-fat anything.

[keliCAN]

Congratulations!

It sounds like a fantastic vacation

[vita77]

I was in northwest France - the Lorraine region, in the Vosges mountains.

Paris is one of the great walking cities, though last time I was there for a week-long conference, I gained 7 pounds!!! Croissants and foie gras, I'm afraid.....

[ema2two]

Vita--congrats! That is no small acheivement.

Going on maintenance for a week is one of my favorite strategies to avoid disaster during a vacation and holidays. One of those "Eureka!" moments when I realized I was in the driver's seat on this journey, and I could chose to take a period of time away from losing without turning life into a "free-for-all-24/7 all you can eat buffet". Weight control stays on my radar screen, but I'm freed a bit to enjoy and be a bit looser in terms of what and how much I eat. Sometimes just the mental process takes the pressure off, and I still wind up losing. Other times I maintain, and am happy, rather than frustrated, as maintaining is a success rather than a failure, when it's what you planned to do, even when you're far from your goal.

I'm always so happy to see someone else uses this strategy and finds it as freeing as I have.

[vita77]

Ema, yes! You put it perfectly. I discovered that's it's completely liberating to give myself permission to relax the rules.

And after all, don't you think that this is how thin people deal with their vacations? They let their hair down a bit, but they don't do the "free for all, 24/7" thing.

[Wildflower]

Kathy,

How nice to hear your news of your enviable vacation in France! And I really learned something from how you did it. I think that is just exactly the way to do it.

I can taste those raspberries too! Maybe someday I'll get to go with my daughter. She has been there twice now, and always gives me the low-down on every little detail.

Welcome home, however.

Sandy

[happy0168]

Sandy, after my mom and my sister went, they both cried when they were in the taxi on the way back to the airport. My sister is beautiful and had all of the French men falling all over her--she made several friends that were boys over there! But most of all, she told my mom on the way over there that she really wanted to go to France and teach at an American university. I expect her to do that. We can all go visit when she gets there!

[1977carla]

Good for you for setting a goal and meeting it. Vacation can be such a "I'll worry about it when I get come" good for you!!