In which I'm back from vacation

I'm back from Disney World and way behind on blogging.

Bear with me on the latter, as I have a lot I want to write about, but I may not be able to get it posted as quickly as I like. But we'll get there.

Now, from Sept. 7, 2010 until, May 17, 2011, I had been POP (perfectly on plan) when it came to Weight Watchers - 252 days.

On May 18, I went on vacation with the family to The Happiest (but not Healthiest) Place on Earth.

I decided before we went that I would enjoy this vacation, which meant no trips to the hotel gym or runs around the property (too hot). Plus, I knew there would be tons of walking involved, so I figured I was relatively set for activity. I wore my pedometer every day and over the 6 days we walked a total of 28.97 miles - an average of 4.8 miles per day.

As for eating, we were staying at Disney ("on property") and had paid for the Disney Dining Plan for each of us - 2 meals a day and a snack, per person. We did not rent a car, so we were stuck, eating-wise, with what Disney had to offer: a myriad of options, not many of which would ever be confused with Whole Foods. This meant I couldn't run to a grocery store and stock up on my staples. Therefore, I was eating without a net.

But, again, it was vacation time, and I wanted to loosen the reins a bit. I'll be WWing for the rest of my life, which hopefully will include more vacations. This would be good practice mixing off-plan eating with getting back on plan when I returned.

So while at Disney, I ate what I wanted. And it was good. There were cheeseburgers and sweets, french fries, ice cream and desserts - all of which I wouldn't normally touch at home. I tracked food for the first 3 days, but after that frankly, I was so off plan, it was moot.

Our first full day, I had a burger, which I hadn't eaten since September. I know I could eat a burger on WW, but honestly it's easier not to.

But on vacation, I really wanted one, so at Magic Kingdom I got a cheeseburger with bacon and an onion ring on top. It was awesome. Until about an hour later when my body was like, "What the *#&$ was that?"

I realized a few things over the course of the week:

I definitely felt more sluggish and off after eating foods higher in fat, sugar and salt. That didn't stop me, LOL, but I could feel a difference.

I couldn't eat as much as I used to. That's a good thing, it meant I physically couldn't binge. So while I wasn't eating all the time, when I did I made what I'll call "fantasy food" choices.

I really missed water. Water was expensive at the parks - $2.75 for a 20 oz bottle. For me to get my regular 100 oz a day was an expensive daily proposition. So I drank a lot of Diet Coke because A) I love it and B) it was cheaper and more plentiful as a fountain drink. But I really felt dehydrated quite a bit minus my regular water consumption.

Pretty soon, our week was up and it was time to return home. I'll cover my returning challenges in another post, but I'll sum up the Disney experience with this:

I've done Disney fat and I've done it fit.
Fit is much, much easier and so much more enjoyable.

I could fit in every ride without worry. I had so much more energy and stamina to tackle the walking, heat and crowds. I loved forcing my family into every group picture I could because I liked how I looked.

Plus, seemingly everywhere I looked was an example of what it used to be like. Seriously, obesity was everywhere you looked at the parks. People struggling in the heat and humidity or using motorized scooters to get around.

I don't want to come off as high and mighty when I write this because you will not confuse my body with Jillian Michaels'. And I still have more weight to lose. But it really was a sobering eye-opener.