Back On Track

When we got home from Southeast Asia, Sam and I were both shocked to find that we'd lost weight on our epic adventure despite having tried a variety of foods.  Sadly, almost immediately upon our return to the states, we began celebrating- first Sam's graduation from medical school, then with a trip to Northern California to see our families, and finally when we moved into our new apartment and invited our friends over for several non-weight watchers endorsed dinners.  Needless to say, that weight we lost has crept back on.  Side Note: It blows my mind how celebrating usually means eating and drinking, boy would I do better in a society where celebrating meant going for a 2 hour walk or taking a hike!

It's frustrating, because I know the formula for success: exercise and eat healthy!  But it my brain, it's so difficult to avoid the exercise=eating however you want fallacy that I was able to get by on when I was playing competitive water polo in high school and college.  The truth is, if you're trying to lose weight you don't get to eat with abandon just because you're at the gym every morning.  

To get back to my post-vacation weight and lower, I've got a plan.  I recently went through my weight watchers binder in which I organize all my recipes (the favorites and the ones I want to try) and did some mid-summer cleaning.  Almost everything I didn't care for or haven't made yet went into the trash and I printed out a whole new set of interesting meals.  Last night, I made spaghetti squash for the first time ever.  I have to say, it was pretty darn good!  Obviously it's not quite the same as pasta, it's actually pretty crunchy so it's an approximation of al dente noodles, but with some homemade sauce over the top it was delicious.  By the time Sam was finished eating we'd consumed more than half of the squash!  

This morning I was back at it in the gym.  Per my sister and Sam's advice, I didn't pay as much attention to my heart rate zone and I just went for as long and hard as I could.  I've got to say, it wasn't too shabby considering I last worked out on Monday before I flew to Minneapolis.  I also have to say, I think all the Hell's Kitchen episodes Sam and I are watching are pretty detrimental to dieting since they are always making such amazing dishes.  Maybe we'll have to take a break from that for a couple of weeks.  

Here's to sticking to my guns on this and get back into my healthy eating habits and life style.  I'd say raise a glass of champagne, but on second thought, raise an apple!