No Harm, No Foul

I spent a week in New York and came back less than a pound heavier than when I left.

Folks, I consider that a moral victory. Rarely can you say that a vacation did not significantly add to your waistline.

Here's the problem. I should have lost weight given all the walking we did.

Miles and miles of walking. One day I managed to take an hour to get to a pizza place that ended up being only about 4 blocks from where we started. Lesson learned on at adventure - don't trust a subway map if you're above ground. It doesn't show all the streets - only the ones it needs to.

So, why, you ask, did I not drop all the unwanted pounds at which I've been chipping away?

Simple.

There was gelato at the wax museum. An Italian ice from a street vendor in Little Italy. An ice cream cone at Coney Island. A small, vanilla milkshake from McDonald's one night after sitting in record heat all day. Our post-theatre dinners at 11 and 10 PM were McDonald's chicken nuggets or fillet of fish sandwiches and fries.

Just about every rule I could break, I did. Every good habit I have, ignored. If not for all the walking who knows what would have happened!

I guess that one of the good things about vacations - you do things you wouldn't normally do, and that can be OK. I have returned to breakfasts of mini-wheats, whole grain breads at lunch and sugar free mousse for desserts.

In other words, I'm back on the wagon.

I'm still facing down about 6 pounds, but that's better than it was a few weeks ago.

I can do it. Being healthy doesn't mean not having fun. I'm not going to have any regrets. It's not the way I roll.

That also doesn't mean that I don't care. I know I have to be healthy in order to be able to take the next trip or do the things I want to do. There's give and take.

So, enjoy your life, but find some balance. If you want to eat something just remember the laws of physics: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Eating a cupcake may mean walking a little further or giving up something else later in the day (which is why planning is so important!) or passing up a second helping for a chance at a dessert later. Or just learning to love the taste of sugar free ice cream!

I also think this is a good time of year for fresh starts. The fall is always the start of a new school year and I think I look at it as a time for "newness" also. The summer was fun. We indulged. Life was disorderly. Whatever. Fall = structure. So, if you, like me, have slid a little lately then make that resolution early. Get back on track with a new month, a new season, a new goal.

Let's go for it!