Dream Vacation: 12 Days and Four Pounds Heavier

Dear Boys and Girls,

I just got back from the Top Coach Trip to Kauai, Hawaii where I spent 12 days...and where any and all eating clean rules were broken. No wait, I should say, where I broke any and all clean eating clean rules I had ever set for myself.

This blog post is not about beating myself up for having a glass of wine with dinner or an occasional lava flow (pina colada with strawberry puree. Omg, can you say calories and sugar galore?).

Really, I'm not trying to beat myself up, but I do wonder why it's so hard to stop at the first dish or two of naughtiness. Eating clean makes you feel good and energetic. Looking fantabulous in a bikini gives you confidence. There really is nothing like it.

Yet, after day 2, after partaking in the desserts (oh, my, were they amaaaaaazing) and sweet potato salad, along with six other dishes in one sitting, I once again experienced the feeling of being a potato on two sticks.

Hmm, I am human after all. Isn't that nice? It is, but how annoying?! I know you're all saying, "Oh, Barbie, you've worked so hard, you deserved it!" I know! I know! I did! And I enjoyed it! But, like so many other people, I found it hard to stop at the first few bites. One day of sinful indulging turned into two and three and four...

To my credit, I didn't have multiple drinks on any given night. My conscience wouldn't let me. I often opted for a glass of red wine instead of the mai tai my heart desired. So, i did exercise SOME self control. Wait, no one was keeping count but me. My belly felt like it was expanding with every passing day, and it was, the scale proved it, and the mirror didn't lie.

But it's just interesting, all of it, how or minds feel guilty when we splurge, how our bodies don't feel great when we overeat, and how quickly our bodies can soften.

Kauai, Hawaii was absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking. But, honestly, I'm glad to be back. I am a fan of order, of structure.

I'm not a big fan of doing cleanses, but after 12 days of feeling and being "off track," I gladly embraced the Shakeology fast posted on BeachBody's nutrition expert, Steve Edward's blog:

Shakeology Cleanse

Three Shakeology during the day, followed by a sensible salad for dinner with 4 ounces of chicken for three days.

For some reason, it just felt right. I wanted to give my body a break from all the cooking and eating and crunching and drinking.

Day 2 down. I feel good. Better.

Oh, how I wish I were, um, non-human sometimes. How I wish I could be perfect and come back from vacation feeling light and airy.

Instead, like so many others, I feel like a farm animal, ready for change.

But, not for long. Bring it!

Barbie, PhD