Back on Track in One Week Flat

I use to feel a tremendous amount of stress about vacation. I would obsess about losing weight beforehand and looking my best throughout. And I would also worry about what would happen after I got back from vacation after all the indulging set in. So instead of simply enjoying the vacation I was on, I would think about every meal, every drink, and every calorie. And then vacation would come to an end and I would feel just as exhausted as when I left. What’s the point of a vacation like that? It really wasn’t until this year that I came to understand that getting back on track really isn’t all that difficult, especially if you’re staying on track most of the time.

Consistency is key when it comes to any lifestyle. If you are consistent with your diet, exercise and mental stability, all pieces tend to fall into place. And because of that consistency, life is just simply more enjoyable longterm. Key the motivational consistency quotes –

• “If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.”
• “Consistent actions creates consistent results.”
• “If you want to be successful, be consistent.”
• “True progress requires time and consistency.”

What I mean is that when you stay consistent, you can indulge here and there and it won’t make a huge difference because you can get back on track rather quickly, even within a week. I’ve tested this theory multiple times at this point with the 12 different trips I’ve been on this year. I stay consistent with my diet and my exercise routine while I’m home, then I enjoy any trip or vacation I may take. I know that I will gain weight and feel a little less than my best, but I also know that I can get back to my baseline within a week.

And I thought I would share my experience from last week after traveling to Cabo and eating/drinking all the things to show you how quickly a body can bounce back. While in Cabo, I had dessert every night, I had multiple drinks throughout each day, I had chips & guac every afternoon, and I said yes to every gluten-free bread basket. Then once I got home, I cleaned it up. And this is how I do it:

1. Grocery shop and load up on all the green vegetables, good fats, and high quality meat
   • I buy any kind of vegetable that’s calling my name – brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, arugula, carrots, bell peppers, and anything else that looks good or is in season
   • I grab ghee or olive oil for cooking and dressing
   • I usually have meat in the freezer from ButcherBox, but I’ll often get any wild caught fish and seafood that looks good or is on sale
   • Then I grab anything I may need for snacks such as almond milk yogurt, coconut chips, etc.
2. Clean out the fridge and pantry of any foods that are a bit too indulgent and tempting
3. Come up with a game plan with what meals I’m going to have throughout the week for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks to make sure I have everything on hand and don’t end up eating something I shouldn’t when I come home hungry.
4. Then I follow a few simple rules. And when I say rules, I don’t obsess over them. I just try my best to eat the best things possible, without trying to be perfect. That makes it easier when events or dinners come up. And not obsessing also makes it easier to stick with. When I tell myself I can’t have something, like chips, I’ll end up eating the entire bag. But if I just tell myself to try to limit it for just one week, I end up having a few chips then putting the bag away. The less restriction, the better for me. Here are the “rules” I follow throughout the week –
   • Drink a shit ton of water – I try to drink over a gallon a day. We tend to hold on to a lot of water weight, especially after travel. And flushing the system will help with the excess bloat.
   • Stay away from sugar – Sugar is bad for you. If you don’t know that at this point, where have you been?? It’s bad. And it will definitely hold you back from getting back on track. I try to stay away from as much sugar as possible, from fresh fruit to honey to chocolate to treats. Cutting out sugar is pretty life changing all the way around and bodies change pretty quickly without it.
   • Stay away from alcohol (aka sugar) – Yes, even wine. I know this is often the hardest thing for people to cut out, but it’s an amazing amount of excess calories day after day, and it will really hinder your progress.
   • No energy bars – I tend to have a bar or two most weeks, but on this week back, I try to stay away from them since most are pretty sugary and made with some sort of dried fruit and nuts, both which can cause inflammatory symptoms.
   • Lower carb for a few days – I never knew what carb cycling was until I told my friend that I seemed to do best when I did 3 days lower carb then had a higher carb day. I’m not doing a crazy amount of exercise at this point which means I don’t need a ton of extra carbs. And cutting them out for a few days then adding them back in for one seems to make my body the happiest.

A while back I had someone asked if I would share a weeks worth of meals, and well, I got through 6 days, then forgot on the 7th. But here is the breakdown of what I ate every day last week to help get me back on track. I still went out for some meals and still enjoyed some foods that I love, but I just tried to not overdo it! Again, a diet doesn’t have to be in black and white for it to work. It is just about staying consistent and eating the best quality as often as possible.

Monday Meal Recap (CrossFit Workout Day):

• Coffee with splash of heavy cream, stevia extract and collagen at 530am
• Breakfast – arugula, breakfast sausage, and primal kitchen ranch at 7am
• Lunch – Beef burger from Park Burger topped with blue cheese, bacon, caramelized onions and mushrooms put on greens instead of a bun at 1pm
• Snack #1 – Piece of Breakfast Yogurt Freezer Squares after creating a new recipe for the blog at 3pm
• Snack #2 – Piece of smoked salmon wrapped in prosciutto at 5pm
• Dinner – Pork chop, arugula with ranch and brussels with a few bites of carrots at 7pm
• Water – Over 1 gallon of water consumed

Tuesday Meal Recap (CrossFit Workout Day):

• Coffee with splash of heavy cream, stevia extract and collagen at 6am
• Breakfast – arugula, breakfast sausage, and primal kitchen ranch at 7am
• Cold brew coffee with heavy cream at 10am
• Snack – Small bowl full of organic peanuts and coconut chips 1130am
• Lunch – Smoked salmon in a coconut wrap with pesto, prosciutto and arugula along with roasted veggies I cooked in an air fryer at 130pm
• Dinner – Pork chop cooked in Rao’s sauce with spinach and serve with a tomato salad tossed in olive oil, lime juice, cilantro and salt at 930pm
• Water – Over 1 gallon of water consumed

Wednesday Meal Recap (CrossFit Workout Day):

• Coffee with splash of heavy cream, stevia extract and collagen at 530am
• Breakfast – Arugula, breakfast sausage, marinara and tomato salad (leftover from the night before) at 7am
• Snack #1 – 3 Prosciutto & Melon Pesto Poppers
• Lunch – Smoked salmon in a coconut wrap with pesto, prosciutto and arugula along with roasted veggies I cooked in an air fryer at 130pm
• Snack #2 – 1/2 komchucha
• Dinner – 1 carnitas street taco without the tortilla and a handful of tortilla chips and salsa at Adelita’s at 7pm
• Water – Over 1 gallon of water consumed

Thursday Meal Recap (rest day):

• Coffee with splash of heavy cream, stevia extract and collagen at 530am
• Snack #1 – About 1/4 cup chia pudding (recipe coming soon to the blog) at 7am
• Breakfast – Arugula, pork chop, marinara at 9am
• Snack #2 – 1/4 cup chia pudding (recipe coming soon to the blog), peanuts, banana chips and coconut chips
• Snack #3 – Bowl full of paleo puffs
• Dinner – Salmon, cauliflower purée and roasted brussels sprouts and carrots
• Water – Over 1 gallon of water consumed

Friday Meal Recap (CrossFit Workout Day):

• Coffee with splash of heavy cream, stevia extract and collagen at 530am
• Breakfast – 1/2 burrito bowl without the tortilla at Snooze at 7am along with another coffee with cream
• Lunch – the other 1/2 burrito bowl at 130pm
• Snack #1 – 1/4 almond milk strawberry almond milk yogurt, peanuts, banana chips and coconut chips, cacao nibs at 4pm
• Snack #2 – Handful of paleo puffs at 6pm
• Dinner – Salmon, cauliflower purée and carrots and Brussels sprouts at 7pm
• Snack #3 – Coconut butter cup at 8pm
• Water – Over 1 gallon of water consumed

Saturday Meal Recap (CrossFit Workout Day):

• Coffee with splash of heavy cream, stevia extract and collagen at 530am
• Snack #1 – 1/4 cup chia pudding, peanuts, banana chips and coconut chips at 8am
• Brunch – chicken sausage, arugula salad and potatoes at Ophelia’s at 1030am
• Snack #2 – 1/2 cup paleo puffs at 3pm
• Snack #3 – 2 pieces of prosciutto at 5pm
• Snack #4 – Handful of Siete Foods cassava chips and a little of their dairy-free queso at 5pm
• Dinner – a meal at El Five that was a bit too hard to track since we all shared everything at a table of 4. I had an extra dirty vodka martini, then we shared some rabbit paella, patatas bravas, moroccan lamb sausage, hanger steak and some pork. Then snacked on some chocolate hazelnuts and some homemade caramels.
• Water – Over 1 gallon of water consumed

As you can see, my meals and snacks were no where near perfect or obsessive. I still went out with friends, I still had some treats, I still had one drink, and I still enjoyed myself…I just stayed aware of most of my meals and the amount of food I was consuming. But the consistency on a regular basis is what really helps me relax when I travel and get back on track once I’m home.

Something I did while I tracked all these meals was also track my progress around my waist with photos. And I honestly hated doing this. I don’t track my meals, I don’t ever weigh myself and I don’t do daily progress photos. I like to do some comparison photos from years ago from time to time, but not often. It puts more stress on eating and working out and then I get in my head that I’m not doing enough. And that’s not the life I want to live. But I did the tracking just for this post alone to show you that progress really does happen day after day, even if it may not feel that way. And I tracked the area around my waist because it’s always the first to lean out which gives me the confidence to stick with my gameplan. But as we know, not all women are alike. Maybe you lose inches around your legs or hips or even face first and the waist is more challenging. I’m not even saying you should track by any means. Sometimes it’s helpful for people or sometimes it’s hurtful (like it is for me), but progress can be motivating and exciting as well.

I didn’t want this post to be about weight loss or having to be lean or anything like that, I just wanted to show that you can enjoy your life and not worry about every single calorie or macro or whatever you may be tracking. For most people, bodyweight changes. It may go up and it may go down. So finding what lifestyle makes you feel your best and sticking with it 80% of the time, well that’s a life worth living. When I’m home, I eat the best I can then when I travel, I stop really thinking about it and I enjoy my life. I know my body will change and I’m ok with it. And now I live a life that doesn’t include obsessive behaviors and that life is way more fun.

I hope this post helped show you perfection isn’t the key to a healthy lifestyle. Balance and consistency is. Eat as best you can, stay away from too much sugar and alcohol, workout, sleep, manage your stress and drink water. All of these things don’t have to be done perfectly, they just have to be done! Now go live your best life and enjoy every moment in between!

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