Cruised into tigher pants!

Been back from our cruise for over a week now.  It was an amazing vacation that my husband and I will never forget.  It was exactly what we were hoping it would be, which was relaxing and fun. 

I don't have a lot of pictures from the trip as my camera charger was lost in the move so I just had my iPod Touch to snap a few shots with.  I shared a few on Instagram and you're welcome to pop over there too look at them.  I'm too lazy to deal with uploading & posting them.  My user name is SuperErizzle.

Here's the thing though: I gained a shit-ton of weight.

I worked moderately hard to get down to my happy weight, but gave up after a while.  I ellipticalled and ran, tracked my food, and focused on slimming down maybe 75% of the time.  I did pretty good though.  We left for the boat and I weighed 147. Eight days later I weighed 156.  Yeah. 9 pounds. "Fuck" was my reaction. 

I started my new job that day (which was last Monday) feeling gross and bloaty.  With no food in the house and no opportunity to grocery shop until Sunday, we ate out every night.  I grabbed salads for lunches from the cafeteria, and I made a quick stop at the store for bananas, but other than that, I ate like crap.

Yesterday when I got on the scale it said I weighed 152.6.  To me that says a portion of my 9 lbs gain was bloating/water retention.  So really over 2 weeks of eating like crud, I only gained 5 lbs. Which I'm pretty okay with honestly.  I know what I put into my body, and that's a number I can live with as a result.  However, it will not be sticking around for long, that's for damn sure!

Gaining 5 lbs on a cruise is easy. Actually I bet I could have actually gained the 9 lbs. Seriously. I actually TRIED to eat decently (some of the time).  I gorged myself on fresh fruit every day as much as possible.  I limited myself to one dinner roll a night. I stopped eating when I was full.  I only hit the 24 hour ice cream machine once a day. I ate a plate of deli meats and cheeses every night during cocktail hour while sipping on some of the best cocktails I have ever had.  I tried new foods that I may never get a chance to eat again like frog legs (eh, okay), escargot (decent), shark (yum), and mango on a stick from a random street vendor.  I ordered dessert every night.  I got drunk more nights than I didn't. 

Here are some of my observations on how to NOT gain 10 lbs or more on a cruise:

1. Take the damn stairs on the boat.  For fucks sake, it has 9 floors. Chances are you are only going up or down a few levels. Don't be lazy and take the elevator.  On day 3 of the cruise my calves ached from taking the stairs and Man said his thighs were sore. This is a GOOD thing.
2. Order the damn fresh fruit plate. It's on the menu for breakfast every day. Order it. Eat it. Then gorge yourself on the eggs Benedict. Chances are by then you will be full and won't need the side of hash browns you ordered.
3. Walk on the beach. Don't lay there and sunbathe.  The sun is just as impactful when you are vertical as horizontal. And frankly, more evenly distributed. Plus the scenery is better walking then it is lying down. And SLATHER yourself in sunscreen. Repeatedly. Don't miss the back of your hands, tops of your feet and ears. Trust me on this.
4. Fruity alcohol drinks should be avoided. Those things are sugar bombs and likely not real fruit anyway. I drink my booze straight. I don't feel the need to add extra calories to my liquid calories.
5. Just because the buffet is open 24 hours does NOT mean you should eat it.
6. If it's not something you will ever have the opportunity to eat again, or it's just something special that you love, order it and enjoy it.  If it's something you can get at home but "your on vacation" so you want to eat it, don't.  I passed up bacon every day. Not because I don't love bacon, but because I didn't need bacon. I needed to eat eggs Benedict and fruit. Plus, the ship had just regular thin bacon. I like thick cute peppered bacon. If they had that instead, game on. But I passed on the flimsy crud and ordered more cheesey grits instead.
7. Bring snacks to the airport. Food in airports is not only super expensive, but gross. All junk. I brought snacks with us on the way there and avoided the gross, but on the way back we were forced to eat greasy fast food while we waited 6 hours for our flight in LAX. I didn't enjoy it at all, but I needed to eat.
8. Drink lots of water. I brought a Nalgene bottle from home and carried it with me everywhere. Cheaper than bottled water.  Also, keeping hydrated helps with sunburns and hang overs.
9. Pack your work out clothes. Chances are you won't use them. However, not bringing them means you definitely won't use them.  The thought crossed my mind to go to the gym a few time. I had the clothes with me, I just never followed thru with the urge.
10. I can't think of a tenth one right now...but ending a list on 9 seems silly.

With all that being said...what's my plan to get back to my usual weight? I don't know yet.  More info coming soon on this, but my weight struggles have reached a new level and I'm not sure what direction to go yet.  Back to Weight Watchers? Keep trying to get MyFitnessPal to work? Sign up for a fitness class? Try a new "fad diet" just for giggles? Train for a race? I just don't know.

(Please note: I'm not going to talk about the Boston Marathon bombing. I don't have the words. My heart hurts for all those impacted and I'm saying constant prayers for them. God is good. I wish more humans would turn to Him instead of turning to violence.)