Puerto Rico is a beautiful and nature rich country. That said, their average food selection given that you're on vacation is difficult when surrounded by skinny people who like to munch down on unhealthy snacks is terrible! I will forever regret not packing a swiss army knife in our checked luggage. Had we stopped by the side of the road to buy some of the luscious fruit that was available rather than visiting the local Pueblo grocery store and skipping over their dilapidated selection of available fresh food. All that remained were processed meats, processed cheese, cupcakes, chips, and cake. Lunches were meat(or seafood) and heavy beans and rice or plantains. Everything deep fried that could be. Swimming and the hot weather mean you alternate from intense hunger to not feeling hungry at all. Minding a little one and making sure he's properly fed and hydrated (not to mention the layer of sun block that is religiously applied) means taking less time to make sure that you are fed and hydrated. Sleeping a full night without waking up by nightly disturbances - yet another challenge.
Not one thing is to blame for my explosion in size. The week before, trying on my swimsuit - I felt fabulous. I finally fit a size 12. But as the pictures of the trip come back - I realise that somehow with lack of sleep and eating badly - I had ballooned to a ball shape barely contained by my swimsuit. I am reminded of various ball shaped aunties and cousins in my family and I wonder - just why is it that I am SO effected by these changes in environment, sleep patterns, etc that my body responds so quickly!
Upon return home, I had two nights of sleep... started drinking water as I usually would, and eating my usual high fibre, healthy sourced food diet. Within 2 days, I can see that I'm visibly becoming less round. I immediately start a regiment of moderate repeatitive excercise and walking. I also decide to download a point counter and start watching my weight and whether I'm successfully able to bring about a loss. I weigh myself and aside from looking like a ball, I am about the same weight as when I left.
Goals: Not to become one of those people who is starving themselves and not to be so tied to the excercise that it takes away from the rest of my life.
How to overcome that? Make sure I eat, although I may want to stop eating entirely in the hope that the pounds shed off me. Also, to concentrate on short bursts of excercise. Squats, sit ups, kicks, jabs... all timed for 10 minute intervals spread out through the day. Most importantly, to do some form of tracking.. to see if I am in fact shedding mass. To me, shedding mass is more important than shedding the weight. Ideally, I will fit a size 10 pant size... maybe in 6 months. If I can get down to a size 8.. I will be ecstatic.