Friday, September 10, 2010

Vacation Diets

One of the wonderful things about visiting a new city is the food.  Elton and I both love to eat (see also:  part of the reason for an active triathlon lifestyle) so vacation often involves finding and trying new and interesting food establishments, from the littlest hot dog vendor to the more upper crust fine dining establishments.  Since my tri, and my subsequent week off from diet and exercise, it's been hard to get back on the wagon.  My half marathon training started this past week,  so I figured this trip to San Diego would be a great last hurrah before I really clamped down on diet and exercise.  We went on two runs while we were there, short runs mind you, and I haven't had runs that dreadful in a long time.  Oh yeah, this is why I don't eat like this or drink all the time. 

Mmmm...my first In-N-Out burger
This past week encompassed for rich food and alcohol than I normally eat in a month.  Today is my first day back at home, which means it is going to be organizational day.   We have fallen into a healthy eating rut - we pretty much cycle between fat-free ground turkey and lean chicken breasts, and do the same 3 or 4 recipes.  I've determined to up my nutritional cooking IQ and learn some new healthy recipes and healthy snacks.  I also eat the exact same thing for breakfast and lunch every day:  A 100-calorie english muffin with fat-free cream cheese and Kashi Go Lean Crunch hot cereal, while lunch is a spinach salad with a Morningstar Chicken Patty, almond slivers and a diced tomato and onion mix.

So what to do to shake up my diet and my routine?  I used Hal Higdon's 15k training plan when I ran the Gate River Run earlier this year, but really only followed the run portions and did a weekly yoga class.  I'm using his half marathon plan for half marathon training, so I'm thinking in addition to revamping our diets, I will also work on introducing strength training and cross training to my routine.  I'm ready to get back on the horse.  This last month of excess has not left me feeling terribly proud.

3 comments:

  1. Don't beat yourself up! That's what vacations are for. Good luck with the new training program. I know what you mean about getting in ruts with eating. I've found that when I've loosened up and allowed myself to not worry so much about calories/fat/etc. I end up still eating pretty healthy but I'm much much happier. :) Variety and moderation are key!

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  2. Vacations are just that, vacation, we need breaks or we will break ourselves.

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  3. Thanks! I needed that! I'm a big one for "diner's remorse" and I did spend a couple days beating myself up for enjoying it :)

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