Time Off

Today is my last day of vacation for the week (if you don't count the weekend). My week off in June used to revolve around my kids being off school and we would do fun things like spending hours at the pool, art projects, going on little day-trips and one year we even built a shelf out of wooden crates that is still in use today. Now that my youngest just graduated high school, and my older son is working, this week off was just to get things done. Here's what my time off included: A trip to 3 different stores for art supplies. driving to a different city to get my Shingles vaccine and submit my art for a polinator-themed contest. Driving to a different city to get my eye exam and visit with former coworkers. Some painting, but not nearly as much as I imagined. So much weeding in my flowerbeds that i got blisters. Trips to the beach. A big cruise ship came to our harbor for the day so I went to see it and hide painted rocks with my Facebook art page on the back. I did my first farmer's market selling my art. 3 alcoholic drinks with meals out, which were not clean or keto. Every day except Thursday I had to drive to another city to get stuff done. I had multiple days with over 10,000 steps. I was exhausted from the uncharacteristically hot days, despite the Lake Michigan breezes. I got sunburned and barely sold anything at the farmer's market. While I stayed on track with food most of the weekend and week, when I did eat out, I did it with the thought "I'm on vacation" and in my head that meant, even from my lifestyle I chose in order to heal my body. Today my husband and I went to Green Bay, where we used to live. It was almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit and my husband doesn't like to use his air conditioner in his car so we melted. We went to the mall to get him some new clothes, then we grabbed some lunch at one of our old favorite places with craft burgers. I actually had a take on a Cuban sandwich, it was a pork with ham and a slice of pineapple and a brie-like cheese, then aoli on a brioche bun. It was amazing! Where I live now, the food is pretty ordinary so to have different flavors was a treat! I had a blueberry mojito too. The heat driving back to our town was nearly unbearable so I made my husband stop at a local custard stand and I got a small carmel sundae. I had been fighting a craving for ice cream all week so the heat and vacation brain finally won. I enjoyed it far less than my mind told me I would. Of course, when I was craving ice cream, I wanted a scoop of black cherry on a waffle cone from our local bakery and soft serve/custard didn’t really hit the spot. Plus I was so full from my lunch that a few bites in, I was overwhelmed by the sweet and didn't think I could finish, even though it was a pretty small cup. I did finish it because I knew it would be a puddle of mess if I tried to bring it home. I was miserable after that, so full and bloated. We still had a 20-minute drive from there to our town. When we got into town we heard my father-in-law was at our beach. He drove over from Green Bay (about 50 minutes away) because the temperature was ten degrees cooler by the lake. We walked so much in the hot sun on the beach, while my stomach felt so uncomfortable and my hip was hurting. I was so happy to get home, out of the sun. Today was another day I got more than 10,000 steps. I gave myself a pass thus week to relax a little with my food and the times I did eat something off-plan, I didn't feel great after. I know this about alcohol and usually avoid it, but lesson re-learned. I plan to get things back to normal Monday, if not sooner. I really don't crave fries or alcohol, I just consumed out of trying to make my vacation feel more vacationy, instead of feeling like hard work. I should have taken more time to relax but I have this character flaw where I always have the sense like I need to get productive in order to feel worth. Anyway, I did do my favorite yoga session this week (one day) because the Shingles vaccine made my whole body ache and I thought yoga might help. I was surprised at how less flexible I am in such a short time. It was eye-opening. I plan to get back to working out and fasting again next week too. I want to re-up on my plan and do it right. We have a wedding to go to July 15 and I am considering challenging myself to stay 100% clean eating until then. The food part is really not hard for me. Except this odd craving for ice cream this week, I really don't typically have cravings at all and when I am in ketosis, not eating is not torture. I think this week's craving was more a mental thing, because I was on vacation and it was so hot. The exercise is my biggest mental hurdle to overcome, so I have to make it a challenge. I haven't decided what that will be yet. I haven't been on the scale all week. Last week I was steady at 169 all week. I was happy to finally stay out of the 170's but I imagine there will be some pounds to have to chase again since I indulged more this week. Actually, the last few weekends have been more lax so it's time to tighten the reins back up so I don't get too far astray. I will try to not let it go so long before I post again. Everything is still being neglected due to painting, but with a shift back to my hralth, it will feel more natural to blog more. I hope you are all well and having a great June!