How I lost 5lbs while traveling.

On June 1st around 10pm my husband and I got a call we'd been waiting on.  His Grandpa, who had battled Parkinson's disease and who had been suffering greatly in his final days before being put on Hospice care had passed away that night.  We knew this was coming and were grieved (especially Josh) but were also thankful he was now out of pain and with our Lord Jesus.  We talked extensively that night (until 2am, actually) and decided since flying our crew out there was $3,000 JUST for plane tickets we'd hop in the car the next day and drive to California from Oklahoma with our 1 and 2 year old.  We're brave souls.  But it was all so worth it!

Our visit was great.  I was thankful to see his Grandma and be with Josh's family in this time of mourning and celebration.

The day we left was my first day to transition from my 800 calorie HCG diet to my 2 week stabilization program.  I was already  leary of the program because I didn't have to measure meats or veggies anymore and now I got to incorporate into my diet oils, butter, some cheese, and avocado and again, didn't have to measure (I also had to eliminate fruit).  I was thankful to be able to eat oil and not measure because I knew we'd eat out a TON and this would make life easier, but I was worried about not getting to eat fruit and just my eating and weight in general.

But guess what?  We got home Sunday and I went to my Nutritionist first thing Monday morning for the big weigh in: 171lbs! I was down 5lbs from last week!  I was SO thrilled and thankful to have done so well away and thought on the topic of traveling and dieting I'd share with you some of my tips for diet success on the road.

TIP 1 - Avoid carbs & sugar!  I wasn't allowed to have them anyway and haven't had them in almost 100 days so I didn't miss them.  As we traveled my FAVORITE meal was a double double cheeseburger from In and Out Burger "protein style" and without sauce.  It was basically two patties with cheese, tomato, grilled onions, and two lettuce pieces holding it together.  This meal was DELICIOUS and full of flavor.  I didn't miss the bun at all!  Another meal was Chipotle.  I got a salad with steak, lettuce, mild salsa (just onions and tomato with cilantro), a small amount of cheese and asked for guacamole instead of dressing.  The salad was so delicious and I didn't miss the rice of beans!

blurry pic, but let's be honest, I couldn't wait to eat it!  SO yum!

TIP 2 - Come prepared!  Before we left I packed several avocados, hard boiled eggs, turkey breast, grilled chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, and a homemade salad dressing (EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder) into our ice chest.  I was able to snack on healthy options when I got hungry on the road and when we stopped at MacAlisters for salads and sandwiches on our first night on the road, I was able to order a cobb salad and use my own dressing since all their dressings (even the light italian) had sugar.  Coming home I was less prepared and I paid for it!  After a day of snacking on only hard boiled eggs we got to a city in New Mexico very late and very hungry and I could find NO diet friendly food.  Subway was closed.  McDonalds literally had no salads.  The diners had steak and grilled chicken but literally no fresh vegetable sides except salad and I couldn't have the dressing... I ended up at Dairy Queen ordering a double cheeseburger sans bun and sauce which worked out just fine, but not after a little emotional breakdown on my part.  It's hard to say no to road food and salty snacks on a road trip!  But I powered through and even when I thought "I can't do this!" I proved to myself I can.  There's power in that.

TIP 3 - Do what work out you can!  The first two days on the road my work outs were keeping up with the kids when we stopped at a park or rest stop.  When we got to Josh's Grandma's on day 3 I waited 'til everyone was sleeping that afternoon and took off for a run in her neighborhood!  I ended up only doing a mile, but it was my fastest mile ever!  It felt so good to get moving!  Josh's Grandma's house was also too full for our crew so we stayed at a hotel.  Our hotel had a gym I was able to utilize twice to run and do weights and one day in CA we went to Legoland with the kids for several hours and that was a good day of exercise right there!  Coming home I worked out the first day of driving and hated the hotels' mirrors in front of the treadmill so I opted for the bike which was a fun change from my normal routine.  The second road day I used my husbands shower time to just focus on core work and a few things like jumping jacks and push ups to get my heart rate up.  It was only 15 minutes, but it felt good to be physical!  Of the 9 days we were out of town I managed to do some kind of work out 6 of those days.  Even if it's only a 10 minute jog or a 20 minute walk, anything helps!  Especially those days you're just driving!

TIP 4 - AVOCADO!  Avocado was seriously my best friend.  I should only eat one a day but most days on this trip I had two.  I couldn't have dressings most places and when my dressing ran out I just chopped avocado and put salt and pepper on my lettuce and it was delicious!  Avocado also jazzed up sandwiches (without sauce or bread) and were a great snack (I literally peeled them like an apple to eat in the car).  It was such a creamy, delicious treat I LOVED.

TIP 5 - Treat yourself!  Whilst traveling it's easy to pick McDonalds because it's quick.  Because we wanted to have longer stops for the kids and because my husband is so understanding, we were able to pretty consistently eat places that gave me great options: MacAlisters (cobb salad, my dressing), a Mexican sit down restaurant (fajita meat, salad), Farmer Boys (grilled chicken cobb salad with avocado and my dressing), In and Out Burger (double double protein style), Chipotle (steak salad with mild salsa, some cheese, guacamole), Scholotskyz (hip chick trio w/o spicy ranch and bun - delicious), Chick Fil A (grilled chicken breast filet, side salad & avocado)... Eating at "fast casual" restaurants more often than drive thru places helped me stay on track and still have options.

TIP 6 - Cook when you can! At Josh's Grandma's I was able to make myself a delicious dinner of blackened salmon, wilted spinach and mushrooms our first night off the road.  A home cooked meal tasted fantastic and I was thankful to cook and prepare my own food!  I also prepared myself 2 spinach salads with left over salmon, turkey, hard boiled eggs, avocado and some cheese whilst there other days).

TIP 7 - Buy yourself something!  This might sound silly but we stayed very close to a large, nice mall.  One night we went up there because J needed a new polo for the funeral and I needed a dress.  I found one at Forever 21 that was $18 and fit awesome!  It gave me a confidence boost to buy something new in my new size.  The next night, Josh sent me to the mall again while he put the kids to bed to get myself a few more things and I bought a size 8 shirt from H&M and two medium shirts from Forever 21!  That felt SOOOO good and helped me remember "hey I used to squeeze into an XL and size 18 and look where I am now!).

TIP 8 - Seek help if you need it!  Josh is an amazing support system for me and for that I'm thankful.  The night I was so broken about our smalltown NW no food to eat experience I also texted my Mom (before having a good cry on Josh) for help.  They both helped me in different ways but led me to remember I CAN DO THIS and not to give up.  I also had my Twitter and IG support system of diet friends who've helped me so much who could encourage me the whole trip not to flounder! (Because remember, weightloss - especially a large amount of weightloss - is MORE psychological and mental than anything else!)

So there you have it!  My 8 tips to losing 5lbs whilst traveling.  You can do it, it's just all about making the right choices!  And even though traveling doesn't always feel like real life and you feel more justified to indulge, real life is waiting for you on the outside and you'll have to pay the consequences of going backwards in your diet if you let yourself go too crazy... And friend, after all that hard work, it's just not worth it!  Find an old pic of yourself and remember where you've come from and press on.

After losing 25lbs on Weight Watchers and before this program-- about 223lbs.