Tested

So my family and I just got back from a 9 day vacation to Disneyland, and while it was so much fun, it was very challenging and tested me like nothing else.  There have been several times in the past when I have tried to lose weight, that I would go out of town and blow it and then come home and give up.  I was determined to be successful this time, but it was not easy, and I still didn't get the results I was hoping for.  I went to Disneyland with a plan of how to be successful.  I brought my crock pot along and planned to put a healthy dinner in it every morning and then continue with my shakes for breakfast and lunch.  Well I didn't end up using the crock pot even once and most days only had one shake, but I was still doing good.  We cooked a healthy dinner twice, went out to a nice dinner once, and ate at subway or quiznos the other 3 days we were there.  I was proud of myself when we went out to dinner though, because I asked our waiter if they had a copy of the nutritional information and he told me they didn't.  I proceeded to look at the menu and decide what I thought I could eat.  I had a meal picked out, when all the sudden our waiter came back with a copy of the nutritional info he had found.  I was very grateful for it, and happy to see that the meal I had decided on was the best one I could have picked.  It was grilled chicken on a bed of wild rice served with steamed broccoli.  It was so yummy and under 500 calories.  

The hardest part of the trip was being in the park and seeing and smelling all the good food.  If you have ever been there before, then you know what I am talking about.  Every five feet there is another cart selling some kind of treat, and I swear they have fans blowing to waft the smell in every direction.  Not only that, but my husband gave in to my kids rather often and I had to watch all of them eating said treats.  It kind of took some of the fun out of the trip having to focus so much energy on not cheating, but I am proud of myself for the choices I made and I know that if I would have given in, I would have felt a lot worse.  I did let myself have one little splurge though.  I told myself if I made it though the week, then on the last day I could try the dole whips, which are a fresh pineapple sorbet.  I bought one on the last day and shared it with everyone, and it was good!!  

So coming home from the trip, I felt really good about the choices I had made, and was anxious to see what the scale said.  I was very disappointed to get on the scale and see that I had gained 4 1/2 pounds.  What the heck, where did I go wrong!?!  I look back now and can see that some of the choices I made for snacks were probably not the best.  I ate an apple everyday, but I also had some pretzels, and a lot of beef jerky.  While none of that alone should have resulted in a big weight gain, I realized that I was also not drinking very much water and eating lots of salt.  All that combined with traveling in the car for 12 hours straight can cause some major water retention.  Like I said before, that in my past, having results like this would have caused me to quit and give up, and while I did struggle with feeling down about it and frustrated, I did not give up.  I have focused this week on getting back on track and back to a good schedule.  I had my weekly weigh in this morning and am happy to report that I am back to within a pound of where I was when I left for Disneyland.  I am glad to have had this opportunity to test myself.  I find that every time I go through something difficult like this, I come out stronger.  There is nothing easy about this journey I am on, but I am so glad I have finally decided to do it.  I have the best support system and the most amazing husband that supports and pushes me forward.

A good friend shared this quote with me today, that I love and fits in perfectly,

 "You have not failed until you have quit trying." - Gordon B. Hinkley

  Another great quote I saw today from Pres. Hinkley said,  

"Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok...it's not the end."   I love it!!

So to any of you that are on your own journey to get healthy, I encourage you to push through the trying times and I promise you will come out of it stronger.