Friend of Julie: On the Road

It is a beautiful quiet morning on the canal here in Punta Gorda, Florida. Along the horizon and far behind the houses across the canal, the sky is a soft morning pink haze that blends into light grey. Birds coo and chirp from tall palm trees near and far. A few feet from me, fish jump and splash in the canal. After a long pause, the pink finally gives way to the sun, as it burst onto the scene.

On the road with Arlene.

At 3 am Saturday morning, I jumped into a maroon PT Cruiser in Rhode Island and headed to Florida with my sister-in-law, Arlene, and her 93 year old mother, Rita. My brother Carl arrives tonight to join us. Arlene prefers to stop only for restrooms, gas, and water; real meals only happen when we stop overnight or arrive at her Florida home. So, I packed sliced salami and several packages of beef jerky to make sure I had my protein fix anytime I needed it.

After 16 hours on the road, we stopped overnight In Savannah, Georgia. Arlene and I settled Rita into the room, changed into capris and short sleeves, and then walked to Lady and Sons, where in 1996,  Paula Deen leased the old Sears & Roebuck building in Downtown Savannah  and opened her restaurant.

We had an incredible southern style dinner; we both chose the specials, as we had heard this was the best way to go rather than the buffet, filled with all things fried, crusted, and smothered in butter or gravy. No thank you! After dinner, we walked for about an hour and took in historic Savannah's night life. There was a fabulous band, in their late teens or early twenties, playing rock and roll from the 70's outdoors to a large crowd. We window shopped as we meandered back to the hotel. Everyone was fast asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

Up at 6:30 am, Arlene and I walked for two and a half hours, taking in the gorgeous gardens. We packed up our stuff and Rita and then had a fabulous breakfast along the riverfront before hitting the road.

I've taken a number of vacations since starting this program two years ago and I have never gone off program. I recall Julie giving explicit instructions about how to handle vacations, but I always told myself, "that's for other people, not me. I have too much weight to lose to take that risk."

But I own this program now! At dinner and again at breakfast, I chose to step "out of the river." This is the first time I've done this and I was not at all nervous, as I knew I could do this right. I'm on vacation and I took the opportunity to have a few special foods, confident that I would get right back on program. I did not have desserts or sugars. I made sure I had a lot of protein with both meals and as we left the restaurant, I went back "into the river." The rest of the week, I loaded up on meat and stayed on program. I'm so happy that I was able to have the special meals and get right back on program.

Yesterday Arlene and I met my boss for lunch in Sarasota and then we went shopping at an incredible thrift store where rich women donate beautiful expensive designer clothing and household items. They are seasoned shoppers, who are steady in their size, and know what they like. Me - not so much. I wish I had more time in that thrift store, but I did find one bargain blouse, which had a red tag - half price. I was extremely pleased with my $11.75 find.

This is the kind of thrift stores deals some of my friends rave about. Now I understand the fun in finding such bargains. I can see that this will be more fun when I'm down a few more sizes; right there are less choices for me at my size. Rich bitch clothes run small (or perhaps more true to size).

Update:

I've heard concerns about this post, which I fully appreciate and I thank you for your feedback and concern. I haven't gone rogue. I am not advocating others should follow the choices I describe in the above post.

I didn't feel comfortable sharing the details of what I leaned from Julie about going on vacation because Julie doesn't teach the vacation piece anymore, as too many people were going "on vacation" and then not getting back on program or going in for a refresh for her to fix them.

You should know that I walked a slippery slope here. Nothing sweet touched my lips. I made a conscious decision to have carbs, no sugars, with my dinner and breakfast, and then I got right back on program. You should also know that I did not follow the rule of having a potato when first stepping out of the river. See, slippery slope for someone not on maintenance yet.

I've been on this program for almost two years now and I have only slipped once when I had too much to drink one night. I was horrified the next day and I got right back on program and never missed a step since. This week was the same; I got right back on program and am moving full-steam ahead.

I wrote this piece because after being on program for nearly two years, I feel confident about what I'm doing. I wasn't being cocky or in denial. I own this.

In fact, I went to see Julie for a refresh before I went on all my other vacations to help keep me strong while on the vacation, not because I went off and needed help getting back on program.

So please, if you're going on vacation, don't tell yourself "we'll, when Theresa was on vacation..." Do the right thing for yourself. Don't trick yourself into believing a vacation is an opportunity to go off program. Remember, this is a slippery slope.