Ditching Food Guilt on Vacation✌🌤

                

As many of you have already seen, I was fortunate to escape the cold weather and enjoy my first Easter EVER spent outside New England! Yes, I flew the brutal Boston --> LA flight and spent the long holiday weekend in sunny California, (my boyfriend is spending his spring semester there for an internship). Everything was perfect - from the weather, to our time at Disneyland, to the beaches of Malibu, I couldn't have asked for a better week away from my hectic school and tennis schedule. One of the greatest aspects of California was undoubtedly the amazing FOOD. I told myself during the flight to LA that I would indulge in what I was craving, balance my micronutrients with enough sweet and salty indulgences, and simply live in the present without any food guilt. And I truly feel that's exactly what I did.

I'm fortunately so grateful to have a significant other willing to be so accommodating when we go out. He let's me drag him to foreign juice shops and farmer's markets with a smile on his face and will make sure I'll enjoy something on the menu of a burger joint before we step foot inside. I think I even pleasantly surprised HIM this vacation with my eased mindset and relaxed eating patterns. I enjoyed fish tacos (several times HA), because it's one of my favorite meals. I had wine 4 nights in a row and was completely content with stopping after a few glasses. Out of the 6 days there, I went on 2 brief treadmill runs (20-30 mins) and didn't make time for extended lifts - there were too many other things to explore. I ate ICE CREAM and the most amazing CHOCOLATE CAKE because I was craving them... And how am I feeling?? Freaking wonderful. 

I can assure you I haven't always felt such food freedom. I have come to terms with the idea that just as one salad cannot make you healthy, one dessert can't destroy your progress and define you as unhealthy. One of the biggest changes I've had in my mindset dealt with the fact that everything is TEMPORARY. This certainly took some time but it's so refreshing to think that any changes - in my lifestyle, body, eating habits, etc., ARE 100% TEMPORARY and susceptible to modifications based on my own actions. It takes an excess of 3500 calories to gain one SINGLE pound of weight... If my calories exceed that number so drastically and I notice bodily changes, I know what tools and techniques I must utilize to reverse the changes. I mentally prepared myself for these changes prior to taking my Californian vacation, thinking that the extra splurges would quickly capture my attention - in how my clothes fit or simply in my appearance in photographs. After one week of eating whatever I craved and when I pleased, (yes the McDonald's vanilla cone was from 1:00am lol), I realized the small deviations in my eating patterns were much too small scale and short-lived to visualize any bodily changes. I may have had some extra bloating from the excess salty foods BUT I did not nearly gain the 20 pounds that I irrationally thought I might. 

Keeping this in mind, I have a few conclusions to highlight for you all...

1. A few weeks of escaping your normal food and exercise routines will NOT detract from your progress. Make sure to save time for those treats that you love so much. I'm not prepared to live a life absent of red wine and chocolate cake, and I don't need to be. Food freedom is truly such a liberating feeling if you let yourself thoroughly enjoy the experience. 

2. IF you do experience uncomfortable changes, remember that LIFE HAPPENS. This is normal. It can be grueling to stick to a strict eating/workout plan and it's perfectly acceptable to stray from it now and then. Don't forget that these changes, whether pleasant or discomforting, are all TEMPORARY. You have all the mental and physical power to reverse any changes, hop back into routine, and put in the work to get back on track.

3. With this said, I challenge you next vacation/holiday to make your best effort with escaping the food guilt, if you're one to commonly experience this as I was. Take a deep breath before you order the meal you're craving. RELAX. Enjoy the moment with whatever friends/family/significant other you're with. I'm NOT saying to order the curly fries and onion rings EVERY time you're out to eat, but I'm encouraging you all to enjoy what you love on those special occasions. Restricting myself from various foods for so long is what allowed such severe guilt to accumulate in association with them. Each time I consumed the guilt-causing foods became so stressful that I began completely avoiding them. Incorporating any "treats" into a balanced diet - especially on vacation - should not bring with it any types of shameful feelings. It takes a giant effort, but I promise you it's SO SO worth it😌💕



Thank you guys for reading, I hope this was helpful! This excerpt is simply an explanation as to how I escape the intense food shame I used to experience - and I'm wishing it's useful to those struggling through the same mindset.
As always, I invite any feedback via comments or Instagram DMs. LOVE Y'ALL.

XOXO - Coco