I'm Baaaack!

I've been on vacation lately; both from eating clean AND blogging. For the first half of my vacation I went to Arizona to visit my parents. Eating healthy there was fairly easy because they had most of our meals planned out. My Dad has a celiac disease so he has to eat completely gluten free which, even though it is a terrible thing to have, it does have a few advantages (forces one to eat cleaner). You'd be surprised at what contains gluten. The safest bets not containing gluten are veggies, fruits, and meats - which are also all clean foods. We ate a lot of that - but I won't lie - there was a little candy and GF pineapple cake mixed in there, too. I didn't technically work out but we did do a little 4 wheeling, hiking around their steep mountainous property, and then one day I got ambitious and hauled boulers from the mountainside to their driveway. I wanted to contribute to their house since I didn't get to help with the build of it. So, my self imposed project was to take the rocks and line the looong driveway. It turned out so beautiful. It was very physical work yet so rewarding at the same time. So, that was my Arizona fitness and eating routine.

The California routine became quite different than the Arizona routine. I don't know what it is about theme parks but I feel constantly hungry when I'm there. We were at Disneyland and California Adventure for 3 entire days. What fun it was. We walked and walked and climbed stairs - hopefully it was enough exercise to burn off what I ate. Here's a not-so-brief summary of some of the things I put in my mouth (that I don't normally eat since I've gone clean) and enjoyed so much that I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Biscuits and gravy,  fish tacos, pizza, meatball sandwich, candy, multiple types of ice cream, fresh sourdough bread, churros, soda, pineapple floats, etc etc. I was so happy to be having all these treats yet my insides were reminding me of why I don't eat like that on a regular basis anymore. Man, it's good going in...and that's all I'll say about that!

I deliberately did not weigh myself when we got home because truthfully, I just didn't want to know what the damage was. I have to say, curiosity got the best of me and I stepped on the scale. The damage wasn't even worthy of being classified as damage. Yes, I gained a few pounds, but nothing major that won't come right off with a little extra work. I'm not going to beat myself up for enjoying my vacation but rather I am going to celebrate. I am celebrating the fact that when we got home I went straight to the store and bought only clean foods. I have also been eating a clean breakfast every morning and taking a clean lunch to work. Dinners are on track, too. The fact that I can jump right back into the swing of my new lifestyle gives me great confidence and pride.

I did want to provide an update on Pete as he is having extremely wonderful success and I couldn't be more proud of him. He told me a while back that at his heaviest - he once tipped the scales at 275 pounds. WHAT??!! My mind was boggled by that because in my eyes he never actually looked that heavy to me. Now looking back at pictures and having him point it out - I can see that he was definitely heavier than normal and at an unhealthy place. His goal since we started this journey was to be at 178. While I was in Arizona he texted me to let me know he weighed in somewhere around 180 or 182. All I know is that he was only a few small pounds away from the huge goal he had set for himself. He was the smallest he could ever remember being. Just thinking about what that means to him brings tears of joy to my eyes. The man has lost almost a hundred pounds over the past few years!!! 100!!!  He is a true inspiration to me and he provides the support, motivation, and strength I need to get me to my goal as well. SO PROUD!