Lessons from the Road

Three weeks later and we’ve arrived home. The free weights I debated on bringing never made it out of the trunk. But I figure hauling 70 pounds of weights up and down my stairs counts as a workout, so it’s not a total loss.

As expected, maintaining a healthy lifestyle on the road was a challenge and after a few days to ruminate on our adventure, I’ve come up with a few key takeaways.

1.   Keep your vacation to one week. 

That seems to be the magic number for me in terms of how long I can maintain the willpower necessary to stay “on plan.”

During that first week, I actively sought out the hotel fitness centers and used my friends’ gym memberships to squeeze in several workouts. That tenacity diminished as the weeks progressed, as did my ability to say “no” to margaritas and wine with friends. It seems that the more time passed the louder the voice in my head became saying, "But you're on vacation!"

The Experiment

As I mentioned earlier, I thought it prudent to determine whether or not my recent illness was due to the barrage of poor food and beverage choices or simply a virus. Thus, I decided to conduct an experiment.

Because every scientific experiment begins with a hypothesis, I formulated one of my own.

My Hypothesis

After several weeks on the In8 plan, my body has become accustomed to leafy greens, fresh fruit, lean meats, whole grains and limited alcohol. The introduction of enriched white flour, sugary alcoholic beverages, and high-fat foods caused a digestive system malfunction leading to fever, cramping and general malaise.

In short, the average American diet was responsible for my illness.

Experiment Methodology

Throw as much processed food, alcohol and fat at my body as I can muster. Plus, do not exercise, as that might counteract the affects of the food and taint the results.

After following aforementioned protocol, assess physical condition and see if symptoms recur.

The Remedy, Well, Sort Of

Lounging against the cushion of the deck chair, I gazed across the backyard toward Bald Mountain Lake in North Carolina.  After a day of putt-putt, swimming, scolding Grant for overturning his kayak and rescuing Harrison (Grant's 10-year-old cousin) after drifting too far out into the lake without a life jacket, I was ready to confine the children to the indoors and relax.

"It's well past 5 o'clock," I heard Michael say, implying it was cocktail hour.

"Would you like some wine?" my brother-in-law Troy asked him.

"Well, if you're going to open some, I'd hate for it to go to waste," Michael replied with a smile.

"Hey Di," Troy called out to me, "Can I bring you a glass?"

With my stomach still rumbling from my lingering illness, I politely, but regretfully, declined.

Planning Gone Awry

“If I’m really going to make a lifestyle change, then I have to figure out how to vacation without going berserk.”

—Me, July 9, 2010

I should really listen to myself because I’ve got great ideas. I plan ahead for almost everything. I plan my weekly meals. I plan my workouts. I plan my escape route on a plane, being careful to look behind me for the nearest exit. I’m always planning. What I need help with is executing the plan. That’s my downfall.

A Souvenir for Michael

Saying on the shirt:

"More people have read this shirt than your blog. 0000002"

I found this t-shirt on the despair.com website and thought it would be perfect for Michael. Now he can taunt me without ever saying a word.

Of course I'll have to order the XL size for him, which somehow strikes me as poetic justice.

The Mystery of the South's Weight Problem Revealed

After spending the last week traveling through the Deep South, it’s no surprise it ranks as the most obese region in the nation. At every restaurant, I struggled to find high quality fresh produce to eat, or simply, anything not fried. I knew this of course, growing up in Georgia, but back then I didn’t care.

As a teenager working at Bojangles I lived off of chicken and biscuits. Especially biscuits. God I love those flaky, buttery pieces of goodness. And nothing was better than a biscuit made by my friend John. As the best Bojangles biscuit boy, he always worked the Saturday morning shift, because that was the biscuit rush. It’s like Krispy Kreme on a weekend morning in Richmond. Cars blazing through the Drive-Through, people pouring through the store, all buying doughnuts by the dozen. In the South you load up on biscuits by the dozen.

Well, that and anything that’ll fit in a deep fryer.

In Search of Beignets

Stage Three of Le Tour de South was New Orleans, Louisiana, the capital of gumbo, jambalaya, and beignets (French style doughnuts).

Having sampled the first two already, we planned on stopping by the famous Café Du Monde for beignets and coffee on our way out of town. The café is located on Decatur Street next to a beautiful park called Jackson Square. I was looking forward to sitting quietly under the awning, sipping on a rich brew of French roast, sampling the sugary French treat, and watching the tourists pass by. It was going to be a leisurely start to the day before our drive to Natchez, Mississippi.

A quick note: I realize beignets are not exactly a sanctioned food on the In8 plan, but I was going to splurge. You know, because I’m on vacation. (There's that bad vacation self-talk. The kind that leads to overeating and poor food choices. I know, I know!)