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.