This past March I went on a 7 day cruise to the caribbean with some of my college friends since it was our last springbreak together. I was determined to workout every day, take the stairs, and make healthy eating choices. And I did! I went overboard a few times at happy hour but for the most part I kept my pina coladas with Baileys (really surprisingly delicious combo) to a minimum.
During this DietBet I knew I would be in Thailand. But I thought Thai food was healthy so no problem.
Thai food is still healthy but I definitely encountered problems. I only worked out three of the eight days I was there and we went a little overboard in Bangkok because...margaritas were SO FREAKING CHEAP! Like...$4. A margarita here in Australia is $18+ dollars! I have two months left til I return to the US so I was super happy to be able to finally afford a frozen margarita again. And then in Phuket our resort was quite isolated so we went room service happy and tried all the delicious chocolate desserts. And coconut icecream. Multiple times.
And I know I gained weight. And I will not disclose the amount. And I know it's mostly water weight. But I'm still wishing I had made healthier choices in Thailand.
Some people are like "oh it's vacation you enjoyed yourself" but eating greasy food from McDonald's at the airport and eating too much chocolate wasn't even enjoyable. It just felt gross. I love chocolate but I went overboard so it wasn't enjoyable anymore.
I know moderation is a huge thing in the diet community but it's not something I'm good at. Which is why apart from New Years I am giving up alcohol (because it slows down my metabolism) and sweets (because I could eat my weight in sweets tbh).
Sharee Samuels (her tumblr is funeralformyfat.tumblr.com) has gotten a lot of crap for talking about how she personally cannot practice moderation with her diet. But I understand it. I was never 256 lbs the way she was. The most I ever was was about 13 lbs overweight. But I understand that if I buy chocolate and junk food then I will not eat it slowly. I cannot make a bag of M&Ms last for a week or even for three days.
The minute I start buying crap, I will eat it. And it will all be gone as soon as humanly possible.
If I make cupcakes I will eat multiple a day and I will eat whatever remaining frosting there is.
I admire people who can practice moderation with their diet, but I suck at it. So no more sweets for me.
People may see this as too restrictive but I still eat 1800-2000 calories a day. I just need to make sure those calories are healthy.
I can't buy a bag of Dove dark chocolates and eat 1 square per day. Nope. It doesn't work for me.
Once I get my weight back down to where I want it I will work on planning out days when I can eat sweets. But I want to eat sweets that I can truly savor like a good dessert at a nice restaurant. Not crap that makes me feel bloated and yucky later.
At the end of my last diet bet I was seeing progress in my stomach, starting to see that line down the middle where I was getting abs and I absolutely loved that. I love seeing the results of my hardwork so no more throwing it away to crap that just makes me feel like crap.
Here is a link to Sharee's post about moderation and I think it is great:
http://funeralformyfat.tumblr.com/post/105189647795/do-you-not-think-that-your-attitude-towards-food
That said, if you can practice moderation healthily then I fully support you in that. As long as you are eating and working out in a way that is healthy and good for your body, then I think you should do what works for you.