The good kind of vacation-
I just returned from a 7-day backpacking trip in the high Sierras. It was seriously beautiful! We hiked many miles each day and with huge elevation changes, sometimes climbing nearly 3K feet per day. And lived on very short rations, mostly freeze-dried food, to keep our packs light.
I returned home to find that I had lost substantial weight, over 4 pounds, and it shows around my middle. And my leg muscles are rock hard.
It made me think about how easy it was to lose weight and get in shape when you're having fun with friends and are distracted by so much natural beauty. If I'd been at home, exercising all day and eating very little, I would have obsessed over how miserable I was the whole time. I've never believed in weight loss "boot camps" or any other quick-fix type solutions, but essentially that's what we did - we just didn't fully realize it at the time! And it was an awesome boost to my self-esteem and my dedication to getting in great shape and staying that way.
So, I feel less anti about the idea of a weight loss jump start than I used to. I realize now that it can have a huge positive effect, and it doesn't have to be sustainable in the long-term - that's what The Plan is for. Hooray for learning something!
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