Last time I visited my family in Illinois, I brought my scale. I weighed myself daily and I lost a couple pounds rather than gaining a few as was my pattern. So this time, I brought my scale and my food journal.

Aagh. Our scale broke during the trip down. We think maybe the deep potholed road construction we hit jarred something in the scale loose. I tried not to panic, and decided I still had my food journal, I could still do fine... but I didn't use it consistently. I kept forgetting to take it with me, and just let it slide. It's not like I've been eating with abandon, or eating tons of junk, I just wasn't vigilant.

Two more days here, and I'm terrified of what I'm going to find on the scale when I get back. A huge gain? Maybe, but probably not. Regardless, I can't help but really kick myself for not having a backup plan. There probably was someplace in town I could have gotten weighed, and even if not, keeping the food journal was doable. I just let "vacation" mind set take over. I even ate stuff I'd never eat at home.

Ironically, I was really expecting my mom and sisters to notice the weight I'd lost (or at least pretend to). I even brought my old drivers' license down to show them how dramatically the difference in my face was. Well, their response was rather lukewarm at best (not my problem, I know, but it was very disappointing).

Well, at any rate, I'm very ready to come home, and get back to my routine, and the support of my TOPS group. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have visited, especially seeing my brand new nephew, but family gatherings are such trouble spots for me. Just means I have to be doubly prepared for our Christmas visit.

Aww.. I'm sorry that you didn't get the reaction you were hoping for from your mom and sisters. I don't like family gatherings myself since I always get some sort of comment from a family member with "good intentions". Just pick yourself up and get out of that vacation mind set when you get back home!

Kaplods -- I'm totally feeling you right now. I just came back from 4 days on vacation too and I feel bloated and disgusting. 4 days of (mostly really bad) restaurant food has killed me. I too brought a food journal along and even a resistance band, but I used neither. We were in the country (very far upstate NY) and I assumed that with how many farms there are all over the place, we'd have some really great fresh food options and we wouldn't have to go anyplace like Friendly's (I was wrong). I also overestimated the walking and moving we'd be doing -- we drove EVERYWHERE (there are no sidewalks and the distances between everything are so great, you really CAN'T walk). I'm typically a "walker" at home -- I don't have a drivers license and I *like* walking, but with only a few brief exceptions, I was basically seated on my @ss for 4 days.

I just feel SO GROSS right now and tired and blagh. I keep telling myself that this feeling and this BLOAT is only partially the result of my own bad choices -- we could only eat what was available and really couldnt walk anywhere -- but the bottom line is that I just feel DISGUSTING RIGHT NOW. I know what I have to do: Go workout, eat in-plan today and from now on now that vacation is over, but I also feel depressed and hopeless and, again, SO DISGUSTING.

We had a nice time on vacation -- we stayed at a farm for rescued factory farm animals and visited a great State Park (my only day of movement) and Niagara Falls -- but I feel BEYOND disgusting right now. And even worse than this feeling of disgust and bloat is the feeling of utter and complete hopelessness. *sigh*

BUT I think both of us need to escape from the vacation mind set asap and get back into the swing of things.

I can so relate to overestimating how active I would be. I keep forgetting how completely sedentary my mom is, and even my sister - her idea of a workout is on her gym equiptment in the basement, where we are staying but my husband and I aren't "allowed" on the equiptment because of our weights. I understand mostly except for the treadmill. Most of their equipment is pretty flimsy, but their treadmill is a lot sturdier than the one I use in our apartment's exercise room, and I haven't crushed it yet.

Oh well, it'll be good to get home.

COLLEEN I am sorry your trip was bittersweet. I bet you have calmed down a bit too from when that scale broke.

Look on the bright side dear ~ You didn't go to STEAK and SHAKE!

or did you?....wink

Sometimes when I've gone on vaca and haven't been vigilant I just come home, get back OP and avoid the scale for a bit. I know, might sound wimpy but sometimes seeing a gain - especially if it is over what I thought it would be - throws me into 'eating overdrive'. If I can reign it in and get a bit of vacation wt. off b/4 I see those numbers, it just helps in the long run. Just a thought.

Wow Colleen! In all the years I've been on here I don't think I've seen a post like this from you! You are usually very confident when you post.

Hang in there girl....you can get through this!

I went on vacation at the beginning of July and we ate our way through it for like 4 days.

I sort of expected that would happen.

When I came home I was up a couple pounds but what happened next was most amazing. The next week I lost that couple pounds and 5 more. Yup. Now I'm down like 10 pounds since the beginning of July.

I had been at a plateau at that time for a while but that seems to have passed.

Once in a while it can be good to kick up the metabolism by eating badly. I don't recommend 4 days but it worked for me.

Don't sweat it! And don't beat yourself up about not finding another scale. It probably wouldn't have matched yours anyway - so it wouldn't have told you anything and COULD have put you into an unnecessary panic.

You did good - and certainly better than you would have done in the past. Mission accomplished!!!