Destructive Down Time vs. A Victorious Vacation

How to keep from undoing all your hard work during a few days of vacationing.

I am going on vacation starting tomorrow WOOT!  I will be around good food (that's terrible for you) and some good binge drinking for 3 days. So I thought it might be good to go over some ground rules for vacation time so that I/we don't completely undo all our hard work.

1. Drink 2 liters of ice cold water through the day.  Easy Peasy. This will not only burn about 140 calories but will keep you from getting dehydrated and suffering a bad hangover if you are going to partake in the partay.
2. There are two options when it comes to throwin down beer (or whatever it is you drink):
1. Wait to drink til later in the day rather than drink slowly all day long.  You will end up consuming less beer if you are only drinking from 8:00-Midnight than if you have a couple drinks an hour from Noon-Midnight.
2. If you want to make it an all day thing, only drink one of the days. Not both. This may be the better way to go anyway, because it will leave everyone with an automatic DD for the day you aren't drinking.
3. When you are drinking lots of alcohol you are taking in LOTS of empty calories.  So, you will have to be really smart about what you eat. Try to stick to lean proteins, veggies and fruits. Stay away from chips, hot dogs, burgers, and desserts. If drinking is not on the menu for you, you can be a little more lax and indulge here and there as long as you don't go nuts.
4. If you are driving to your destination be sure to pack lots of healthy snacks for the drive so you don't get sucked in by the tempting sodas, candies, and chips at the gas stations along the way. Candy is my weakness.  If I don't bring along my own snacks the candy reels me in every freaking time!
5. Exercise. At least half of the days you are gone exercise.  Just 30 minutes of cardio. Use the hotel gym, swim in the lake, hike. This is the best thing you can do to keep from weighing in 3 pounds heavier on Monday.

We will be going to the lake with one of my very best friends and her family for 3 days.  So I am going to set some mini goals for the vacation to try and help me stay on track and keep me accountable:

• Run or Swim at least one of the 3 days for at least 30 minutes.
• Don't drink more than 6 drinks in a day. This shouldn't be hard. Now that I workout so much I am a total light weight and get a hard buzz off of 3 ;)
• Bring healthy snacks for the trip and make healthy choices at fast food joints along the way. So....I guess that means no double quarter pounders. Damn...
• Only have one indulging meal each day. (3 pieces of cheese cake = not one meal)
• Drink 2-3 liters of ice water per day.
• Have a F#!&ing blast and take tons of pictures to share.

Today's workout projections:

1. Run 3-4 miles - Easy Pace