Living & Active Challenge: Week 4 Recap

The fourth week of Peak 313's Living and Active Challenge was a bit of an off-week for me, as I knew it would be. The week started off strong, as I got in at least one workout a day and kept up with food tracking using My Fitness Pal. I even managed to (for the second week in a row) run all the way from the Capitol down Dexter Avenue to the fountain and back uphill without stopping. According to my boot camp instructor, it's nearly a full mile from the Capitol down to the fountain and back, so I was quite proud for being able to run both ways nonstop.

On Friday I left for a long weekend at the beach. It was a much-needed break and I couldn't wait to get away for a few days of eating, sleeping in, laying by the pool and reading, walking on the beach, shopping, and just generally doing nothing that required a lot of thought.

It was not only a vacation for me mentally but also physically, and I pretty much put healthy eating and exercise on hold. I did walk on the beach and swim some (and roamed around the outlet mall, which burned some additional calories). I did not, however, track any of my food. I made some healthy choices at meal times but also indulged in some unhealthy foods (like fried shrimp, fried fish, french fries, and many slices of cheesecake). I also discovered candy corn M&Ms. I'm not a huge candy corn fan but these were quite addictive.

Needless to say, by the time I arrived home yesterday afternoon I felt like a bit of a lazy slug. I allowed myself one last vestige of vacation mode by sleeping in and skipping my morning workout this morning, but I did workout with my co-workers tonight. I'll be back at the Capitol for boot camp tomorrow morning. And I resumed using My Fitness Pal today. I'm trying to get my body out of vacation mode. I definitely needed that downtime, but it's good to get back into a routine, especially for healthy eating and working out.

How does everyone else handle healthy eating and exercising while on vacation? Do you use vacation as an excuse to indulge or are you disciplined with your eating and working out even then? Or do you try (like me) to find some balance in between without completely throwing your diet and workouts to the wind?