A Trip Outside of My Comfort Zone

I dream of going away to a spa -- in the mountains, in the desert on on a beach -- where I take long hikes amidst natural beauty, practice sunrise Yoga, get massages and facials, eat fresh and colorful healthy food, and spend time on some kind of creative pursuit -- pottery, painting, photography, writing. This dream vacation would also include some kind of challenge, or something to force me out of my comfort zone, something to make me grow. I'm thinking of primitive camping for a night or two, rock climbing, cooking lessons, hang gliding, something like that. I would stay for a week or two and return home thinner, stronger, healthier, more relaxed and inspired. A girl can dream.

What I dream about having served to me during a spa vacation - Pad Thai with raw zucchini "noodles".

The reality is unless I get a huge raise, find buried treasure or win the lottery, the chances I will ever afford a dream get-away like that is slim to nothing. However, I did recently take a trip and returned home more relaxed and inspired, and if not thinner and stronger I was at least not heavier and weaker -- or poorer! 

Vacationing with a friend instead of my husband really helps reduce the cost of travel (I'll write about how I saved for the trip and how we cut costs, in a future blog). All the saving and scrounging was totally worth it because I came home a renewed and inspired woman.  Most importantly I reconnected with two old friends -- my old friend Marcie and the "old me" -- and I faced a few healthy challenges that made the vacation even more memorable (I wrote about one of them in my previous blog). I also did quite a few things I wanted to do during a vacation - I walked on the beach, swam in the gulf, visited art galleries and antique shops, explored old historic neighborhoods, and ate really, really well.

But by eating really, really well I don't just mean a lot of food.  I mean fresh, healthy, colorful and flavorful foods.

When I arrived at my friend Marcie's house, where I stayed the first and fifth night of my vacation (we stayed on the gulf beach during nights two-four), she told me she had been eating mostly raw, organic, vegan foods for the last three months and had lost almost 20 pounds.  She looked great and said she felt great. She said I didn't need to worry, she wouldn't make me eat those foods too, especially considering it was my vacation.  However, since eating healthy foods was a component of my "spa dream vacation", and I desperately wanted to get back to a healthier lifestyle and lose the weight I had gained during the winter, I eagerly took on the challenge of eating like Marcie. She was thrilled to have someone to share her new food passion with. She was also eager to have someone to try out interesting, locally owned restaurants with her.

Seared tuna steak with field greens and pickled sea weed.

For five days we ate a lot of fabulous food. It was a taste adventure in mostly raw, fresh, whole or "clean" foods -- fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruit, whole grains, beans and nuts - whole and ground, eggs, fresh fish and seafood, healthy fats such as olive and coconut oils -- foods at their freshest and least processed. We also limited sugar, dairy and red meats, and we didn't drink soda (yet we had a few drinks and ate a few dessert items -- we were on vacation, after all).

 We drank smoothies, juices, infused water and teas; we ate hummus and guacamole, oatmeal with walnuts and fruit (with almond milk), "raw" pizza and tacos (with ground nuts in the crust and as replacements for meat), omelets, crab cakes, tuna, shrimp, sweet potato fries, fresh herbs and spices, amazing salads and even chocolate pie -- which was vegan. The food was fabulous looking and tasting. It was all made fresh and much of it grown locally. I would lie if I said I never craved a Coke or candy, because I did, especially the first few days, but I made it through.

Raw pizza and taco.

I returned home having gained not a pound.  Amazing considering I ate my way through vacation and never went hungry! I felt so good and loved the food so much I decided to continue eating mostly fresh, mostly unprocessed foods, when possible. I am proud to say I have done just that -- and have loved ALMOST every bite.

The biggest change in my diet is that I eat hardly any cheese, bread or sugar, and almost no processed/packaged junk food. I've quit drinking my one per day Coke (I'll have one per week, maybe) and I'm drinking at least 80 ounces of infused water per day (with slices of oranges, lemons and lime). Since I'm limiting dairy I use almond milk in my morning smoothies, along with spinach and fresh fruits and sometimes raw oatmeal. I also eat 2-egg omelets with spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes for breakfast, or sometimes oatmeal with nuts and fruit (with honey or organic coconut palm sugar). I bring fresh veggies and hummus or guacamole, a huge green salad (with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing), or left over cooked veggies and quinoa -- and sometimes a little grilled chicken or packaged tuna -- for lunch. I fix greens and a grilled, fresh low-fat meat for dinner, with squash, sweet potatoes or beans for dinner. For snacks I'll eat fresh or dried fruit, or nuts, or sometimes whole wheat pretzels or corn tortilla chips.  I am down to one cup of coffee per day and to be perfectly honest I don't crave the coffee like I used to, but I don't want to cut it out of my diet completely because coffee has a lot of health benefits (and I don't want to get withdraw headaches). 

As of today -- a month after returning from vacation -- I have lost 8 pounds.  It's not a lot but it's a start. I feel so much healthier and I have more energy.  I don't have acid reflux like I used to and my digestion has improved noticeably.  I have also noticed I haven't had as many headaches and I have much less sinus pressure and allergy symptoms.  Also I have less joint pain and my ankles aren't swollen. My skin looks brighter and my wrinkles less noticeable. 

It's not easy to always eat "clean", whole foods, especially when one works full time and has to cook for and accommodate a family (which doesn't have an interest in eating "clean"). Also it's difficult to find a variety of fresh foods in a small town. When I do eat something that doesn't follow the fresh, clean or whole foods criteria, like pizza or grilled cheese, I feel really bad -- sluggish from head to toe, inside and outside.

Eating healthy foods has become a challenge for me -- a good one -- and I look forward to experimenting with foods, tasting new recipes, and feeling better and better every day.  I have forced myself out of my comfort zone, or at least to the edge of my comfort zone, where there is space for me to develop and experiment.  It's a good feeling.