I've mentioned before that I love doing little experiments whenever the opportunity arises. It's such a great way of discovering new things about myself and what I'm capable of (or not).
It's a revelation each time – without fail.
So this being my first ever Cruise… me not having a clue what to expect… and the fact that for a whole week I am to be completely disconnected from my normal day-to-day routine, was the perfect environment for the experiment that ensued on our week-long Cruise around the Med on the Adventure of the Seas…
I got on to the ship, a bit apprehensive that I may need to spend a small fortune on buying water to sustain my 2-liter-a-day habit.
Pretty soon, however, I discovered that not only was there no shortage of water, but there wasn't going to be a shortage of any other kind of beverage or food (of any kind).
Including DESERTS (read: cake, cookies, chocolates, ice creams, frozen yoghurts) of any kind.
Herein lay my challenge:
I loooove deserts.
I was on holiday (read: green light to eating anything I saw).
I also love good food, and there was no limit on how much you could consume, OR what time you consumed it at (there was one place with 24 hour service).
AND it was all included in the price (read: it was FREE).
Now, don't get me wrong, I love my healthy foods, I thoroughly enjoy my lifestyle, but even I am human and when presented with the above situation, I thought:
"The only way they'll get me off this ship in a week's time is by rolling me off…"
But then I remembered how so many of you have written to me asking how to eat on a holiday, or during the festive season, without bulging at the seams.
The Challenge I Made For Myself
Was to eat what I wanted, when I wanted it, but to offset it with moving regularly (without sacrificing rest and laziness), and in the same time – de-stressing as much as I could, i.e. do nothing…
I wanted to see if I did that, how much more weight will I put on?
Does de-stressing outweigh calorie quantity?
Could I "have my cake and eat it"? (yes — that pun was bound to come up at some point…)
(and NO — you don't know the answer to this one in advance :o) One — because there are too many variables in the experiment so each person's results will vary. And two — because it was only for 1 week).
The Direct Actions I Took
- I walked up and down the stairs each time I needed to get to a place. The ship had 14 levels. All of which of interest. We lived on deck 6. So a lot of stair climbing and descending happened.
The beauty of this arrangement, however, was that it was unnoticeable effort for me.
I HAD to get from A to B, and because the lifts were mostly busy with the 3000+ other occupants of the ship it was actually the quicker way of getting around.
- I did a 15 minute gym session consisting of interval-type, body weight exercises. I did 3 of those workouts in the entire week.
- I walked around the deck at least for a mile a day (which on the Adventure of the Seas ship amounts to 5 times around deck 11 ;o)
- I ate when I felt like it. Generally 5 times a day. I ate anything I fancied without stuffing myself and without any regard for quality of nutrients (let's just say a lot of cake was consumed).
- I slept when I felt like it — which was a lot.
- I read a non work-related book for pleasure (The Upgrade — awesome read BTW).
The Results?
I came back on land a week later 2 kgs lighter than when I went on!!!
Bearing in mind that 2 kgs weight loss for me is a biggie. And bearing in mind I've factored in muscle loss too.
AND, that I usually have to perform nutritional miracles for this much result..
The Reasons Why I Wanted to Share All This With You
- If you build solid foundations in your nutrition and activity levels, you can afford to take a week (or two) off and not worry about the consequences.
- If you overdo things in balance – you'll always come out on top. This is a hard concept to get at first, but very useful very often.
- De-stressing may be the best way to detox. Which goes hand-in-hand with: you may not be aware just how much stress is affecting your wight and your general well-being. As a result, I came off the ship with clear skin :o)
- Your body is the most unique "machine" you'll ever have access to. Take the time to discover what makes it "tick", then reap the benefits, and exploit the loopholes.
- Don't EVER lose respect for your body. You only ever get one of them (at least until medicine advances a little more).
Because life is short and you have to make sure you enjoy it, or it's not worth it.
By that I mean — find the balance between taking care of yourself, and enjoying the things that really make you happy.
Strike a balance between the effort put in, and the pleasure you get out.
The rest will take care of itself.
Hopefully this post will give you a few ideas for running your own holiday experiments.
Because, I didn't write it as a self-indulgent account of one week at sea, or to brag about how much cake I could consume in a week.
More importantly, I hope you'll be convinced to start (or continue) to build solid nutritional and workout foundations for yourself, and not be afraid to test, then accept or reject the things that work for YOUR BODY.
Don't be afraid to take charge :o)
