Tag Archives: Cruise

We’re Having Fun Now!

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When you think of having fun what comes to mind?

Typically fun is associated with relaxation and recreation (re-creation). For most people, having fun means being on vacation, perhaps at the beach or on a cruise, or having a drink with friends, or being at a sporting event. Fun is defined by being kicked-back with nothing to do and no responsibilities.

While this kind of re-creation is indeed fun and incredibly important for recharging our positive anabolic batteries, when fun is so narrowly defined, most of life is spent not having fun.

What if you were to broaden and expand your definition of fun? What if you began to include what you’re doing?

Fun is laughing so hard you cry, being with friends and family, and feeling free, but it’s also solving problems, achieving a goal, being engaged in the task at hand, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Fun is pushing yourself to and past your limits, knowing you gave something your all, reaching out to help another, and shifting how you think about a situation, person, or event.

Fun is pursuing things you’re passionate about, embracing who you truly are, learning from experiences that many might call mistakes, and being aligned with your core values.

Fun is taking responsibility for everything in your life, is quiet moments of meditation and appreciation, and is striving for excellence.

Fun is repairing damaged relationships, admitting when you’re wrong or don’t have all the answers, and is striving to be the best possible version of you.

Fun is taking life as it comes, focusing more on where you are than on your future destination, and making decisions that move you towards your ultimate goal.

Fun is seeing the opportunities in every moment, cultivating a belief that everything is always working out for you, and enjoying the heck out of the ride that is life.

How can you broaden your definition of fun to include what you’re doing? How much does that increase the amount of fun you’re having? How might that impact your life?

Together we can do it!

Photo by worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What Makes You Cranky?

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One of the great things about being on vacation is that being cranky is such a contrast to where you want to be that those moments really stand out. Because they are so vivid, it’s easy to shift your thoughts and choose a different response.

It surprised me that I had a few cranky moments last week while my husband and I were celebrating our 20th anniversary on a five-day cruise. If there is ever a time to enjoy the ease and flow of life it’s when there is no cooking, no cleaning, no chores, no responsibilities, and an abundance of time, food, and fun things to do. What in the world is there to be cranky about?

The peaceful view in Jamaica

The good news is that observing myself having a cross-reaction under those ideal circumstances made me realize how often I must be doing that on a day-to-day basis without even being aware of it. It’s like I’m so used to the negative undertow that I don’t even realize I’m being carried along in its current.

I love having that awareness because now I can look for the subtle signs and can proactively shift to a more positive, anabolic energy.

Being late was one of my catabolic triggers. If there was a time we were supposed to be somewhere, my chances of crankiness increased. It didn’t matter if the threat was being late to dinner or missing the curfew for returning to the ship, my anxiety level was the same.

The reality is that I’m often late. I typically see this as my husband’s fault, but it’s just as likely that I’m the one who gets sidetracked or takes too long to get ready. This is not a characteristic I like in myself, so I’m quick to jump on David when I see the behavior in him.

And there absolutely should be a reactionary difference between being late to dinner and missing our ride home. One may have serious consequences, but the other does not, and shouldn’t be treated as a big deal.

Another cranky moment stemmed from David bringing a minimum of cash and no credit card ashore, which limited our options. Now did I take responsibility and pack some monetary means? Nope. I didn’t have a cent on me. It was much easier to criticize David for his lack of foresight rather than acknowledge my own culpability.

Paying attention to where you have a less-than-stellar reaction is a great way to rethink the situation and choose a different response in the future—and sometimes even in the moment.

Amazingly, when I let go of the money issue, David found an extra $10 in his pocket that was just the amount we needed.

My mantra for the remainder of the trip; “Everything is always working out for us.” And you know what? It was, and always is.

For me, it all boils down to letting go of control and trusting the experience and process, while at the same taking appropriate responsibility for my foibles, actions, and responses. My intention is to take this awareness forward and to be much more conscious of when I’m in a catabolic current, and choose a different response.

You get to decide how to react to everything that is happening around you. How can you respond a little differently today?

Together we can do it!

Vacation Accountability

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I’m sitting here drinking a green protein shake (spinach, banana, flax-seed, vanilla protein powder, cold water, cinnamon, and ice) feeling good about getting back on track nutrition-wise.

My husband and I in Labadee, Haiti

My husband and I just returned from our first cruise, which we took to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. And boy, people are not exaggerating about the food on cruises. Delicious food is everywhere in massive quantities!

Before I left, I blogged about my plan to deal with food and exercise during the trip and asked you fabulous readers to help keep me accountable.

My intention was to enjoy myself and to feel like I was having a vacation, but also to come back feeling good, balanced, and with my healthy habits intact.

While I didn’t write down what I ate every day (hey, I was on vacation!), knowing that I would be reporting to you all on how I did, I kept a running tab in my head and was planning to give myself a grade of “B” for how well I navigated the week.

But rereading my intention has me re-evaluating that grade. I actually met that intention spot on! I never felt deprived, kept my indulgences mostly in balance, and feel the momentum to resume my healthy habits. Good on me!

Here’s how I did.

Food—I avoided the bread basket all but the night of our anniversary and selected fairly healthy meals. I did eat a lot more beef than normal, but since I am allergic to fish or seafood, I would have been eating the same chicken dish over and over otherwise. Instead of my normal five to six  small meals it was definitely more like three larger meals with one snack, but for the most part I avoided empty calories and indulged in healthy fruit because it was so good and fresh.

Sweets—My wonderful husband, David, surprised me which a romance package that included two evenings where appetizers and desserts delivered to our room. The good news was most of the canapés had fish or seafood, so I couldn’t eat them. But the desserts definitely got eaten. Other than that, I ordered dessert every night, but limited myself to a few bites.

Alcohol—The plan was to stick to one cocktail or glass of wine a night. Here I did pretty well. I only had two glasses of champagne twice—the night we arrived when David had scheduled a bottle of champagne to be waiting on us in our room, and the actual day of our anniversary. If I was going to indulge, lower-calorie champagne was definitely the place to do it!

Zip-lining in Jamaica

Exercise—We only hit the gym twice, but were walking, swimming, and active the other days. My body was letting me know that it was pretty good idea to also take a slight vacation from the gym. As a result, a slight back injury is feeling much better and I should be able to get back to hitting the workouts hard in the next week or two. And as soon as I finish this blog, I’m going to head upstairs to exercise.

Sleep—We did a good job of balancing our activities with adequate sleep. I definitely felt relaxed and rested at the end of the cruise.

Healthy Thoughts—Making wellness a lifestyle means consistently practicing healthy thoughts, as well as actions. One thing I noticed is that I felt much less self-conscious in my swimsuit than I have in the past. That is definite progress!

Arriving at Labadee to go snorkeling

How I planned to evaluate my success at achieving balance over our vacation was that I would come home having maintained my weight and feeling good physically and mentally. While I didn’t weigh this morning, my jeans fit just fine and I do feel good. Mission accomplished!

Fun, rest, and relaxation are absolutely an important part of our wellness journeys. Maintaining balance is the key.

Together we can do it!

Are You Tempted?

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I’m packing today to go on my first cruise to celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary. To say I’m excited is an understatement!

But I’m also aware that I will be facing lots of temptations, and it might be easy to let my attention to health and wellness slip a little—or even a lot. I’m already feeling vacation’s siren song of rest, relaxation, and indulgence.

Making wellness a lifestyle means consistently practicing healthy thoughts and actions no matter where you are, even a cruise. To me, it also means finding balance and a little bit of freedom without undoing all the mental and physical momentum I generate on a daily basis.

My intention is to enjoy myself and to feel like I’m having a vacation, but also to come back feeling good, balanced, and with my healthy habits intact. To fulfill that, I’ve created a plan.

I will know my plan was a success if when I come back I have maintained my weight and feel good physically and mentally.

Select and Sample

One thing I know I will be facing is lots and lots of food options. It’s important to remember that there’s no way I am going to be able to eat everything I want, and trying to go there will mean paying for it later.

So I plan to use the plentiful food options to my advantage. What that means is that I will be able to select healthy food and portions most of the time.

My intention is that I will be selective and eat those treats that I truly want, but I am going to choose not to eat as much of them as I might want. A bite or two that I savor and enjoy is truly enough. I find that after that, the taste of what I’m eating becomes less intense and what I’m doing as I continue to eat is trying to regain that first taste-sensation.

Although I’m having visions of drinks with little umbrellas, celebratory champagne, and superb wine pairings, I am also going to be careful with alcohol, which is where empty calories can sneak in so easily.

What I’m going to do here is choose one each day. Once a day I will have either a Pina Colada, a glass of champagne, or a glass of wine with dinner. (And I will choose lower-calorie and better for me wine or champagne most often.) Since I normally don’t drink much, any one of those will be an indulgence. My head and body will thank me in the morning (and after the trip), if I maintain some moderation here. Drinking plenty of water during the day will also be key.

I’m bringing along protein bars and individual portion packs of almonds for quick and healthy snacks while on excursions. By not letting myself get too hungry between meals, I will be much more likely to stick to my plan.

Pack Workout Clothes

The ship we’re sailing on has a gym, outside track, climbing wall, surfing simulator, and even an ice rink! While I’m nursing a mild back injury, there should be plenty of fun ways for me to move my body every day.

A workout doesn’t have to be perfect to leave you feeling better and more energized. You just have to do it.

Catch Some Zs

One of the keys for making sure I stay on track while traveling is to get adequate rest, which can be a challenge in a strange bed hearing noises that I’m not used to, as well as having so many fun things to do that I’m not getting to bed until late.

I know what adequate rest means for me, so I intend have fun, but allow myself to get the sleep that I need.

Accountability

I would also like to ask you fabulous readers to hold me accountable when I get back. Knowing that I’ll have to report to you on how I did at following my plan will absolutely help me think twice before sticking my fork into some delicious dish.

And if I do find that I drank a second glass of wine, heeded the call of dessert, or chose having fun over sleep, I won’t beat myself up. To achieve optimal wellness, we only need to be consistent, not perfect.

What do you do to maintain your wellness while on vacation? Please share the travel and vacation tips that have worked for you. The best way to learn is from each other.

Together we can do it!

Photo by Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net