Eat Dirty Train Clean?

Today I'm back on plan after a week of struggling to stay on track at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica. Let me tell you, Jamaican's do not understand the concept of clean eating! Day #1 was a complete diet bomb as I hadn't yet figured out how to navigate the menu options and was left feeling beyond guilty after each meal turned out to be either fried or covered in enough oils and sauces to tie my stomach in knots. By day #2 I had learned to specify that items be sauce-free but even then my meats were largely fatty or brushed with some mysterious oils prior to "grilling" (I don't think my grilled dishes were actually grilled). Luckily, I could keep breakfasts clean by either ordering eggs or whipping up some protein oatmeal that Customs luckily did not confiscate out of my luggage and lunches were hit or miss depending on which restaurant we ate at and the daily salad bar buffet options. Ugh, I cringe when I hear the word buffet, but luckily my willpower stayed strong all week! Oddly enough, vegetables were hard to come by and the salad bars were stocked with mostly dirty salad options like cheeses, bacon, croutons, and creamy dressings. As a result, I decided my best option for keeping satiated without eating dirty was to load-up on the abundance of delicious tropical fruit. While this means that I was waaaayyyy over my fruit allowance each day, at least I was able to keep it clean.  Being an all-inclusive the drinks were flowing non-stop. However, even the alluring "dirty banana" cocktail didn't get me to bite hahaha. I had told myself I was allowed one drink during the week so I decided to have a glass of wine while having Italian fare one evening. However, it ended up being so foul tasting that I didn't even finish it! I'm quite certain I was the only non-drinker at the resort but honestly, and I know this is really cocky-sounding (but true!), the figures on display were enough to make you not want to eat or drink for the rest of your life!  Today is day #2 of being back on my 100% clean eating routine (surprisingly I had two fantastic airport meals yesterday - a Caribbean shrimp salad for lunch and blackened seared Ahi with steamed veggies for dinner) and I feel so much better!

Now that I've got all of my complaining out, I have to say that the resort gym was the best hotel gym I've ever seen. While my workouts weren't quite as intense as they usually are, and I was missing a few of my fav items like the bosu ball, I was able to follow my CSF workouts for the most part with minimal modifications. The trick to making sure I got in my full workout each day without afternoon procrastination setting-in was to hit up the gym when it opened at 6:00 am and be done with my workout by the time everyone else was just getting up and meeting for breakfast.

Enjoying my alone time in the gym at 6:00 am

I typically hate working out that early as my body is simply not warmed-up and awake yet but a half-asleep workout is a lot better than no workout! One great thing about getting in there that early was that people didn't start to arrive until about 6:45-7:00 so I always had the equipment to myself for at least the first 45 mins. The rest of my travel companions (aside from my Step Mother who I have to give credit to because she did join me each morning) were a bunch of talkers, all loving to talk about their "workouts" yet the whole vacation I only ever saw one of them in there...once! Oh well, I do realize that it was a vacation and most Americans seem to think of working out as more of a chore than a treat but if I were guzzling 5+ cocktails each day, each anywhere between 300-800 calories by my estimate, you can be damn sure I'd be sweating oceans on the treadmill each day!

All in all though, it was a very nice week away from reality. The temperature was roughly 85 F each day with periodic clouds to keep from it getting too sweltering and I have a seriously awesome bronze going on right now (complete with a nasty peeling forehead though). One of my favourite things was the coconut man who rolled his cart down the resort strip each day, opening up freshly picked coconuts for you to drink from. Can you say delicious?! I'm not sure if coconut water is allowed on my current plan or not but it was so fantastic and totally worth it if it was a cheat! The first thing I did after breakfast this morning was go to the grocery store and load-up on clean food for the week which put my mind at-ease. I can't believe I'm only 8 weeks out! There will be absolutely NO cheating for the next 8 weeks, not even so much as a chocolate chip! I can't wait to hit up World's in an hour or so and get after the first of the February CSF workouts. Today is chest and triceps and I'm going to start with a nice 30-min StairMaster sesh. While I'm already missing the warmth, sunshine, and care-free living of the Caribbean, I am very happy to be home with my puppy and back to my usual routine. I am such a creature of habit! I hope all of you Gym Rats kept up with your workouts and diets over the week. As always, whether you're at home or on-the-road, NO EXCUSES! Happy Gymming :)