If we say good food tastes bad, you'll leave more for us…

So, let’s review. Vacations are awesome. They are a great time to relax, escape from the pressure, and monotony of work, and have a little fun trying new things. My recent trip to Scotland was all that and more. Two weeks away, to clear my head and relax…

Well, sorta… I remembered one thing while I went on vacation. A diet is not something that ever ends. An exercise regimen is not something that can be picked up, and dropped like an old hat. If I completely turned off for two weeks, I didn’t want to think about what it would be like to get back on that horse again.

So what did I do? I did what most people would call crazy. I just call it enforced sanity. While overseas, I did let myself try the local flavors, and have fun with what I ate. At the same time, I challenged myself to exercise self control. I have a problem with overeating when I let myself go, even a little. I’m working on that, but that’s another post.

Still, the thing most people would call crazy is that I packed my running shoes, and clothes in my suitcase, and got up every morning (give or take), and ran. Now, I didn’t do my full routine that I have back here state-side of running4+ miles in a certain time yada, yada, yada. Instead, I got up about an hour before my travel companions, and just went out and jogged (not ran). It was relaxing, and I saw tons of cool countryside, unaffected by the business of people. In the early morning, I was able to enjoy my own little Scottish paradise. I didn’t have to share with anyone (except the sheep and cows).

So what was the end result of all this? I managed to walk away from vacation without some horrible weight gain (I actually stayed about the same), and a bunch of new memories of some of the most serene jogging I’ve ever done.

Now reading this, and looking back at the title of this post, you may be a little confused. Well, for all of my effort, and success at continuing to be a health nut, returning to my full on routine the next Monday was still agonizing. My body revolted, it was sore, and it took everything I had to push myself through to get back on track. It sucked. There’s no other way to put it, it was just painful, and no fun. Still, after a week, I’m feeling back to my old self. I just don’t want to imagine what it might of been like had I not jogged like I did in Scotland.

Rant over folks. I think the message I was trying to get across here is that you can be really pro-active on vacation by not letting your entire diet/workout lifestyle land in the hotel waste-bin, but don’t expect everything to be sugar coated and gum drops when you pick up where you left off back home. Here’s to the hard road.