I’m in New Orleans; in the French Quarter…now…right now! I am typing this blog from my hotel room as you read. Nyal’leens is a very cool place…not as great-awesome-I-must-have-died-and-gone-to-heaven-fantastic as NYC, but very nice all the same. Of course, maybe I’m not being fair. Maybe I can’t really give Nyal-leens it’s due, because I’m experiencing so many amazing “firsts.”

This is the first time that I’ve ever gone on vacation and been totally bummed because I forgot my running shoes.

This is the first time that I’ve gone on vacation, and although, I do still have “hammy” arms, I’m not worried about it, AND hell yes, I go sleeveless.

But most importantly…and this is HUGE; this is the first time that I’ve gone on vacation and been off sugar AND not completely obsessed over food for the right reasons. I’ll explain. In the past I’ve gone on vacation and not obsessed over food. Yes; that is true. But I didn’t obsess because I was eating…everything. So, there was nothing to obsess over. I was all out, no holds barred, eating. The times that I went on vacation and obsessed about food was when I had either just came off of a diet, or I was on a diet, but had taken “vacation week” off from dieting and/or eating right. You know how that goes.

“I’m going on vacation and it will just be too hard to be on a diet.

“I’m not going to go on vacation and NOT eating. That’s crazy. I only go on vacation once a year.”

“God, I’ve worked so hard on this diet so that I can fit into this ridiculously tiny bikini to impress a bunch of people that I don’t know and will never see again, and now that I made my goal I can eat!...of course I’ll only eat while I’m on this vacation, and the minute I get back home I’ll cut out all the junk…but that means when I actually pull into my driveway; not on the way home, but when I GET home…unless of course, we get home on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday because I can’t cut all the vacation eating halfway through the week…I’ll just wait until Monday. Everyone knows that Monday is the official “I’m back on my diet and/or eating healthy” day.

Now, in the past, when I had employed any of these excuses/strategies I would get CRAZY. I’d be obsessing about food because I had deprived myself for soooo long and food was the ultimate reward, so I’d obsess over what kind of off limits goodies I was going to eat. Also, I’d know that I only had vacation to eat this way, so I’d gorge myself…because I’d have to go on a diet/start eating right when I got back home, and even if I didn’t want the food I’d know that I’d be kicking myself come Monday. I knew I’d be thinking, “Damn, I KNEW should’ve eating that huge dessert that I didn’t have room for when I had the chance! Yes, it would have made me sick, but who cares? Now it’s MONDAY and I can’t HAVE IT!

*One time, I was on a family vacation in Daytona Beach, and I had just come off of this horrible starvation diet (I was 23, 5’7 and weighed 114) I know, crazy, right? So, we were at this restaurant; Captain Cody’s, and I had already eaten a full mean, and I was stuffed…but I wanted dessert, so I ordered it. I want you to know, that I was so stuffed and miserable that I could not stay awake at the table! I put my head down and nodded off. Yes! I was Thanksgiving Day full, and when they brought my dessert I roused myself awake and ate it!

But this year…for the first time in my 47 year old life I went on vacation and food was not a big deal. Let me just say that again because it just feels so damn good; I went on vacation (and was off sugar,) and FOOD WAS NO BIG DEAL!

I’m a lucky girl!

I'm feeling the freedom in your voice!!! Woo-Hoo! This is huge!! Congrats!

Thank you so very much!

I've heard many versions of that vacation voice in my head too. I am looking forward to a time when the voice of reason is louder. Have a great time.