Assessing the damage...

Settling back into reality after 10 days in Hawaii is hard.

Really hard. Much harder than I anticipated.

Today was my first day back at work after more than 2 weeks off. I nearly cried. There are still suitcases stuffed with clothing cramming every corner of my bedroom. It's almost as if I've told myself, "If you don't unpack, you aren't home yet."

Denial at its finest!

However, there has been one thing I actually hopped right back into without even a second thought--my diet and exercise routine. Weighing, measuring and counting my food has not been a chore. Dragging my rear end to the gym hasn't been nearly as torturous as I imagined it would be.

How can that be? After 10 days of eating whatever I wanted (including desserts that would make you drool!), you'd figure it'd be hard to get back on track. But I've done it.

Because even though I'm not due back at WW until Saturday, I stepped on a scale--just to see where I stood. And now I know.

It's not a great place.

The first scale--at my mom's house--was immediately after getting off the plane. When I knew it wasn't a good idea, but I couldn't resist. It said I was up 7....and I am not talking ounces.

OUCH!

I can only hope it was some plane bloat after a 12-hour flight. I know I barely had anything to eat or drink on said flight so I could avoid the bathroom (hate hate hate plane bathrooms!) so I tried again the next morning to see if there was any improvement.

After trying the scale at the gym, I fared a little better--up 3. That seemed a little more realistic and reasonable.

I say reasonable because while I ate whatever I wanted--including dessert--I didn't do too badly. The food on our cruise ship was far from perfect and the buffets were barely worth the trouble. So what did that mean?

Lots of small-portioned meals from the dining rooms or room service. And because the dinners were far better than breakfasts or lunches, I told myself, "Enjoy dinner. Be more reasonable early in the day." So I did.

And for the first time in ages, I actually used the workout gear I packed. Yup, you read that right--I exercised. In an actual gym. In Hawaii. You're stunned, I know. Mr. CCC was! And not only did I exercise, I was the one who suggested said exercise.

Our cruise was pretty port-intensive--we had only one afternoon at sea--so we didn't get to exercise as much as we liked...in the gym.

But we walked everywhere. We swam. We did a 1.2 mile hike up and down a volcano crater. (And I dare anyone to say that wasn't exercise. That was the most intense workout I've had in months! And yes, I'm counting Pilates!)

Taking all of that into consideration, I figured I'd have a small gain, but nothing I couldn't handle. That was why the 7 pound-gain on my mom's scale stunned me and why the 3-pound gain at the gym didn't phase me.

Whatever happens Saturday when I get to my "official" weigh-in, I'm trying to keep it all in perspective. Hawaii was an incredible experience...it was the honeymoon Mr. CCC and I wanted three years ago. The scenery was breathtaking. The ocean was unbelievable. Most of the food--including at Duke's and La Mer in Waikiki if anyone is heading over soon--was worth every calorie.

How often do we get trips like these? It's taken me 28 years to get to Hawaii...while I know it won't be 28 years before I go back, I know it isn't the kind of trip we can take annually. So why stress about what I was eating or how much gym time I logged?

I didn't. And whatever happens on Saturday, happens. If I did gain 7 pounds, I'll deal with it. I'll take it off again. Seven pounds, or three pounds, or whatever is a small price to pay for 10 days I will never forget.

The moment I got off the plane, it was a new day. A chance to start fresh. So I did.

Aloha!