Back to the (Healthy) Grind

Clearly my bachelorette party weekend was full of fun… but it was also full of cocktails, deep dish pizza, ice cream, chips and dip, peanut butter bars and more.

I had one of the most amazing weekends of my life (thank you so much to my wonderful friends!), but it definitely does feel good to be back in Orlando, submersed in my normal healthy habits and surrounded by lots of love from Ryan and Sadie. I missed my little family! 🙂

Workout

I flew out of bed this morning excited to head to the gym and do a workout of my choice! For the first time in almost two months, my Tuesday morning did not have to start off with a 5-mile run. I loved feeling the freedom from following my half marathon training planning plan. I completed a sweaty cardio workout by spending 20 minutes on the arc trainer, followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Breakfast

Breakfast was also a healthy meal, comprised of chocolate yogurt mousse and fresh summer berries.

Greek Yogurt + Chocolate Pudding Mix

Summer Berries

I made the chocolate yogurt mousse by combining Greek yogurt with chocolate pudding mix, which made the yogurt take on a sweet flavor and a thick and indulgent texture.

Spoonful of Healthy Tastiness

Thick + Chocolatey

Great Start to the Day!

This breakfast was delicious and I think it would also make a fantastic healthy dessert (possibly served with a slice of angel food cake? 😉 ).

It feels good to start the day on a healthy note after such an indulgent (and wonderful) weekend!

Also, I missed you guys!!! I’m happy to be back and back to a normal bloggin’ schedule. 🙂

Question of the Morning

Do you maintain a healthy lifestyle on vacation, or do you take the time away from daily life to indulge?

53 Responses

  1. I generally let loose and indulge! I am so healthy most of the time that it feels good to let loose!

  2. I have been seeing many bloggers mix pudding mixes into their yogurts and I so want to try it! It looks like a great healthy alternative to full fat, sugar laden pudding!

  3. I definitely take time to indulge. I am heading to Boston in the morning with my boyfriend, and have been working out extra so that I can take some time off to relax and enjoy!

  4. Glad your back!! 🙂

  5. I just wanted to let you know that I love reading your blog. I read it every morning when I get to work. I missed reading it while you were away at your bachelorette party, but it looks like you had a lot of fun and I’m glad your back blogging again! =) It’s a big inspiration for me.

  6. Welcome back! It’s always nice to get back into the swing of things after an indulgent vacation. That being said – I think it’s mentally healthy to allow yourself to splurge while on vacation.

    I agree with your feelings on post-race workouts. It feels so good to not be tied down to a running schedule!

  7. It depends…if I’m in a place with eats I don’t normally get the chance to have, I’ll indulge! If I’m visiting a friend in another town, I typically try to keep my healthy habits going!

    In college, I was on a major pudding/yogurt mix kick, and used to make “cheesecake” almost nightly for dessert, and top with slightly thawed frozen raspberries or strawberries! Try the cheesecake flavor mix, if you haven’t already! Heavenly!

  8. For the most part, I immerse myself in all things indulgent, but I love for instance taking long walks in the morning at the beach or heading to the gym at the hotel in the morning. Your girls weekend looked amazing! 🙂

  9. Welcome home! 🙂 I let myself indulge a little bit for sure, but I always try to make sure that I work out on vacation– either by using the hotel gym or bringing workout DVDs along.

  10. I usually still exercise on vacation but it is usually in more non-traditional forms like walking a lot, jogging on the beach, exercise DVD’s…etc. Keith LOVES to exercise so we are on vacation it is always something we still do but we don’t plan our entire day around it. On our honeymoon we took tennis lessons one day…just for fun and for something different!

  11. I usually try to stay healthy. But this time, after being away from home for a year I’m letting go and just trying to keep my choices sane. I don’t want to focus so much on food that I can’t relax and enjoy family/friend time!

  12. I’m on vacation now and there is SO much junk. Luckily we have lots of healthy food too. I always work out on vaca – it’s just a part of my life!

  13. I generally let loose and indulge, that’s what vacation is for! Although I do try to keep some healthy habits, like getting a workout in once or twice. Glad you had fun!

  14. You’re weekend looked so fun! I live in a Chicago suburb and did the Muddy Buddy run/bike series when you were doing the half marathon. It’s fun and exhausting! They actually have one in Orlando too!

    I definetly indulge while on vacation. As much as I try not too, it always happens! The break from normal life is always a treat!

  15. So glad to have you back 😀
    I indulge a bit on vacation, but I try to keep my exercise up. Sometimes it is hard though. But sometimes I guess my body needs a vacation for a bit too- haha!

  16. I think I’m actually more mindful of healthy eating when I’m on vacation. I let myself indulge (of course!), but I’m always very aware– more so than I am at home–of making healthy choices.

  17. It depends on the vacation but I try to make healthy choices while I’m on them because I know at some point I’m going to indulge and I don’t want EVERY meal away from home to be indulgent!

  18. I usually go wayyyy overboard when I’m on vacation but the last one I had I decided to have at least 1 meal per day as a salad. My body is so used to TONS of fiber that whenever I go cold turkey on vacation I always have such bad stomach issues (constipation, etc)…TMI??? 😉 LOL

    Since doing the whole salad-thing I was able to have whatever I wanted the other meals and not feel absolutely disgusting. It worked magic 🙂 Also if I go away for 7 days I try to squeeze in at least 2-3 workouts (even if they’re a long walk on the beach)

    Have a great day love!!!! So glad you had an amazing bachelorette!!!! 🙂

  19. Weekends and vacation are time for fun and happiness and surrounding yourself with the ones that you love 🙂 I’m so glad you had an amazing weekend, and you’re right – you have to let loose and just LIVE, when you get back to your “normal” schedule, you are usually even MORE motivated to workout/work/etc!! It’s awesome how much balance and moderation are really the key to living a great, healthy life 🙂

  20. I generally indulge, especially if it’s a short trip. We took a couple of longer trips this summer, so I tried to reign myself in a little more and stick to healthier habits as best as I could!

  21. I try to make smart choices on vacation, but I don’t go crazy. For me, vacation is about experiencing the place and eating the food there is part of it. I am not one of those people who goes away and brings her whole kitchen with her to avoid eating unhealthy.

  22. I spent this past weekend in Cape Cod with my family — my first vacation of the summer! It felt really nice to get away, and I did allow myself to indulge a little bit. I ate one or two decadent treats (helloooo fried scallop platter!) but for the most part, made pretty good choices. Even for dessert, I opted for a scoop of lowfat coconut ice cream and a scoop of no sugar added banana — that definitely helps to avoid the guilt.

  23. I hear ya’ sista! I was sad to leave Chicago but I’m glad to get back into the groove! Have a great day JB xoxo

  24. I try to eat as healthy as possible, but vacation is definitely a time when I’ll let it go and just enjoy myself…however it seems like I’ll do that on the weekends sometimes too. I just try to maintain an overall balance in life as much as possible…nothing wrong with indulging & when it comes to your bachelorette party I’m sure it was well worth it!

  25. I start out the vacay by being healthy and end it by indulging..I just can’t help myself. But I try to temper it with a lot of activity and always get back on track when I return home.

  26. I will indulge, especially if there’s a meal/dessert that I can’t get at home. That’s what vacations are for!

  27. I love the feeling of getting back to having an awesome workout routine after some time away! It depends where I go on vacation. Usually I do ALWAYS workout. I take DVD’s withme and a resistance band, so I can do a hotel workout, or use the hotel gym OR if im going somewhere nice, I can go outside for a workout!!

    thanks for the goodluck wishes! 🙂

  28. Usually on vacation, I take time away from daily life. You only live once, ya know? However, whenever I get back from vacation, I can’t wait to eat fruits/veggies and exercise. 🙂

  29. I go a little buck wild on vacation. I think it makes me appreciate my healthy lifestyle at home and makes me rededicate myself to it when I come back. Indulging like that is all just part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle!

  30. i definitely relax with workouts and healthy eating on vacation, but not too much. a few days of unhealthy food and i’m ready for healthy eats and good workouts again!

  31. Chocolate yogurt mousse sounds so good and indulgent!

  32. For me it’s half and half. I won’t go and order chicken tenders and fries on vacation but I will indulge in ice cream (after a semi-healthy dinner). 😀
    Glad your weekend was a blast!

  33. I just visited my boyfriend in Santa Cruz and it involved A LOT of eating out. Sometimes when I eat out it appears that I’m making healthy choices, but restaurants always seem to make them unhealthy (wraps with special sauces, sandwiches with tons of cheese and sauce, grilled vegetables loaded with butter). Happy to have you back Julie! Looked like a great weekend!

  34. i think it’s important on vacation to really take the time to indulge…but just like in ‘real’ life you have to find a really good balance! i typically eat what i want but try to workout and walk everywhere when we’re on vacation!

  35. YUM! Chocolate mousse for breakfast! I can’t say that I indulge too much, but for me it is kind of hard to do that. With food allergies, you still have to be careful and quite frankly, that is pretty frustrating. I think you should indulge from time to time though! I am glad you enjoyed yourself! I hope you have a great week!

  36. Definitely a little of both…you definitely have to indulge a little while away – heck, it’s vacation! But I try not to splurge too much, otherwise I end up coming home feeling gross.
    Kind of like I did after my honeymoon! lol…being surrounded by food and drinks all.day.long. is not easy to pass up!! 😉

  37. Vacations are definitely special. I look at them as this is a time for me to relax, unwind and enjoy life. I will still continue to find some sort of exercise on vacation by walking, running, renting a bike or finding a 24hr fitness. As for my food choices, I know what makes my stomach happy and unhappy. I clearly stay away from any fried foods, I’ve never liked them. I always look for items I may of never tried or know I can’t find back at home. I like to stick to big salads since they are light on the stomach. I do indulge in dessert though. Vacations come quickly and end quickly, so I like to enjoy it and once it over, like you said back to the healthy grind!

  38. Oooh, that chocolate yogurt mousse looks delicious!!!

    I pretty much always indulge on vacations. I figure it is only one week out of my life and I am going to make the most of it. Most trips I end up walking a lot, though, so it seems to balance out.

  39. The party looked awesome, so much fun. It depends on how long the vacation is. If it is 3 days or less I say let loose, but any more than that and my body craves my healthy habits. I try to choose better food and exercise, even though it doesn’t look like normal it still helps me feel normal.

  40. Vacations usually mean my running and eating go to pot. I usually view vacation as a time to relax and get away from everything and if I’m constantly stressed about finding a gym or going for a run or finding a healthy menu item I start to stress out. I don’t vacation too often so it doesn’t really affect me too much if I stray for a bit. Plus, a lot of times I am vacationing in places where running and being healthy are hard – i.e. Honduras. It’s nice to be free sometimes.

  41. It really depends on where I’m going. When I went to Vegas I lived it up! Ok, a bit too much. lol

    But in general, short trips I try and continue to eat pretty healthy with just a few extra treats. =)

  42. I usually do a mix. I still try to keep a balance with healthy habits a good bit of the time, but my fair share of indulgence too. Never fails me.

    Glad you have you back! 🙂

  43. I usually workout when I am on vacation, either at a gym or running outside

  44. ooh, i’ve tried your jello/cottage cheese fluff, now i need to try this pudding/yogurt concoction!!!

    i definitely indulge on vacation, after all, that’s what vacations are for right? to treat yourself!!!

  45. The chocolate yogurt mouse looks amazing – especially with the fresh berries! How much yogurt to package of pudding mix do you use?

  46. I like the healthy chocolate mousse-very creative! One of my favorite breakfast creations is to add chocolate peanut butter protein powder to my greek yogurt with raw oatmeal and a little extra peanut butter. oh my goodness is it good!! sticking it in the fridge overnight takes it to another level of deliciousness. p.s. i have been reading your blog for a few months now and am a big fan! keep it up!!

  47. Your bachelorette weekend looked like tons of fun! Getting home to your regular routine can be such a relief, even after a weekend of great times though…I completely understand that!

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