We set out from St. Louis to the Gulf Coast to visit my family for Mardi Gras. We had two parades to attend, a Ball, and a Fun Run. We needed to navigate all of this while staying on plan!
On Thursday afternoon, we packed our bags and our Medifast meals. We needed 10 meals a day for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as a couple more each for the Thursday portion of our trip. My wife picked out 30 meals for us, and then added about 10 more assorted ones, as well. The goal here was to have enough food options that we would have some variety. Also, Medifast meals aren't exactly large, so we had plenty of room in the food bag.
We decided to do Lean and Green at 3 pm, right before we left town, and to do Medifast in the car, and have a Macaroni and Cheese once we stopped in Corinth for the night and got through the day on plan!
We arrived in Corinth and checked in to the Hampton. I went to the workout room and did a brief elliptical session and then went to sleep for the night.
In the morning, I got up and did another stint on the elliptical and some weight lifting, had a couple of pieces of bacon from the buffet, and we checked out. We ate bars and pretzels in the car, and had macaroni and cheese as soon as we made it to Fairhope. Dinner that night was taco turkey, mushrooms, and salad, so we stayed on plan! I went to the grocery store and grabbed some almond milk and more mushrooms for Saturday's dinner, as well.
Friday night we went to the Maids of Jubilee parade in downtown Fairhope. NSV? Why yes! I didn't bring a light jacket and it was a chilly night, so I ended up wearing one of my Dad's sweatshirts, and it fit!
 |
| Squid hat! |
The parade was hugely fun. We took the kids to Mr. Gene's Beans for hot chocolate, shopped in a couple of stores and then the parade started. We caught tons of beads, doubloons, a few stuffed animals, and lots of moon pies. My wife and I each decided we'd take one bite of a Chocolate Peanut Butter moon pie and then give the rest to Alex. That worked out well! We then went home and ate our last Medifast meal of the day.
 |
| Catching beads at the parade! |
Saturday morning we woke up and went to Daphne for a 1-mile Fun Run with my sister, Amanda. We got there, got registered and got our shirts and numbers. Christy and Amanda ran the mile, while I speed-walked at my pace, and Alex and Lauren stuck together. I was in the lead with my speed walking when Amanda and Christy passed me in the first 100 yards. A little later Alex and Lauren ran past me. Eventually I caught up to them as they stopped running. At the end, Christy had a 13-minute mile, I ended up at just over 14 minutes, and Alex and Lauren came in at just over 15. Not bad! I really hope that my Achilles tendon magically repairs itself so I can actually start doing more running soon.
 |
| Just before the fun run! |
We then went home and started prepping for Saturday's parade... the Krewe of Mullet Mates parade from Mullet Point to Pelican Point along the coast. We rode for 5 miles and threw thousands of beads, hundreds of stuffed animals, and 4 cases of moon pies to the people that came out. this was where the Medifast plan broke down a little, as I had a lot of cheese and meat during the day that wasn't exactly on plan. On the other hand, I was out and about and exercising more than normal, as well. We got home and did chicken, green beans, and mushrooms for dinner. Then I rested while all the girls got dressed up and went to the Shadow Barons ball. I kinda wish I had gone to the Ball too, but the rest of the guys stayed home so I did as well.
 |
| Prepping the float... zip-tying the dolphin to the front! |
 |
| The 'float' for the KOMM parade! |
Sunday we expected to drive straight home but an ice storm in Tennessee had other plans. We ended up staying the night in North Alabama, with my in-laws. I cooked dinner again (more chicken, green beans, and mushrooms), and we hung out with them. Monday morning I woke up and put in an hour of cardio on the EFX in their workout room and we waited around until 11:00 to get ready to go, hoping the roads would be clear.
 |
| ...and they mostly were, until Dyer County, TN |
We stopped for gas and I ended up eating Perky Turkey Jerky for a snack, since we were on the dregs of our Medifast meals, having had to stretch them out an extra day.
Overall, I was very happy how it went. We stayed on plan, had 'real' Lean and Green meals every night. We had an Atkins shake and an off-plan snack on Monday, but I got home after driving through crappy weather and went to the grocery store and cooked again. I think overall it was a success, with the biggest issue coming with hydration... I know I wasn't able to keep water in me as much as I'd like with all the traveling. I managed to keep up with my cardio, but didn't get a good weightlifting session in, but that's ok. Over the entire weekend, I ended up with a net gain of .6 lbs, but I'm drinking my water today to see what happens once I'm hydrated and get a full night's sleep. I think I'll be ok for the week!
Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!
