Croatian Comedown

TB snorkels while I enjoy the moment.

 
What a holiday. What a holiday! Crotia is absolutely beautiful. The weather was scorching hot, around 30 degrees everyday, the water was the clearest I have ever seen and the scenery was breathtaking.

Two of my best mates (Aunty and Glamour Puss), another friend, and TB and I, arrived on Thursday 11th into Split and 3 hours later after a mammoth bus journey (we thought it was only going to be an hour and a half) we ended up in Zadar, just a few kilometres from the small village which was hosting the music festival we were there for. The first thing that hit me, along with the heat, was the realisation that it was so hot that shorts were my only option.

I kinda knew that was going to be the deal and so I'd mentally prepared myself for it. While my legs are a sturdy pair of pins and some people might be horrified if theirs were anything like them, they are mine and they are the best they have ever looked so I was actually feeling quite good about getting them out. And out they came, for almost all of the holiday! So much so that I even wore shorts when we went out at night sometimes. I know! Unreal and unheard of.

One night when perched on a wall near the dancefloor, TB was standing next to me, his hand resting on my thigh. "It's lovely being able to touch your bare leg" he said. It felt pretty good too, being there with him - the two of us together and me feeling relaxed, confident and happy.

The whole holiday followed in the same vein. Relaxed, great times. I stuck to my own holiday rules of not being too bossy or blunt and to be a good holiday companion and I think I pretty much rocked it. There were no fall outs and the most cross word between TB and I was when I abruptly woke him up from a nap and he was grumpy about not being gently roused from slumber! Pampered prima donna, that he is.

In the back of my mind I thought I might do some exercise on holiday (other than dancing, swimming and walking to and from the beach/festival site). I had my trainers and gym clothes with me as I took them London en route - so that was no excuse. Instead I found other excuses such as: it's too bloody hot, I'm hungover, I'd rather sit on my arse and sunbathe, I've been up all night and am only capable of snoozing on a sun lounger, I'm too busy drinking cocktails. You get the gist. So while I sweated like a piggy it was only because of the blistering heat and not because of an evangelical set up lunges. Oh lunges, I've not missed you at all.

And then there was the eating and drinking. Let me point out two key things that I pretty much had no choice over. 1. Diet drinks do not seem to exist in Croatia. Yes, you can buy a diet coke in a bar but there is no way you can buy a drop in any shops. So I could have stuck to rum and diet cokes when out and about but, and here is point 2. Beer is the cheapest thing to drink. Cheaper than water! What choice does a person have? None! So there you have it, I chugged back pints of beer and full fat fizzy drinks. I could have coupled this with salad eating to try and balance things out but no, I had pizza. A lot of it. I had pasta, risotto, fried cheese, ice cream, bread and full fat milky coffees. Oh and I smoked like a lum.

Oh wait, one day (at the beginning of the holiday) I ordered grilled chicken. Fried chicken arrived with a side of chips. Do you see what I was up against? Do you?! I decided there was no point worrying about it. I ate what I wanted. And I loved it. I got home last night and this morning, I'm right back into fruit for breakfast and an omlette for lunch. Back to the routine.

12 days off the diet is not going to totally ruin all my good work. It's not the holiday that's the problem. It's the before and after. The "Oh well, I'm going on holiday on Thursday, I might as well treat myself and start gorging four days beforehand" and the "I'm home from holiday but I'll just eat what I like for one more day." One more day. One more day. A month later and it's still one more day. One more day is tomorrow - and a stone later. Don't delay. Take control now and make the moment count.