How'd THAT Happen?

All those magazines surrounding the checkout counters at grocery stores tout how to lose weight.  "Lose X pounds in X weeks!"  "Drop Y pounds by walking!" they scream at you while picturing smiling, supposedly-newly trim women in spandex or, worse, swimsuits.  And always in red.  To grab your attention.  Which works.  Especially with men.  Ever seen how a woman wearing a red bikini at the beach gets more stares from men than the polka-dot wearing woman?  But I digress.

This morning, after two weeks on holiday with the family to Scotland and England, the scale had fantastic news.  I dropped FIVE pounds!!!  In two weeks!

Maeve, my youngest, asked if it was due to all the walking.  After all, exploring ancient castles means lots of walking.  Yes was my immediate answer.  But then I stopped to think.  That's always a dangerous thing when a woman thinks.  Of course, men stop to think and sometimes never start again.  Oops, another jet-lag induced digression.

My conclusion is that walking was only half of the equation.  Sure, the calorie output was upped.  But the calorie intake was reduced as well.  Snacking was much more difficult while on holiday.  No easy access to even healthy snacks.  No late night TV watching with a bowl of popcorn.  Fewer nightcaps, mostly because buying a drink at a time rather than pouring one at home really adds to the cost of the trip.

At mealtime, I noticed that I ate larger portions than I normally do at home.  And felt a guilty pleasure, thinking that packing on the pounds is just part of vacation. 

Now I'm wondering if I can keep it up here.  Do I have enough willpower to walk more and snack less?