Posted on August 23, 2024

Getting Fat and Happy?

I recently went to an all-inclusive resort with the family.

The island was beautiful, the people were welcoming, and every meal or drink I wanted was seemingly at my fingertips and on demand:

• affogato (for those who are not in the know, this is a double espresso poured on top of a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream - it may just change your life)
• crepes - my go to is either Nutella or peanut butter combined with banana
• surf and turf for dinner
• omelets made to order
• any and all the beer, wine, and liquor you could possibly want to consume
• sushi and sashimi all day
• For the adventurous types - curried goat, braised oxtail, and jerk chicken popping with seasoning

But it wasn’t just about filling my stomach and satisfying my pallet, it was about the experiences of it all:

• snorkeling over the coral reef
• jumping into serene rivers
• off-roading in atvs
• going up mountains in gondolas only to be served so well at the top with more food and drink, zip lines and obstacle courses, and an amazingly fun pool slide with an awesome view
• massages, cold plunges, saunas, and other spa treatment
• piano bar and nightly concerts

Our entire family was wined, dined, and served amazingly well. We had no work to do since they cleaned, cooked, and served us around the clock. Combined with the beautiful surroundings of teal-blue waters, coconut trees, and picturesque sunrises and sunsets we experienced for a few days what it could look like with everything given and provided to us as if we were the center of the universe.

But things are never as perfect as we imagined, hoped, or it seemed.

Despite working out for four of the seven days there, I gained three pounds. But that's the simplest part of the challenges to our perfect vacation.

The more complicated part was despite having everything given to me, the allure and enjoyment of it all started to diminish after the first two or three days.

Now I know hedonistic adaptation is a thing, but gosh I did not realize it happened so fast and at such extreme experiences as well!

While my body and cravings were pretty much satisfied in nearly every possible way, I couldn’t help but feel.... fat. And I don’t mean physically - though I was certainly not building any muscle during this time :)

What I mean is I was just consuming all of the time:

• food
• drink
• experiences

I didn’t work for any of it.
It didn’t require anything from me.
I didn’t contribute to it.

I just ate, drank, and experienced without cost and without limit.

And it not only was adverse to my physical body, it felt in many ways injurious to my soul and spirit.

Now wait - I’m not saying vacations are inherently bad and I don’t want to come off spoiled or ungrateful. I’m so happy we got the privilege and resources to go on this vacation as a family. We needed it and wanted it. And we truly did enjoy it.