Enough rest... get back to work!

Crikey, that 60 minutes of 'hard work' really took it out of me...
After a hard day's triathloning, I like to relax with a beer or a glass of wine and some crisps to re-stock my depleted carbohydrate stores.  As well as needing to recover physically, it's also a psychological thing.  I've trained hard in the weeks running up to the event, and usually feel as though I've been depriving myself, so it's nice to 'let go' and eat and drink what I like.

Question is, how much over-indulgence am I allowed after a period of restraint?  And how soon should I be getting back into training?  I know I'm not exactly recovering from an Ironman or other endurance event, but I still think I need some recovery and repair time - so how much?

Getting back on the wagon
I usually take 1-2 days off my training (or up to 5 weeks in the case of Blenheim...!)  The problem for me is making sure I get back on the training wagon. If I leave it more than a few days, I tend to slip into the beer-guzzling-IT-geek-fatboy-layabout I'm trying to move away from.  So I need to make a concerted effort to get back to the gym - usually with encouraging frowns and clucks from SWMBO as I crack open another beer.

The other thing that makes me swing back into Ironman action is another impending event.  If I see something on the horizon, the worry of shaming myself in overly tight lycra can be a good incentive to move.  I'm by no means the worst offender on the belly stakes at the triathlons I've been to - there is always a very good mix of shapes, sizes, ages and sexes (usually just two of those).    But, I am also faced with often hundreds of bronzed Adonises with their toned bodies.  These guys look good even with dribbly and damp padded tri-shorts, for goodness sake!  I know I'm not going to get from here to there in 4 weeks, but perhaps I can at least lose an inch or two of waistline so I don't stick out the furthest on the starting line...