Help! Going on a "foodie" vacation

acmanna

Only 17 days until I head back home to Louisiana for a nice 3 week visit. Generally, the food is very heavy. Try things like crawfish, boiled potatoes and corn, boiled shrimp, blackened chicken or fish. They are still very flavorful but might not have as many calories. Walk a lot and enjoy yourself!
Things to try (without thinking of calories): fried alligator, fried oysters, jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish fettuccine, crawfish etouffee, beignets, stuffed fish, bread pudding, and fried pickles
I'm sure there are about 100 more things I could list but that is what comes to the top of my mind. Have a great time!

terar21

I enjoy looking at vacation as a time to let yourself have fun and enjoy what you want. The approach others have mentioned of enjoying what you want within reason is great, but I really like to indulge in a meal without thinking of holding myself back. So sometimes I take the approach of focusing on one meal as my "indulge meal" for the day. For example, in New Orleans, on day 1 I may want to indulge in a few beignets and some chocolate-y drink and have a healthier lunch. Day 2 I might want to have a healthier breakfast but have a poboy and too many fries. Day 3 might be a day to indulge in dinner on jambalaya, gumbo, etc. so I keep it relatively "good" on breakfast and lunch. This is just my preference because I don't like to have just a taste of a good meal, I like to have all of it, unless I get full...I don't like stuffing myself silly. I also like to think of vacation and maintenance. It's nice to just have a maintenance week every now and then.

kristen6350

Go. Eat. Drink. Then come back and get right back into it. 5 days really isn't enough time to do enough damage. Just know that when you get back and get on the scale you'll more than likely have gained "water weight". A week later it will come off. No big deal.

Francl27

Zedeff wrote: »

I disagree with almost everybody above.

You are going on vacation. This is (for most of us) a once per year, or once every few years, kind of thing. I would forget about tasting menus, adding exercise, logging etc. For me personally I would quick add 3000 calories all 5 days, eat whatever I want, and get back to logging when I get home. How often do you go to NOLA? On your death bed (hopefully many, many years in the future) do you want to look back through family photos of your vacation and remember enjoying po'boys with your family, or do you want to look back at your family having fun and you being jealous and unhappy?

Remember, this is a lifestyle change. A healthy lifestyle INCLUDES indulging on vacation!

+1.

Obviously though, still try to make good choices, eating fries when you don't really want any that much just because 'you're on vacations' is probably not the best idea.

Personally, what I do is figure out what I really want, and indulge on that, and make better choices elsewhere. Remember that often, the lower calorie options are quite tasty too.

But all the specialties and things I never get to eat? You bet I'm indulging on those.

blahblah0099

Thanks everyone! It was interesting to get everyone's perspectives on this. I think I will probably end up indulging on my vacation but I will stick to things hat I can't get at home. Then when I'm back it will be like a fresh start.

Kenda2427

I have a vacation in Mexico coming up and I think I will just do the quick add as well. Eat what I want without over indulging unless its truly to die for and my activity level will be high as we have excursions planned that are all physical activities. Plus using the fitness centre daily, swimming, walking etc., I figure I may gain a few pounds but I will lose them once I get back. I have never been to Mexico and I plan to enjoy it not fret over little stuff.

Francl27

BFDeal wrote: »

Meh, I'm split. I want to like the "have fun, eat what you want" answers but every single time I follow that I gain weight and get demoralized. After a birthday party and the Super Bowl this weekend I literally weigh more then when I started back up a couple weeks ago after a short break which was meant to get me losing again after I plateaued. I'd take the "it's just one day/week" advice with a grain of salt if I were you. Many of the people throwing that around are probably at or close to their goals.

It's math. You'd have to eat 3500 calories over maintenance to gain one pound. So, let's say you do eat 5000 calories in one day (which I can't do anymore, lol, but for me alcohol isn't worth the calories either), and gain one pound of fat (most of the weight you gain from overeating is water weight). If you have a 500 calorie deficit, set to lose one pound a week... You'll lose that pound in a week.

So yes, if it's once in a while, it's really not a huge deal.

For vacations, you are typically more active, so it helps. But even if you gain 2 pounds of fat (from eating 1000 over maintenance for a week), you can still lose that in 2 weeks when you come back. Obviously that's where making good choices matter, to make sure that losing 3 weeks of progress is worth it. I mean, you can indulge without going way overboard.

rosebette

I think it's dependent on the person's size and stats. My husband and I have been on a few "foodie" vacations. He is a big guy, overweight, and completely sedentary (glued to a computer all day) except during baseball season (he plays in an over-30 league). I'm petite, normal weight, and at home, fairly active, already doing a lot of walking as part of my daily routine, teaching on a big campus, as well as working out. When we go on vacation, he actually loses weight because we are doing a lot of walking and we use the hotel gym. However, because even my maintenance calories are so low, I always gain because I'm eating more than I do when I home, but I'm not any more active than I am at home. I gained 6 lbs. between the holidays and 3 days in Portland Maine. If your maintenance is around 1500, all it takes is eating 2000 a day to put on 1 lb. a week, 2500, 2 lb. It adds up like you wouldn't believe. I've been back on track for a month and so far have lost only 3 of what it took me less than a month to gain. I would side with lightening up at least one meal, maybe just having a bowl of oatmeal rather than the breakfast buffet, for instance, or skipping lunch and eating fresh fruit for a snack if you're going to have a gourmet dinner.

Need2Exerc1se

blahblah0099 wrote: »

Headed to New Orleans for 5 days next week. While I am very excited and I know we will be doing a lot of walking around etc, I know we will be doing a lot of eating! We have many dinner and brunch reservations.

How do you guys deal with this? I definitely want to enjoy what the city has to offer but I don't want to gain 10 lbs in the process!

Don't overeat. Being a foodie, or trying a lot of dishes doens't mean you have to overeat. Eat reasonable portions and enjoy them.

BodyByButter

I think the person who said to avoid having the tasting menu has never done it. It's not low cal at all, and is one of the best experiences I have had at high end restaurants. It's also not cheap.

Roxiegirl2008

I just ate and drank my way through New Orleans and I am proud! Granted I was down there to run a marathon but I would have done the same thing if I had only been there on vacation. New Orleans has some of the best food in the country (in my opinion) and there was no way I was going there an eating salads. HAAA You walk a lot so that is helpful. Just enjoy and stay off the scale for the next week you get home. Get back on track with logging the food and exercise when you return home.

Enjoy New Orleans...this makes me want to hop a plane and go back. It really is one of my most favorite cities.

blahblah0099

Back from my trip. We did so much walking and I indulged but only with the foods I cannot get back home. I think I gained a few lbs but definitely not as bad as what could have been. Thanks for all your advice and tips everyone!