How do you stay on track when on vacation?

pwh300

I've been thinking about this since its vacation time....I know I'll be walking more but restaurants
are a challenge.

debubbie

I try to limit drinks that contain calories so I can enjoy the food while out. I try to split appetizers and desserts with my buddies to limit the calorie damage. If possible, I try to save a few hundred calories for dinner. But most importantly, I usually try to eat at my maintenance calories instead of worrying about losing weight so I can enjoy my vacation. I find the break to be exactly what I need to jump back in and refocus my efforts on my weight loss. Enjoy your vacation!

chatterbox3110

I was on an all inclusive holiday two weeks ago. I just made sure I ate plenty of fish, meat and salad, and stuck mainly to melon and fruit for dessert. I had a few Baileys, and a couple of ice creams, but did a lot of swimming and walking, and when I got home I'd maintained my pre-holiday weight, so I was really pleased.

I'm sure if you ask in restaurants they'll do you a salad or veg instead of fries - a little forward planning can go a long way, but enjoy your holiday whatever you decide!!!

manderson27

I just eat what I want when on holiday. However as I have adjusted my eating habits considerably over the last two years I rarely put on more than 3 pounds and it comes off easily. Sorry not much help.

bwogilvie

As @debubbie suggests, I aim to eat around maintenance. Well, now I'm maintaining in general, but when I was losing weight, my goal on vacation was maintenance.

I stick to a light breakfast, such as buttered toast, or a bagel—half a bagel if they're those monstrous ones—with a little cream cheese, and coffee. For lunch, a sandwich or a salad. At dinner, I eat slowly and if the portions are huge, decide in advance how much to eat. I also try to find a place to stay with a kitchen; on my last trip, to Berlin, I ate out several times but also stocked up at the grocery store and cooked some meals in my AirBnB apartment.

I think it's also a good idea to avoid snacks, unless you need to eat regularly to keep your blood sugar up. I know there are people who advocate frequent snacks so that you're not ravenous at mealtimes (such as Dr. Yoni Freedhoff in his very smart book The Diet Fix), but I find that I have trained my stomach to simply not expect food between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and my pre-dinner aperitif. If I do get hungry between meals, it often goes away in a few minutes.

pwh300

I'll be drinking more water..Going to Vegas so will need to stay hydrated. We are doing one good Buffet for lunch on day...So hope to walk off that good food. I'm also thinking of eating appetizers for my main meal for dinner.

xstevedx

Almost all restaurants these days either offer fresh vegetables as sides or will let you substitute something for a veg. Decent to nice restaurants will also almost always allow you to buy just a plain chicken breast filleted in two with minimal seasoning. Ive worked in restaurants forever (generally high end ones) and its not uncommon for someone to either modify a dish for health reasons or to add specific things like a chicken breast that isn't on the menu as a complete item. Now.. Avoiding amazing sounding house specialty dishes and substituting them for a simple clean meal you can make at home is the hard part!

Sarasmaintaining

When I was in active weight loss phase and we went on vacation I adjusted my calories up to maintenance range. Worked great and I still ended up losing a bit of weight

jemhh

I don't log or restrict what I eat while on vacation.

MommyL2015

I've been thinking about this because we're going on vacation in August this year for a week to the beach and I've decided that I'm not going to worry about it. This step that I'm taking is hopefully going to be for life, to maintain a healthy weight, and one thing I know about myself is that restricting what I eat does not work. If I over-indulge while I'm on vacation, so be it--I'll make it up when we come home. My husband and I work really hard all year, so we deserve to have a week of stress-free time. I'm actually working extra-hard this spring so I can hopefully wear a bikini when we go.

The weight didn't go on in a week, isn't coming off in a week and certainly won't go back on that quick. Have fun, keep your life as stress-free as possible. One great thing about being human is food and the incredible variety we are given the opportunity to enjoy. I will take advantage when I can and do my best to keep it in check.

TimothyFish

I look for the lower calorie options on the menu. If a meal normally comes with bread, you can ask them to hold the bread, so you won't be tempted to eat it. And asking for a to go container and dividing the meal in half always works.

seltzermint555

I mostly take vacations with a LOT of sightseeing and/or hiking so the problem works itself out. With that said, I'm not really tempted to go nuts on vacation anyway. "Treats" like ice cream and alcohol are things that I eat very regularly so the special, new, enticing ones on vacation just take the place of whatever "treats" I would have at home. I do know there are people who really "blow it" by going on vacation and considering it a free for all with food and eating nonstop convenience store snacks in the car and then eating according to a whole different mindset than usual (ie, getting an app AND dessert AND entree at every restaurant when they might normally order just a light entree in their non-vacationing life). As long as you don't do THAT you will probably be just fine. Even if you have to "lose" a couple of pounds when you return, it's nice to have a fun trip!

thereshegoesagain

I'm going to.Paris for 2 1/2 weeks soon. I.know I'll be walking alot, but plan.on eating and drinking whatever I choose, but hopefully in moderation. If not, I'll get back to.my regular eating and exercise plan when I get home.

Orphia

seltzermint555 wrote: »

I mostly take vacations with a LOT of sightseeing and/or hiking so the problem works itself out. With that said, I'm not really tempted to go nuts on vacation anyway. "Treats" like ice cream and alcohol are things that I eat very regularly so the special, new, enticing ones on vacation just take the place of whatever "treats" I would have at home. I do know there are people who really "blow it" by going on vacation and considering it a free for all with food and eating nonstop convenience store snacks in the car and then eating according to a whole different mindset than usual (ie, getting an app AND dessert AND entree at every restaurant when they might normally order just a light entree in their non-vacationing life). As long as you don't do THAT you will probably be just fine. Even if you have to "lose" a couple of pounds when you return, it's nice to have a fun trip!

Well said!

Going on holiday doesn't mean you have to turn into a pig.

pwh300

The one thing I've noticed with the change in what I eat is I'm not craving for the bad food I use to . I know my extra calories will be in cocktails.