Vacation

trombly224

I'm going to be on vacation for a week at the end of the month. Will it be that bad to just stop logging and pick up after im back. I'm sure to be doing a bit of eating out and probably some drinking mostly beer. I'll still try to make good choices but I'll be on vacation and i dont want to not have any fun. Just wondering how bad it will be. I'll still be active swimming hiking and walking.

JustMe2691

Enjoy your vacation. Make the best choices you can, but enjoy yourself. Just be sure to get back at it when you get back home.

juggernaut1974

JustMe2691 wrote: »

Enjoy your vacation. Make the best choices you can, but enjoy yourself. Just be sure to get back at it when you get back home.

^ This

Francl27

It will be as bad as you make it. I gained 2 pounds last time (well, more, but I lost all but 2 in a week). This year I will try to make better choices but I'm gone 10 days so we'll see. Eating out all the time is the problem.. can only eat so many salads and grilled meat.

jemhh

ceoverturf wrote: »

JustMe2691 wrote: »

Enjoy your vacation. Make the best choices you can, but enjoy yourself. Just be sure to get back at it when you get back home.

^ This

Yep yep.

I have found the following to happen while on vacation:

1) For the first couple of days I get all "woohoo, I'm eating all of the dessert!"
2) By the end of Day 3 I am tired of dessert.
3) Overall, I do a pretty good job of eating moderately. Some meals I'll splurge but then other times I pick something very light.
4) We end up doing a lot of walking which, when compared to my normal day to day routine of sitting at a desk for 8+ hours, means I burn more calories.
5) I'll gain a few pounds while gone but then it falls off within days (less than a week) when I get home.

DeguelloTex

I think I'm going to approach it like paying for a vacation. I'd rather have it paid for in advance rather than worrying about it after I get back. Maybe I'll drop a few pounds before I leave and let the vacation food get me back on track.

sashayoung72

I'm in the same boat, and by boat I mean I will actually be one with no wifi for the phone to track with app, and seriously writing it down may not be option. I only hate that i will loose my days in a row status

beemerphile1

Adjust your goal to maintenance at zero pounds per week loss and enjoy your self. Try to stay within the maintenance goal.

jemhh

sashayoung72 wrote: »

I'm in the same boat, and by boat I mean I will actually be one with no wifi for the phone to track with app, and seriously writing it down may not be option. I only hate that i will loose my days in a row status

That happened to me last year. I wasn't really logging on vacation but would enter an item or two each morning just to keep my day streak. I forgot a few days into it and lost something like 8 months.

sashayoung72

jemhh wrote: »

sashayoung72 wrote: »

I'm in the same boat, and by boat I mean I will actually be one with no wifi for the phone to track with app, and seriously writing it down may not be option. I only hate that i will loose my days in a row status

That happened to me last year. I wasn't really logging on vacation but would enter an item or two each morning just to keep my day streak. I forgot a few days into it and lost something like 8 months.

I wondered if I could log ahead just to keep my days, there are computers aboard I just didn't know how busy they would be or if I would have the time, so I thought of just doing my regular breakfast etc, because I don't plan on doing anything drastic on the eating, it's all about the scenery and adventure.

Francl27

DeguelloTex wrote: »

I think I'm going to approach it like paying for a vacation. I'd rather have it paid for in advance rather than worrying about it after I get back. Maybe I'll drop a few pounds before I leave and let the vacation food get me back on track.

I'm *trying* to do that. I'm leaving in 3 weeks.

sashayoung72 wrote: »

I'm in the same boat, and by boat I mean I will actually be one with no wifi for the phone to track with app, and seriously writing it down may not be option. I only hate that i will loose my days in a row status

Yeah I'm not 100% sure myself that I'll get wifi everywhere. I'm hoping. Last vacation, I tracked it all, and ended up at 20% over maintenance in average... which I guess isn't too bad considering that we ate out all the time and a lot of places didn't have healthy options (no veggies. Seriously).

But yeah, don't sweat it too much. I mean, it's not all about the food, but as I said above, eating grilled chicken and veggies or salad with dressing on the side all the time isn't exactly fun either. I got sick of it after two days. Plus either way you never know how much oil or butter they put on their chicken and veggies either...

But my goal now if something is high calories is 'if I don't crave it, I don't have it'. So if I REALLY want that pasta dish or that burger, I'll have it... otherwise I'll go for something lighter. Hoping I can stick to it (especially when it comes to dessert, as it's probably what contributed to my gain last year).

The good news is that after a week of it I honestly couldn't wait to go back to my healthier meals.

zanne54

I log during my vacations. Still, I often do go over my calories, but it's at least an informed, conscious decision. I've found that I moderate myself way better than if I don't log at all, and the slight moderation doesn't really diminish my enjoyment factor. Because really, once it's 2 am and you're 10 beers in, you don't really have THAT much more fun staying up until 5 am and 6 more beers.

I've also switched my vacation dynamic. I used to pretty much start drinking & eating from the time I woke up, and sit around chilling, drinking & eating all day, every day. Now, I make it a priority to include more physical activity & adventures during the day, and save the drinking & eating for the afternoon/evening, so I can indulge myself more, without feeling (too) guilty.

I've learned this through trial & error. For me to lose weight at a sufficient pace (1.5 lbs/week) to keep myself motivated, I have to be very diligent and consistent pretty much every day - a nearly perfect effort of staying within my calories and getting at least an hour of exercise a day. Having in the past used the excuse of a vacation to allow myself to go completly off the rails and binge & bender for a week was fun, but ultimately not worth the resulting several pounds of weight gained, and the additional 3 week plateau from the booze. It would then take me 4-6 weeks to relose the weight gained. Of course, it also depends on the vacation. For a once in a lifetime trip to a foreign country; I likely wouldn't bother logging at all. For a week at a cottage or camping; I'd build in exercise in the morning while everybody else is still hungover. YMMV.

jaga13

I'm going on vacation next week. I plan on logging, but am ok with going over my calories. I think some days I'll hit my goal through activity and eating similarly to how I eat at home (we are staying in a condo with a kitchen, so I'll mostly be eating home made breakfast and lunch). I am not a big drinker, and rarely have more than 1-2 drinks a night, so some days that might slightly push me up in calories. Some nights we'll probably eat somewhere GREAT for dinner and I will therefore enjoy whatever I want. On the nights when dinner options are just run of the mill, I'll probably stick to my goal. Maybe I'll have ice cream with the kids once or twice, but we don't really buy it every night on vacation.

I think my goal is to hover somewhere between my normal deficit and maintenance. But you know what...if the week goes on and I decide to say F this, I'm not logging, then so be it.

jaga13

jemhh wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

JustMe2691 wrote: »

Enjoy your vacation. Make the best choices you can, but enjoy yourself. Just be sure to get back at it when you get back home.

^ This

Yep yep.

I have found the following to happen while on vacation:

1) For the first couple of days I get all "woohoo, I'm eating all of the dessert!"
2) By the end of Day 3 I am tired of dessert.

I noticed last year that my husband is like this ^^. He will indulge more in the beginning, and is eating salads by the end of the week. He has been at a healthy, slim weight for many years. He really doesn't seem to give it much thought.

I, on the other hand, tend to start the week off with very healthy choices and slide into indulgence as the week moves on. I'm hoping to find a little more balance this year. I also am learning that it is ok to take time for my workouts if I want to. It's my vacation, too, and I don't need to be at my kids' beck and call 24/7 (or on everyone else's agenda all day long). I might not feel like exercising, which is fine. But if I do want to, I will do it.

callandert

DeguelloTex wrote: »

I think I'm going to approach it like paying for a vacation. I'd rather have it paid for in advance rather than worrying about it after I get back. Maybe I'll drop a few pounds before I leave and let the vacation food get me back on track.

This! I just had this discussion yesterday! I seem to gain 2-3 pounds EVERY vacation so going to be proactive this year and lose a few before I go!

trombly224

Thanks for the advice maybe i will keep logging just to know where I'm at even if i do go over. Which I know I will but isn't that what vacations are for to lose the stress for a while. I just wanted some reassurance that my last 5 months wouldn't be undone in a week. Thanks again. I'm going from Massachusetts to Arizona if anyone was wondering hope I dont melt.

pseudandry

I logged in the same generic meal each day during vacation just so I wouldn't lose my consecutive days. I agree, though, that even though I let-it-all-hang-out during vacation, I couldn't wait to get back on track with MFP. I didn't get weighed on my first morning back today, and I'm not sure yet if I want to know the "damage" I did or not. Since I got right back on my goals this morning - the first morning home - my gut (pun intended) reaction is to get weighed tomorrow to be aware of what my vacation choices do/did to my progress toward my goals. Hindsight is foresight and all that...

laineybz

jemhh wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

JustMe2691 wrote: »

Enjoy your vacation. Make the best choices you can, but enjoy yourself. Just be sure to get back at it when you get back home.

^ This

2) By the end of Day 3 I am tired of dessert.

This is me too. I get tired of eating out everyday. I crave a home cooked meal.

callsitlikeiseeit

i eat what i want on vacation, but still try to log, at least as best i can.

last vacay i gained 1.5 pounds, and lost it within a week of coming home

Francl27

laineybz wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

JustMe2691 wrote: »

Enjoy your vacation. Make the best choices you can, but enjoy yourself. Just be sure to get back at it when you get back home.

^ This

2) By the end of Day 3 I am tired of dessert.

This is me too. I get tired of eating out everyday. I crave a home cooked meal.

Yeah after a while too, but I unfortunately never get tired of dessert. Although this time we probably won't have dessert that much.