Vacation dieting?? How do you do it?

BJG7_UK

Just got back from vacation. While I was on my holiday I was wonder what do people do diet wise during their vacations?

I'd be interested to find out what you guys do?? And looking forward to your responses.

SezxyStef

if it's really a vacation I don't worry about it at all...last vacation I came back 7lbs heavier (mostly water from all the sodium and alcohol) but I didn't care.

I eat and drink what I want...mind you it's not like I can eat as much as I used to and I am a very active person so..chances are it evens out anyway.

KateTii

I'm facing this problem as i'm going on holidays on Wednesday. I've just made up my decision that I will enjoy my holiday. I'm going on a cruise which is basically "eat and drink all day while on a boat". I am still going to get my exercise in and hopefully take some calories off my day, but if I gain a couple of kgs (even if I gain back all my losses so far) it's not going to be the end of the world. This is my first holiday in over a year and I am not going to spend half my time stressing over how many calories were in that big sugary cocktail or massive plate of pasta. I've already proven to myself that I can stick to eating the right amount of food and exercising.

katzenfluff

I eat what I want to eat,but remind myself that I don't have to clean my plate. When deciding between tasty options, if one is healthier I may choose it. But if I want a gooey chocolate dessert or an entree with a rich sauce...I have it. When my vacation is over I get back on the wagon with no regrets.

kami3006

I have what I want and enjoy. Having said that, I think I've been doing this so long that watching portions and making better choices are just habit. Between that and being more active on vacation, I usually break even or lose some.

Angierae75

I try to eat healthy, but it's vacation. I eat what I want. Same goes with holidays, birthdays - just because you're losing weight doesn't mean you can't enjoy a special day or vacation.

I'm not going to put all the weight I lost back on in a day. Or even in a week.

zdyb23456

Last summer we spent the week at a beach house with family. I didn't want to be a kill-joy, but I also didn't want to go back home several pounds heavier like previous years (my brother's cooking is just amazing and there is always a plethora of food/junk/snacks/drinks around). I decided not to log any food in MFP that week - I just decided to be mindful of portions, avoid mindless snacking just cause it's there, and log close to 20k steps per day on my activity tracker. It was actually easier than I thought - an early morning run on the beach, a walk to the local shops in the afternoon or walking on the beach and I easily hit close to 20k.

I went home and hadn't gained anything - I was very pleased. Now, I know what will work this year when we go again

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allyphoe

I eat what I want, and log it as well as I can.

ChiliPepperLifter

Eat at maintenance if you still want to log calories. Or be like me, and just eat what you want and enjoy. Just be sure to get back on track post vacation. Vacations aren't a frequent thing for me, so I just want to enjoy it was much as possible! Chances are you won't gain much, if at all, since you're used to smaller portions anyway

eileensofianmushinfine

headed to Vegas later this month. I've talked with my husband and let him know that I'm going to try for a middle of the road between very restrictive and eating everything in sight. I'm planning to bring my powdered protein and my small blender so that I can have that for breakfast every morning. We'll do some lunches and dinners out and cook some meals at home. I plan to work out in the fitness center each day. I will be logging my foods daily. My hope is to at least not gain any weight over the week.

BJG7_UK

Loving the replies.
I had some great food while away, tracked what I could was on track calorie rise most of the days.
I definitely walked a whole lot more than normal.. I couldn't of done kept on track on a fad diet but doing macros and calories makes it so much easier.
Banoffee cheese cake was out of this world..
Got my workouts in aswell at a couple of gyms..
I'd say it was a successful vaca
I've just posted on the blog if anyone wants to read it at www.fitwaffle.co.uk
Blogs about finding a diet to stick to lifestyle

Mich4871

I enjoy! I'm on vacation! But I do make smart decisions. I indulge, but don't over indulge. We also tend to take vacations that involve a lot of hiking or city walking. We are not lounge on the beach or pool vacation types. I'm REALLY looking forward to our trip this fall to Vienna, Prague, and Budapest..... can't wait to eat my way thru those countries!

Bshmerlie

I take a lot of vacations (7 days a month)so I try don't let the food get out of hand. I'm really buying into the lifestyle change thing so I'm not just going to stuff my face because I'm on an expensive boat. I'm going on a cruise in three weeks. I love their Tacos and I used to have four of them for lunch but this trip I will be sticking to just two tacos for lunch. And one steak at dinner will be just fine. It's OK to eat what we want but we shouldn't just eat for the sake of eating. That is what got us into this mess in the first place. I don't think I'll be counting the calories ...but I will kind of estimate it mentally for the day and at least try and keep it around the maintenance level. I will be thinking about better food choices as I select my food.

OldAssDude

I started each day off with a 5 mile bike ride followed by a 3 mile walk (both at a cardio zone pace).

I had breakfast and most of lunch burned off before I even ate breakfast...:)

BJG7_UK

bcalvanese wrote: »

I started each day off with a 5 mile bike ride followed by a 3 mile walk (both at a cardio zone pace).

I had breakfast and most of lunch burned off before I even ate breakfast...:)

cycle ride every morning sounds like great fun

PeachyCarol

I think it depends where your head is when you're going. We recently went on vacation, and I was in go-go loss mode. I didn't really want to stop, but wanted some flexibility to have a few treats.

My circumstances are different in that I have celiac disease and am a vegetarian. We stay in a hotel with an efficiency kitchen, so I prepare most of my food. My opportunities for eating food not provided by myself are limited.

Anyway, for that vacation, I decided to change my goal to losing half a pound a week to give me a few more daily calories. I also ate a few more of my exercise calories than I normally do. I logged my food and also had the planned cheese fries I wanted that week. I came home a half pound lighter.

We're going on vacation to the same place again in September. I might be in a different mood then. I might decide to eat at maintenance for that one. I might decide to stay at the deficit I'm at now. I might decide to repeat what I did in June, or I might decide to forget logging for a week and just eat mindfully, and not overstuff myself.

It will really depend on where I'm at when the time comes. One thing will stay constant. I'll be really, really active during that week. Morning brisk walks, cycling, swimming, beach combing... that sort of stuff.

maxit

Last time I was vacationing, a couple of places I was staying had fitness centers so I took advantage of them a few times. Except for the high mileage travel days I was walking quite a bit. I ate what ever I wanted (logged everything to the best of my ability). My home scale showed me still within the maintenance range when I got back, and my clothes still fit a couple of weeks later so it was a win for me.

BJG7_UK

We did a ton of walking, I think that's kind of standard for most vacations.
We always take an American football as well when we go out to throw around!
The more I think about the more I think I should of had an other slice of that banoffee pie

LivingtheLeanDream

It's a vacation so chill about calories a bit - I still be mindful of quantity I'm eating despite not logging it and I get plenty of walking in..we cruise twice a year and I haven't gained more than a few pounds despite all that food being on tap 24/7....the gain is always gone in a few weeks when I'm back in routine again

Francl27

Eat at maintenance. Try to stay active. Only splurge for things I really want and try to stick to healthier options otherwise.

cmoll520

We rarely vacation but are just ending a 11 day one- I tracked but I ate what I wanted. I switch MFP to maintenance and I went in to it being ok with a 1lb gain. So far I've actually maintained despite eating more than what MFP calculated for maintenance. I had two really, really poor choice days (1 a wedding and 2 a day at an amusement park) but otherwise did ok with my eating.

SLLRunner

BJG7_UK wrote: »

Just got back from vacation. While I was on my holiday I was wonder what do people do diet wise during their vacations?

I'd be interested to find out what you guys do?? And looking forward to your responses.

When I was in Ireland for 14 days last year, I did not log or count calories, I simply chose to eat when I was hungry, made good choices I thought would fit my macros and maybe my calories, included treats, and then did not step on the scale for about a week after I returned. While on vacation, my clothes didn't get tighter, and when I stepped on the scale I was still in my maintenance range.

Vacations are for enjoyment, but I make sure I am mindful of how much I am eating, even though I am not logging and counting as usual. When I came back, I made sure I got right back on track.

Machka9

BJG7_UK wrote: »

Just got back from vacation. While I was on my holiday I was wonder what do people do diet wise during their vacations?

I'd be interested to find out what you guys do?? And looking forward to your responses.

I started here mid-Feb with a goal to lose as much weight as I could on a NET 1250 cal diet by mid-June ... 4 months. I didn't really have a weight number in mind until I got to about mid-May and knew what would be possible.

I stuck firmly to that goal and lost 15 kg.

And then, mid-June ... I went on holidays.

While I was gone, I ate whatever I wanted to eat, and lots of it. But I also exercised a whole lot. In 3 weeks, I cycled about 390 km, including riding a century one day (161 km = 100 miles). I walked about 64 km, including a 9.5 km hike to the top of a mountain. And I went sea kayaking!

Losing the weight prior to going on holiday allowed me to do those things much more easily than I would have if I had not lost the weight.

I hoped I would not gain more than 5 kg, and I estimated that I might gain 2.5 kg, which would be all right. The day after I arrived home, I had gained 2.5 kg, but the next day (this morning) I have already lost 0.5 kg so I think some of that was water weight. A total gain of 2 kg is not bad at all. And since mid-Feb, I have still lost 13 kg.

Now I'm taking a couple weeks to ease back into it again, and in a couple week's time, I'll be back onto a NET 1250 cal diet until the end of September when I'll reassess the situation.