Cruise Eating
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With 10 cruises under my belt and the next one at the end of the month, this is what I've found helps:
1) When going through the buffet, make a "reconnaissance" first. Walk around and see what's available. Then you'll have an idea of what you want to get once you've picked up your plate.
2) DON'T stack your plate high. The ship isn't going to run out of food while you're sitting at your table. Eat what you want, but get small amounts of it. If you're still hungry or found you really liked something, you can always walk through the line, again. Having to walk through gives you a better chance to assess if you're REALLY hungry, wanting to try new foods (always a good idea), or just bored.
3) Be careful with the alcohol. I'll admit that one of the first things I do when I get on board and I'm waiting for the staterooms to open is get a drink. There are lots of great drinks to try, so go ahead. But it's important to pace yourself because the bars are open most of the day and it's easy to keep consuming those liquid calories. (Plus, your wallet will thank you. Drinks can easily run up to $10 - $13 for the fancier ones.)
4) Try to incorporate some physical activity in your day. The ships I've been on have running tracks on the top decks, and I like to walk a few laps or a mile after my meals and take in the sights and sounds. Walking tours in port are also a way to be active with little effort. If you're feeling particularly gung-ho, you can try more overt fitness activities like gym classes, very physical activities on-shore, etc.
5) Tying in with #4: Use the stairs when you can. You're on vacation. There's no need to rush around. You can afford to take a couple minutes to use the stairs instead of the elevator. Besides, with all the people on the ship who are trying to use them, the elevators aren't necessarily any faster.
This last one is the most important:
6) RELAX.
HAVE FUN.
YOU'RE ON VACATION.
Seriously. Just have fun. In my adult life, cruising is as close to how life was as a carefree kid on summer break as it gets. Make sure you're on the ship on time, dress yourself, and everything else is pretty much taken care of for you. Someone else drives, someone else cleans, someone else cooks, someone else prepares the activities, etc.
If I were to say there was a good time to throw caution to the wind, vacation would be it, and ESPECIALLY cruises. Yes, you might put on some weight. But it won't likely be that much. I've rarely seen the scale move up more than 5 pounds, and I've been on 10-night cruises, before. But the best part is that a cruise is (likely) SO different from your regular life that it will be easy to leave "calorie-heavy" habits on the ship and resume your healthier ones when you get back home.0 -
What cruise line are you taking?
We were on Celebrity in December, and the ship had a breakfast/lunch restaurant geared specifically towards healthy dining - fresh fruit smoothies, poached salmon, etc. It really made a difference in helping avoid the bloat typically associated with cruising.
If you have traditional dining, you also have the option of ordering appetizers as your entrée, or ordering off menu. Our dining menus also indicated which options were of the healthier sort.
Many lines also offer complementary room service, and ordering in for coffee/fruit/poached eggs early in the morning also helped us to keep from overeating when faced with the bacchanalia of treats that is the buffet. Be smart, keep tracking, and don't be afraid to treat yourself occasionally. After all, it is a vacation!
Huh? I really do not understand how people can keep tracking while in a cruise?
Is the feeling of oh I'm tracking so I must be doing it ok that works or the fear to see those mfp red numbers, cause I would assume that the rate of inaccuracy would be up in the sky
I view vacations as a test to see how accurate my visual estimation skills are. I log what I think my portions are (due to a medical condition, I still need to count carbs), base my insulin dosage off the carb count, and then get feedback within 1-4 hours with regards to how accurate I was. If my blood sugar shoots into the 300s an hour after eating, I know I underestimated, while I know I overestimated if my blood sugar drops below target. Once I get home, I wait a few days (to account for water weight) and weigh myself to see again how accurate I was in my logging.0 -
What cruise line are you taking?
We were on Celebrity in December, and the ship had a breakfast/lunch restaurant geared specifically towards healthy dining - fresh fruit smoothies, poached salmon, etc. It really made a difference in helping avoid the bloat typically associated with cruising.
If you have traditional dining, you also have the option of ordering appetizers as your entrée, or ordering off menu. Our dining menus also indicated which options were of the healthier sort.
Many lines also offer complementary room service, and ordering in for coffee/fruit/poached eggs early in the morning also helped us to keep from overeating when faced with the bacchanalia of treats that is the buffet. Be smart, keep tracking, and don't be afraid to treat yourself occasionally. After all, it is a vacation!
Huh? I really do not understand how people can keep tracking while in a cruise?
Is the feeling of oh I'm tracking so I must be doing it ok that works or the fear to see those mfp red numbers, cause I would assume that the rate of inaccuracy would be up in the sky
I view vacations as a test to see how accurate my visual estimation skills are. I log what I think my portions are (due to a medical condition, I still need to count carbs), base my insulin dosage off the carb count, and then get feedback within 1-4 hours with regards to how accurate I was. If my blood sugar shoots into the 300s an hour after eating, I know I underestimated, while I know I overestimated if my blood sugar drops below target. Once I get home, I wait a few days (to account for water weight) and weigh myself to see again how accurate I was in my logging.
I undestand, under your medical circumstances , you've develop habits that totally works for you. I too go with the visual estimation skills not just on vacation but when eating out, I just couldn't see my self logging while on a cruise, I would have a hard time, guess it works just fine for others.0 -
Huh? I really do not understand how people can keep tracking while in a cruise?
Is the feeling of oh I'm tracking so I must be doing it ok that works or the fear to see those mfp red numbers, cause I would assume that the rate of inaccuracy would be up in the sky
It depends on how comfortable you are with the W.A.G. (Wild A**ed Guess) approach. You're right that it's likely to be way off. You don't know how the food was prepared or anything like that, and the only nutrition labels I've ever regularly seen were on the back of the beer bottles.
When I do track, it's more a matter of simply keeping myself conscious of what I'm eating more than any effort to accurately track actual calories.
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Huh? I really do not understand how people can keep tracking while in a cruise?
Is the feeling of oh I'm tracking so I must be doing it ok that works or the fear to see those mfp red numbers, cause I would assume that the rate of inaccuracy would be up in the sky
It depends on how comfortable you are with the W.A.G. (Wild A**ed Guess) approach you are. You're right that it's likely to be way off. You don't know how the food was prepared or anything like that, and the only nutrition labels I've ever seen were on the back of the beer bottles.
When I do track, it's more a matter of simply keeping myself conscious of what I'm eating more than any effort to accurately track actual calories.
Awesome, that makes sense!0 -
This thread is HORRIBLE!
I haven't been on a cruise since 2006. I really wanna go
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What cruise line are you taking?
We were on Celebrity in December, and the ship had a breakfast/lunch restaurant geared specifically towards healthy dining - fresh fruit smoothies, poached salmon, etc. It really made a difference in helping avoid the bloat typically associated with cruising.
If you have traditional dining, you also have the option of ordering appetizers as your entrée, or ordering off menu. Our dining menus also indicated which options were of the healthier sort.
Many lines also offer complementary room service, and ordering in for coffee/fruit/poached eggs early in the morning also helped us to keep from overeating when faced with the bacchanalia of treats that is the buffet. Be smart, keep tracking, and don't be afraid to treat yourself occasionally. After all, it is a vacation!
Huh? I really do not understand how people can keep tracking while in a cruise?
Is the feeling of oh I'm tracking so I must be doing it ok that works or the fear to see those mfp red numbers, cause I would assume that the rate of inaccuracy would be up in the sky
Even estimation is more accurate than not thinking about it at all for most people. Personally, looking at a my vacation lunch and saying "Well, this chicken is probably 400 calories, these vegetables are probably 150, and that sauce is at least another 200, this is likely at least an 800-900 calorie meal" and having that in my head is a lot better than just going hogwild on the buffet and not guessing, because then I can say "Well, I've probably had about 1300 calories already today so I should have a light dinner tonight." It's not perfect but it works a lot better for some people than just pigging out for a week as it at least mitigates some of the caloric damage.0 -
We go on a cruise annually, and I assume between 9 and 16 days of eating fantastically bad food (and likely drinking half of my caloric intake daily), I will gain between three and six pounds. I also know that I can lose that weight in less than two months, and that in exchange for it, I have memories to last a lifetime.
You're on vacation! Make bad decisions--It's what vacations are for. Make good substitutions where feasible, but don't beat yourself up over the guilt of enjoying your vacation.0 -
You guys are awesome! Thank you sooooo much for all the advice! I really feel great about this upcoming vacation and I hope the advice you all give help other people with the same questions. : D0
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Ellitamaria wrote: »You guys are awesome! Thank you sooooo much for all the advice! I really feel great about this upcoming vacation and I hope the advice you all give help other people with the same questions. : D
Have an absolutely fabulous time!
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I just went on a cruise late june, and I found the dining room food really good but they serve smaller european portions so unless you drink your calories you will be ok. The buffett really wasn't that great. They also had a huge salad bar.0
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I wouldn't worry too much about logging while on vacation. It's only a week, and you're not going to ruin anything by having a treat now and then. That said, since there's so many choices, just make sure you keep everything in moderation. You don't have to eat everything, and you don't have to eat all the time. I don't drink, so I don't have any advice for alcohol. But, I'd think that if you mostly stayed away from it, your tab at the end of the cruise will be smaller!
Have a great time! 0 -
Remember, even if you eat 1000 calories over maintenance every single day you will only gain 2lb of fat. If you were losing 1lb/week, then that gives you 1500 calories/day over "normal" while on vacation. I bet that the majority of the weight you put on will not be fat unless you really pig out.0
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Eat and enjoy, wish I was coming with you, love cruising.
Remember you will probably put on 3-5 lb water weight. Don't panic when you get home; it drops off pretty fast.
Cheers, h.0
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