Staying on track while traveling?

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applebreeeeze
applebreeeeze Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any tips for staying on track with calories/exercise when you're on vacation? I'm going on a birthday getaway to Chicago this weekend, and will probably be eating out for every meal all three days. Do you try to count calories on vacation? Or just try not to go overboard? I only have about ten pounds to lose, but have been happy with my progress so far and don't want to get derailed!

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  • tayloralanj
    tayloralanj Posts: 137 Member
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    Stay away from the donuts, sugary drinks and late night munchies! And walk as much as possible!
  • TuffChixRule
    TuffChixRule Posts: 190 Member
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    Moderation is the key. If you are eating out for lunch and dinner, consider ordering an appetizer as your main meal as they are generally smaller portions. Soup and a half sandwich or salad are also good ideas. I always keep the MFP app on my home screen so I can log my food even at restaurants. You'll probably need to guess at calorie content unless the eating establishment has website which lists calorie content. Perhaps you could order an entree and split it with a friend. Enjoy the getaway, and if you do indulge, enjoy it and get back on track once you return. :)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I don't worry about it on vacation. In general, my vacations have me more active than I am at home, outside of exercise. By that I mean that when I am at home, I work a sedentary job so I spend 40+ hours a week sitting. On vacation, we are walking walking walking. That's enough to let me splurge and not gain a ton of weight.

    Last year we went to Disney for a week. I walked a ton, splurged a bit on food (usually one-two splurge-type items a day) and gained four pounds. The weight was mostly water weight due to sodium and carbs, I believe, because I lost it within 3 days of being home and eating normally.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    I guestimated on vacation and stayed at maintenance (I was 600 calories over for the entire week). But, like jemhh, my vacations mean I'm not sitting for 40 hours/week.

    With just a weekend, the worst you could possibly do is gain 1lb and that would require eating 1750 calories over maintenance (so, I'm guessing ~3k calories) both Saturday and Sunday.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    I eat what I want. Sometimes I even practice that moderation thing.
  • applebreeeeze
    applebreeeeze Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks for the advice, everyone! I'm sure I won't stick to my calorie goal, but I'll try to track anyway. And at least I'll be doing tons of walking!
  • eileensofianmushinfine
    eileensofianmushinfine Posts: 303 Member
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    go have pizza at Lou Malnatti's....worth every single calorie!!!! and see if you can get in a workout on some of the days that you're away
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,195 Member
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    applebreeeeze wrote: »
    Any tips for staying on track with calories/exercise when you're on vacation? I'm going on a birthday getaway to Chicago this weekend, and will probably be eating out for every meal all three days. Do you try to count calories on vacation? Or just try not to go overboard? I only have about ten pounds to lose, but have been happy with my progress so far and don't want to get derailed!

    Three days isn't much in the grand scheme of things.

    Try to get in as much exercise as possible.
    Order salads, no dressing with most meals, they can take the edge off the hunger and you may eat less of the rest of the meal.
    Try to order the best choices on the menu ... sides of steamed veggies instead of chips and things like that.
    Order the entre or half-size rather than the full-size choice.
    Don't drink your calories.

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