Going on Vacation. Any tips for minimize the damage....?

elbrujo53

Going on vacation/anniversary celebration trip and although my plan is to enjoy, perhaps you can share with me some tips to minimize the damage to my now 20 pounds lost race (that I need to be 30 at least)... Thanks for sharing!

happysquidmuffin

Watch your portion sizes, and focus on eating proteins (not fried if possible) and fruits and veggies. Maybe limit fried/sugary/bready/saucy foods to just a bite or two. Keep logging your consumption, but don't get hung up too much on being perfect at it. If you stay mindful, hopefully you can enjoy and indulge a little without getting too terribly far off track. And if you end up gaining a little back, don't sweat it too much - it will be ok! Just get back on the horse and keep doing what you know you need to do.

TorontoDiane

get the menu for the restaurant in advance.. and decide what you want before you go in there.. if you go in there hungry you will not make the same kind of choice.

chose healthy yet indulge sometimes and do not suffer guilt and enjoy yourself it is a vacation.. you will probably run around all over the place and burn off anything you feel is "forbidden"

7lenny7

Forget weight loss during vacation and just aim for maintenance. Enjoy your trip! I

echmainfit619

Being on vacation is often a lame excuse. There's no reason why you can't count calories and keep the deficit going.

SueInAz

7lenny7 wrote: »

Forget weight loss during vacation and just aim for maintenance. Enjoy your trip! I

I agree, maintenance during vacations is what I usually aim for. Realize that not everything that looks healthy or low calorie actually is. I try to stick with foods I enjoy but that I'll have a good idea of the calorie counts. In other words, I can have a 6 ounce steak with a side of steamed veggies, a side salad with dressing on the side, a piece of bread and a light beer and have a pretty good idea how many calories are in all of it. Salads are usually not the best option especially if they are very large and loaded with cheese, nuts and crunchy bits.

Also, try to only eat one big meal each day. If you can work something out so you have a smaller breakfast and dinner, you can get away with a bigger lunch. Or any combination of that you like. I usually bring protein bars for my breakfast. It's not only a calorie amount I can rely on, it's a lot cheaper than the $15 hotel breakfast.

ncboiler89

elbrujo53 wrote: »

Going on vacation/anniversary celebration trip and although my plan is to enjoy, perhaps you can share with me some tips to minimize the damage to my now 20 pounds lost race (that I need to be 30 at least)... Thanks for sharing!

You've worked hard to get to this point and eating like a normal person (someone eating at maintenance) is .....well....normal. Did you sign something when you agreed to this trip that you would eat like a maniac (someone that eats well above maintenance)?

catbhn21

Also, active vacation activities! Swimming, hiking, biking, sports, whatever. I felt like I ate a ton and drank too much beer on my last but when I went to the gym I was actually down a pound. Guess a giant burger and a few beers isn't so awful after a 6 hour hike

Foxglove89

On my last trip to England, I brought my own protein bars and protein shakes. As others have suggested, we ate one larger main meal per day, which was usually a late lunch. Before and after this meal we logged miles of walking while seeing sites, which totaled more miles than I do in my regular cardio workouts. If we had anything in the evening, it was something light like some cheese, grapes and perhaps a pint at a pub. I tracked everything on MFP through the the trip, and despite my worries ended up dropping two pounds by the end of the vacation. Lots of walking in the UK compared to the States, where we drive everywhere for convenience.

PinkPixiexox

You know how to lose weight and I imagine you're pretty clued up on how to eat by now, right? I'd say a lot of your vacation will be about common sense. Realistically, you aren't going to be tracking whilst your away because you're a human being and entitled to enjoyment but certainly, if you can - be aware. Remember though - you are on vacation. This doesn't happen every week or even every month so no one will blame you for relaxing the 'must lose weight' mindset. I'd say, enjoy your time away and then be ready to get back into it when you get home

snowflakesav

Walk and sight see. Eat those calories back. Limit the splurge meals to one a day. be realistic about any weight gained. It might look like 4 pounds on the scale but unlikely that you really ate 14'000 extra calories.

maasha81

I almost always lost or maintained my weight on vacation due to the amount of walking I did. We were constantly active. I did eat smartly but I also indulged in desserts. We usually eat one large meal which is usually lunch. My bfast rarely change from what I usually eat - oatmeal or eggs and a cup of coffee.

Enjoy your vacation and don't stress too much. Eat in moderation and have fun.

robspot

I went away for a week recently and lost two pounds. It's possible. I switched MFP to maintenance, continued logging everything, tried to exercise as much as possible, didn't go crazy with alcohol and finally (and I think this was the key for me) I ate pretty small breakfasts and lunches (enough food though, I wasn't hungry) which then left me loads of calories for dinner and I duly obliged in using them!!

You can enjoy yourself without going mad. And I hope you do just that

nordlead2005

Do a rough estimate and aim for maintenance. No damage will be done.

For me, that meant aiming for ~2600 calories per day. I went over by 600 calories (or 67 calories/day), which was fixed by a single day back on my diet.

Francl27

I always gain 2 pounds on vacation.. even sticking to the healthiest choices most of the time... no alcohol, avoiding sauces, fried foods and limiting dessert to what I really want. I usually splurge a couple times on a higher calorie meal.

It's tough eating out twice a day for me because I need a substantial breakfast and options are usually limited (so I need more calories to be full) and then at restaurants even 'light' options often have too many hidden calories and it's tough to find places that have steamed veggies (and I get sick of salads after two days). I ended up skipping dinner a couple times.

Took me two months to lose it this time but I have a small deficit, with a normal deficit it really wouldn't take much time at all. So don't go crazy on the food (I still log, personally, it stops me from going overboard), try to stay active, and even if you gain a bit, as long as you get back on track when you come back you'll be fine.

eileensofianmushinfine

when we went to vegas, I brought my protein powder and shaker bottle as well as protein bars. we ate breakfast in every day. When eating out, i tried to make good choices. I don't drink much anyway, so skipping alcohol was not a problem. Often times, I would skip an appetizer in order to share a dessert with my husband. I worked out 3 days out of the week-- with lots of walking on the other days. I gained 2.5 pounds and was not unhappy with that. when I got back home, I got right back to my "tight" eating.

elbrujo53

Wow! thanks a lot to y'all for that great insight! Great tips and information. Some of you mentioned what to me is the big problem: eating out all the time. It is difficult to keep track of calories when you do not know how it was made. Too many hidden calories. However, I guess controlling portions, alcohol and walking a lot, would keep extra pounds away. Thanks a lot !!

nordlead2005

Also, I wouldn't worry about gaining 2lb in a week. That would be over 7000 calories over maintenance (your body does spend some energy storing that 2lb of fat) and you aren't likely to eat that much (also did you gain 2lb/week before?).

I was up 3lb after my last vacation and 2 weeks later lost 6lb. I didn't gain 3lb of fat or lose 6lb of fat. I gained and lost 3lb of water and lost 3lb of fat per my 1.5lb/week deficit.

cwolfman13

most weight that people gain on vacation is water...it's really pretty hard to actually do any real damage in a mere week or so. i tend to obviously eat out more on vacation which means I'm going have more sodium than usual which is going to cause some water retention. flying also causes bloating...i can put on a goo 6 Lbs just by getting on an airplane.

go enjoy your vacation...i really don't eat anything differently when I'm on vacation than I do at home...i try to make good nutritional decisions for the most part and I eat reasonable portions. enjoying the local fare is part of a good vacation for me...but that doesn't mean I just need to go nuts.

i also tend to be pretty active on vacation so there's also that.

i've never put on any actual fat weight on a vacation that i can think of...scale weight, yet...but it falls right off as soon as i get home and de-bloat.

Francl27

nordlead2005 wrote: »

Also, I wouldn't worry about gaining 2lb in a week. That would be over 7000 calories over maintenance (your body does spend some energy storing that 2lb of fat) and you aren't likely to eat that much (also did you gain 2lb/week before?).

I was up 3lb after my last vacation and 2 weeks later lost 6lb. I didn't gain 3lb of fat or lose 6lb of fat. I gained and lost 3lb of water and lost 3lb of fat per my 1.5lb/week deficit.

Eh super easy to do. That's 1000 extra calories a day... pretty much one dessert and/or an appetizer in most restaurants. It really depends on how active you are though. If your TDEE is normally 2200 like mine but you don't get to exercise much during your vacation, that takes it down to 1900 or something, so it's really only 700 calories more than what I'm used to eating... VERY easy to go over when you eat out 3x a day. Little bit more butter or oil here and there, a 500 calorie dessert... done.

I admit I'm jealous of the people who never gain on vacation (and often eat what they like too!). I always have to restraint myself, skip dessert a few times when everyone else has it, and I always end up gaining 2 pounds and taking 2 months to lose them. Frustrating!

nordlead2005

Francl27 wrote: »

nordlead2005 wrote: »

Also, I wouldn't worry about gaining 2lb in a week. That would be over 7000 calories over maintenance (your body does spend some energy storing that 2lb of fat) and you aren't likely to eat that much (also did you gain 2lb/week before?).

I was up 3lb after my last vacation and 2 weeks later lost 6lb. I didn't gain 3lb of fat or lose 6lb of fat. I gained and lost 3lb of water and lost 3lb of fat per my 1.5lb/week deficit.

Eh super easy to do. That's 1000 extra calories a day... pretty much one dessert and/or an appetizer in most restaurants. It really depends on how active you are though. If your TDEE is normally 2200 like mine but you don't get to exercise much during your vacation, that takes it down to 1900 or something, so it's really only 700 calories more than what I'm used to eating... VERY easy to go over when you eat out 3x a day. Little bit more butter or oil here and there, a 500 calorie dessert... done.

I admit I'm jealous of the people who never gain on vacation (and often eat what they like too!). I always have to restraint myself, skip dessert a few times when everyone else has it, and I always end up gaining 2 pounds and taking 2 months to lose them. Frustrating!

It isn't impossible, but isn't likely. Most people start to feel bloated when they eat that much over TDEE consistently and will naturally eat less the following days (else everyone would be packing on at a rate of 100lb/year). Yes, if you are a smaller female it is slightly easier to achieve, but I don't believe that is the situation we have here. In your scenario just don't eat desert every day and/or grab a gallon of milk and some cereal and eat that for breakfast instead of going out (or yogurt, or fruit, or whatever).