Getting all my nutrients working on a cruise ship

stephcott22

Hello friends,

I'm just starting my weight loss journey (a month and a half in) and I'm making some progress. I work for a cruise line and much like being a college student I won't be able to prepare my own meals for 3-5 months. Im currently on vacation, but return to work in 2 weeks.

My biggest concern is not being able to get in all my daily calories and nutrients in order to continue my weight loss while I'm working at sea.

Anyone have tips or pointers as to good supplements I should incorporate into my crew mess diet in order to maintain losing weight?

GaleHawkins

You will be fine I expect because they will have plenty of carbs, proteins and fats I am sure from any different sources depending on your macro. Sounds like it is a nice job.

arditarose

Yeah, I don't think you'll have a problem. Just bring your food scale.

Unknown

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20yearsyounger

can you give an example of what your crew mess meals look like? I have been on a few cruises and I never had a problem with the types of foods and meeting nutritional needs, my problem was with the quantity.

stephcott22

20yearsyounger wrote: »

can you give an example of what your crew mess meals look like? I have been on a few cruises and I never had a problem with the types of foods and meeting nutritional needs, my problem was with the quantity.

Sure, the crew side of cruise food is MUCH different from the guests side. Due to the volume of crew members from countries like the philipines and India there is always a lot of rice, beans, and fish. The issue is they are also cooked in with a lot of different seasonings and additional foods that contain lots of fat, sodium, and just add on the calories. There is always a more conservative amount of food left on the menu like boiled chicken, beets, not so fresh vegetables, sandwich meats and cheeses. But going from cooking my every meal to not at all for 3-5months just has me worried about what I should eat not necessarily knowing what's in everything.

20yearsyounger

stephcott22 wrote: »

20yearsyounger wrote: »

can you give an example of what your crew mess meals look like? I have been on a few cruises and I never had a problem with the types of foods and meeting nutritional needs, my problem was with the quantity.

Sure, the crew side of cruise food is MUCH different from the guests side. Due to the volume of crew members from countries like the philipines and India there is always a lot of rice, beans, and fish. The issue is they are also cooked in with a lot of different seasonings and additional foods that contain lots of fat, sodium, and just add on the calories. There is always a more conservative amount of food left on the menu like boiled chicken, beets, not so fresh vegetables, sandwich meats and cheeses. But going from cooking my every meal to not at all for 3-5months just has me worried about what I should eat not necessarily knowing what's in everything.

I understand the concern. There are really two..eating less calories than you need to lose weight, and getting the right supplements for proper nutrition. As someone else said, you can supplement with some vitamins (maybe even some protein powder/bars if you are allowed to bring that). It's going to be hard for you to guess what is in each meal. Maybe you might have a sodium impact which causes you to hold water. I don't cook much, I travel a lot, but I do get a broader selection of choice. I eat lots of pizza, chicken, bread, foreign foods, and all the things that probably wouldn't be recommended on anyone's diet. However, I have figured out how to eat it in moderation and use MFP to balance out my macros. You probably will need to find a way to do good guesstimates and use scales for help.

stephcott22

20yearsyounger wrote: »

stephcott22 wrote: »

20yearsyounger wrote: »

can you give an example of what your crew mess meals look like? I have been on a few cruises and I never had a problem with the types of foods and meeting nutritional needs, my problem was with the quantity.

Sure, the crew side of cruise food is MUCH different from the guests side. Due to the volume of crew members from countries like the philipines and India there is always a lot of rice, beans, and fish. The issue is they are also cooked in with a lot of different seasonings and additional foods that contain lots of fat, sodium, and just add on the calories. There is always a more conservative amount of food left on the menu like boiled chicken, beets, not so fresh vegetables, sandwich meats and cheeses. But going from cooking my every meal to not at all for 3-5months just has me worried about what I should eat not necessarily knowing what's in everything.

I understand the concern. There are really two..eating less calories than you need to lose weight, and getting the right supplements for proper nutrition. As someone else said, you can supplement with some vitamins (maybe even some protein powder/bars if you are allowed to bring that). It's going to be hard for you to guess what is in each meal. Maybe you might have a sodium impact which causes you to hold water. I don't cook much, I travel a lot, but I do get a broader selection of choice. I eat lots of pizza, chicken, bread, foreign foods, and all the things that probably wouldn't be recommended on anyone's diet. However, I have figured out how to eat it in moderation and use MFP to balance out my macros. You probably will need to find a way to do good guesstimates and use scales for help.

Great suggestions! Thanks!