Vacation anxiety

gfish219

Hi guys. I am about to go visit my mom with some of my extended family for the holiday weekend. We will be celebrating a birthday and of course, the 4th. These people love to eat and are really great cooks, so I will be around tons of delicious food for 5 days. While I am really excited to see the people I love, I am dreading the overeating and weight gain that I suspect will happen. I have been very successful with tracking/losing lately, but for the last few days, i have been going way over my allotted calories. I believe I am doing this because I am already convinced I will screw up over the holiday and I feel like a failure so basically why should I try. I know I should be taking things day by day, but I am really struggling. Does anyone else have this problem?

AliceDark

My sister and brother-in-law are coming to visit this coming weekend, and I'm super excited. We're going to an amusement park so we're going to be active, but I'm also going to EAT. I'm keeping my calories a little lower than usual this week to bank some extra for the weekend, but I'm also fully expecting to be a couple of pounds up next week. It'll be mostly water weight and it'll go away. Get back on the wagon for now, and then enjoy the weekend. Just get back to normal when you come home.

MichelleSilverleaf

You can do one of two things. Do your best to at least watch your portion sizes, and hope for the best. Or write the time off as an off-week and pick it back up when you're back home. Perhaps find some time to go for a walk or some other kinds of activities to try and give you a bit more calorie allowance while you're away. It's about the journey not the destination, it's a marathon not a sprint, all that jazz

Rocknut53

Here's my story: I rewarded my weight loss success with a trip to Hawaii in May where I ate whatever, whenever, drank some beers at the Maui brewery over the 10 days and walked a lot on the beach and other places. I gained 2 pounds, no big deal. Except, now I can't seem to shake it. Getting back to my routine has been a little harder than I anticipated, but I'll get there. I have a mountain climbing trip coming up in August so I have to step up my game. I would recommend mindful eating, just being conscious of your intake and promise yourself you'll get back to it once the visit is over. BTW, I was expecting a 5-8 pound gain with all the food I ate.

cosmichvoyager

take this as an opportunity to do some work on your mental state and your possibly ambivalent relationship with food. Examine what is causing the anxiety: weight gain, fears of loss of control, guilt, family baggage? It could be a lot of thing. These challenges and disruptions of routine can be very productive if you take the time to practice self-care, letting go of fears and trusting yourself to do what is best for you in the long run. In these circumstances I find it good to meditate on the concept of nourishment as it applies to both body and soul - what are you choosing to nourish yourself with? healthy food, positive thoughts, love for self and others is a good place to start!

holderh1

I feel the same way, but instead of seeing the food and throwing in the towel while piling your plate full... potion your food to only what you really want and log it. I find that if I at least try to stick to the plan I'm satisfied with what I have portioned out. Then go for a walk with some of your family. You will be surprised at how easy it can be to stay on target if you mentally prepare yourself to no matter what log and portion. If I just start blindly eating and don't log it I'm more likely to keep eating and think " well I already messed up so I may as well start back up in a couple of days" this never happens for me it's always weeks before i get back on track. However I'm always surprised at how easy it is to stay in my calorie goal when I say to myself " I will have one hotdog, 1/2 cup of baked beans , a handful of chips and one cookie" it's really mental with me.

Amerek412

Someone on the forum said this and I really liked it, if you were making a cake and accidentally dropped an egg on the floor, would you throw the whole cake away? Or would you call it a loss, clean it up, and continue on what you were doing? When you want to lose weight we are talking about the rest of your life here, and it takes months and months to get to where you want to be. Are you really going to let 5 days of being "bad" ruin that?

I would just call it a break, do you best to portion control and try to stay around maintenance as best you can, and do what you can to squeeze in any opportunities for exercise. Then when you get back, vacations over and get back to it!

Good luck!