Going on vacation...afraid of how to eat well while away!

nanlan50

I'll be leaving on vacation for two weeks next Monday and I'm worried about how I will be able to keep track and even eat well while I'm away from home. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to blow all my hard work!

nomeejerome

Try to make decent choices, drink lots of water, enjoy yourself and get back to it when you return home.

jenillawafer

Take what you've learned here and apply it to everyday life. Make better food choices, but don't get discouraged if you slip up. It's all about moderation, so enjoy that vacation and try not to stress too much!

YaGigi

Why?
If you stay in a hotel, you have a regular breakfast - omelet, yogurt.

Lunch and dinner at a caffee or a restaurant where you can make healthy choices.

Emglyfolk

I have been traveling for 6 weeks and have 4 more to go. Advise above is all good. I drink lots of water; have a good protien breakfast; soups for lunch; order sauces, etc on the side in a restaurant; eat lots of salads with meat or fish added; and watch the wine and beer. I have gained 4 pounds and that is OK with such a long time away. I 'chart' on paper as I'm out all day .... it is easy to forget what you have eaten. Don't be obsessed, enjoy our vacation... my plan is to keep any gain under 5 pounds so I can get back on track quickly when I get home.... even at goal our weight will fluctuate with events in our lives...

diannethegeek

My two cents: if your diet ruins your vacation then it's not a very sustainable diet.

Have fun. Make the best choices you can and move more. Don't stress over what you can't control. And when you get home stay off the scale for a week or two because you'll almost certainly be retaining some water no matter how good you were.

NonnyMary

You could take a small notepad and record it as you go along, and then when you get back, record that in MFP.

nanlan50

Thanks for all the suggestions! I appreciate the support!

SJVZEE

I just got back from a week long road trip-where we ate out every single meal I 'gained' a pound and it was gone two days after we got back, after I got back to eating normally. I didn't track anything while on the trip, but was very mindful of portion sizes (small fries instead of medium or large sized, used half of the salad dressing portions etc). I also practiced IF-skipped breakfast and then ate just 2 meals a day with no snacking. That way I wasn't grazing throughout the day, while we were driving. I was very happy with how it went

vjsanvil

In addition to all the good advice above - when I went on vacation I was concerned that I might indulge too much in ice cream (something I associate with the beach, vacation, etc!). My nutritionist suggested to not have the ice cream then until the end of the trip, because if I had it at the beginning I would want it every day. If I had it at the end of the trip, by the time I would crave it again I would be home. It worked! Had ice cream (and fried clam strips!) twice on vacation while the rest of my friends had it 8 days in a row. Good luck and enjoy vacation!

Joreanasaurous

Where are you going on vacation?

My advise is have fun, but be practical. Common sense goes a long way with food choices.

Also try and pick activities to do that are active. Walk when you can or ride a bike.

Enjoy your vacation.

Joannesmith2818

I didn't log on my holiday but tried to remain aware. I ate a fair amount and it was gd. I only put on 1Ib over a week and a half and it gave me the energy to dive straight back in!

nanlan50

I'm going on a road trip as well...We're driving from Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Syracuse, NY for two days, then to Myrtle Beach, SC for another few days, then to Orlando Florida for 5 days, then back to the beach somewhere in Florida and then back home....I worry there will be a lot of fast food joints while we're on the road that don't always offer the healthiest choices....Glad to hear it can be done though

ze_hombre

Rather than worrying about it, I just brought my running shoes and kept track of what I ate and ran early in the morning to burn off the day before of what I planned on eating that day. Its next to impossible to eat properly without access to a kitchen. Its doable, but not very easy and not conducive to enjoying a vacation. Enjoy yourself, just hit the trail and burn it off.

itsscottwilder

I log everything every day using the iphone app. Vacation next week will be no different.

ze_hombre

I log everything every day using the iphone app. Vacation next week will be no different.

This can be hard, though. If you go to good restaurants that are not chains the food is rarely there and you have to guesstimate the ingredients. Yes, log the food, but take it with a grain of salt. Chances are you are going to log way under what you are eating.

walterm852

I'll be leaving on vacation for two weeks next Monday and I'm worried about how I will be able to keep track and even eat well while I'm away from home. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to blow all my hard work!

Thanks for the post (and the MFP search), I am leaving Saturday for a week and I was looking for advice especially because of the dinners and traditions already lined up on the trip. Multiple BBqs, pizza nights, fried clams

I am sort of pysched to test this new lifestyle:
- Will keep up work out routinue and take walks
- packing protein powder as meal replacement for times I am not with friends
- will choose proteins and veggies at meals as much as I can
- looked at fast food salads offers in advance and found some relatively decent options if I am pressed to stop. (at a baseball team stop at McDonalds this summer I was shocked at the low cals in a McD's grilled chix sald and the low cal dressing I picked, check out my diary 2nd Sat in July)

For me the true test will be enjoy when its time to enjoy, but get back on track when I can choose healthy options.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed already, I picked up some additional ideas

SurfyFriend

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SurfyFriend

The last vacation I went on, we got free breakfast at the hotel, ate all we cared for and then walked around and did stuff all day, maybe had some fruit or a sandwich and then went out for dinner. It was fine

acpgee

Maybe a little tough during a road trip but I try to fit in some exercise. If the hotel has a pool or gym use it in the morning. Otherwise make sure I get a walk. Maybe pack a jump rope if you will be in basic motels roadside?

KANGOOJUMPS

must do for a vacation.
eat a lot
drink a lot
and have a lot of sex.

shrinkingbrian

I went on a two week vacation with my family. I tried to watch my portions but I also tried to enjoy myself. I gained 5 pounds in two weeks. It was a good learning experience that I need to stay focused. I lost those 5 pounds in a week so I think it may have been some water weight from eating high sodium foods. Enjoy yourself on vacation and don't worry about it too much. It's more the everyday choices that make a big difference in living healthy.

c_tap77

Stock up on some healthy snacks and take a cooler in the car! You can switch out ice at the hotels---they almost always have a free ice machine.

You can put fruit, veggies, ice. If the hotels have free breakfast take some fruit for the road. That way when you stop at the fast food places along the way, you will have already filled up on some good stuff and wont be as hungry for the fried stuff.

sassymanatee

I always lose weight during vacation without even trying. My secret is to stay busy and have too much fun to even think about food. By doing that, I got to try different dishes that I would otherwise never try and still lose weight!

kpick41

Vacations/camping/anything out of my normal routine frighten me. I'm always worried about falling off the wagon.
I'd love to hear your tips after you get back.

MinnieInMaine

My two cents: if your diet ruins your vacation then it's not a very sustainable diet.

Have fun. Make the best choices you can and move more. Don't stress over what you can't control. And when you get home stay off the scale for a week or two because you'll almost certainly be retaining some water no matter how good you were.

Awesome reply!

I've had my ups and downs on vacations but find the following helps a lot:

Bring a few snacks or plan on buying some when you get to your destination. Having a protein bar or some fruit on hand helps avoid temptations... Say you start getting hungry but it's a coulpe hours until you're planning on going to dinner. If you wait until you get to dinner, you'll be so famished that all the goodies will be too tempting to pass up. But if you have a snack, you'll be able to keep control!

Get as much activity in as you can. Encourage your fellow travellers to hit the pool or gym with you every morning/night. Plan your day so you walk instead of taking public transoprt. Just be careful about safety...

Moderate drinking. Not only is it high cal but it can lower your inhibitions which again leads to giving into temptations. Enjoy a few cocktails of course but pace yourself by drinking water between drinks and really taking your time to enjoy. If you're thirsty, drink a glass or two of water first, then have your wine/cocktail. I've made this mistake a few too many times and wind up with a big buzz before I realize what I did wrong. Oops!

If you can't get on MFP but want to stil track, just use pen and paper. Don't worry about the numbers. Just jotting down what you're eating will help you to be mindful.

Above all, have fun!!