Tracking on vacation

Pacergal90

Hello everyone, I'm very new here, this is my first post! I was just a bit curious; when you go on vacation do you track on My Fitness Pal or do you give yourself a break?

janejellyroll

I always log. If I found logging unpleasant, I might decide to give myself a break sometimes.

malibu927

I log, but I aim to keep to maintenance

cwolfman13

I never did.

ETA: I've never gained actual weight on vacation...just water, mostly from air travel. I often actually come back and have lost a couple pounds because when I'm on vacation, I'm way, way, way more active during the day than when I'm at home.

I just got back from Carlsbad caverns and on the day we did the caverns I had over 30K steps and the equivalent of 100 flights of stairs.

garber6th

I'm leaving for vacation tonight, and my plan is to log if I can, but I am not putting pressure on myself to be perfect with it. I plan to make as many good choices as possible, and I know I will be doing a LOT of walking, but my main objective is to enjoy myself because it's vacation!!

Pacergal90

Hope you have a wonderful time garber6th!

DomesticKat

I'm going to Costa Rica in 5 weeks for 12 days and won't be logging by weighing my food, but I will be logging the best I can and I'm going to be sensible about food choices. I know that's the best way to keep myself accountable once I get back and I can fall right back into routine. I am expecting the gallivanting through the rain forest and extra activity to help with logging errors.

middlehaitch

I don't log on vacation.

I am just finishing a month long vacation that included a 14 night cruise, home tomorrow, and though I ate and drank more than usual, I was also extremely active.

I will have 5-10 lbs of water retention when I get home and expect a weight gain of 2lbs or less (going by 9yr of previous experience).

I considered trying to track the first vacation I took, but found I was good enough at portion control to not put more than one or two pounds on, so didn't bother.

I am also not usually in wifi areas and the food I eat is different than what I have in my log so I would have to keep notes- that isn't going to happen when I'm on holiday.

Do what you are most comfortable with. There is no right or wrong way of accounting for your food while on holiday, just don't let worrying about it ruin a great time for you and those you are travelling with.

You have years of holidays, and celebrations to come, now is a good time to learn how to fit them into your life.

Cheers, h.

Running_and_Coffee

It depends on if it's a vacation where food is a focus. Like I just went on a beach vacation and I did track, because there was nothing spectacular about beach/resort type food. Was happy to live off salads with lots of fresh fish. I obviously couldn't weight and measure, though. A vacation in Napa? No tracking--the point of going there is to enjoy. But I don't go on many Napa trips....

jemhh

I do not track on vacations.

middlehaitch wrote: »

Do what you are most comfortable with. There is no right or wrong way of accounting for your food while on holiday, just don't let worrying about it ruin a great time for you and those you are travelling with.

You have years of holidays, and celebrations to come, now is a good time to learn how to fit them into your life.

Great advice

Kst76

malibu927 wrote: »

I log, but I im to keep to maintenance

Im going to,Sweden and Germany in May.
Im planning on maintaining. Im active enough that maintaining shouldn't be an issue. Then i hit it again coming home. It will be like a diet break.

lucerorojo

I track on vacations but don't bring a food scale, so it's more of a guess. I up my calories during vacation and usual lunch just maintain.

MelanieCN77

I visited home last summer and chose not to log but be thoughtful and allow myself to enjoy the social side of eating - I got a temp gym membership and used it, and I ran in a park that was nearby a couple times. I actually came back lighter. I did have almost no alcohol because jetlag put me off a bit so that actually created a calorie deficit for me before anything else. If I had to do it again I might log by writing in my diary.

h1udd

I started to last time .. but gave up after 3 days as there was just too many unknowns eating out, no scale etc etc ..... I just tried to be sensible

came back 2kg heavier .. guessing about 2.5lbs of fat and 1.5lbs of glycogen .. but I ate a LOT, so quite at home with that

WinoGelato

I normally do, with best guesses but don’t stress about it. I recently (as in last night) got back from an All Inclusive in Mexico followed by a work sales meeting in Orlando. I chose to take a two week break from logging food during those two weeks - the first time in 5 years on MFP that I didn’t make an attempt to log - including holidays and other special events. It’s too soon to tell any impact on weight since I’m still impacted by water retention(long flights, lots of alcohol and carby salty meals) - but I don’t anticipate being outside of the top end of my 4 lb maintenance range. Next week I plan to get back in my normal routines which includes logging.

pageohana6

I’m going on vacation next week and headed to Vegas. I’m mentally preparing myself for a gain when I get back. I’m not going to track but try to be mindful of my eating and choices. As far as alcohol goes, well that’s a diff story. I know I’ll come back to a higher number on the scale, but knowing that helps me to prepare to get back to my MFP routine without feeling defeated/ depressed on what the scale will tell me. It’s vacation...enjoy it.

My only concern for me is I’m a daily weigher and not being able to weigh while on vacation to see the fluctuations from alcohol/ food might mess with me a little, bit it’s just a blip in the bigger picture.

susanpasq

I'm going to Folly Beach, SC, for a week the end of the month, staying at a house right on the ocean. My plan is to bump up my calorie count to the maintenance number, eat out 1 meal a day so the other two I can track fairly accurately , log my food the best I can, and
enjoy myself. No plans to lose that week but am going to try not to gain, but won't obsess if I put on a pound or two. Many advantages in staying in a house with a kitchen.

OncologyChick

I'm on a week long all-inclusive holiday in a resort in Tenerife, Spain. I do log, without a scale but with best guesses. I make as many good choices as possible and walk more then at home (my room is far away from the swimmingpool, diningroom and coffeebar) and I take the stairs whenever I can (3 floors).
I did bring my own snacks from home so I won't be too tempted to eat all the bad stuff that's available everywhere.... But a treat once in a while ain't too bad as well. It is a well earned holiday!!

spiriteagle99

We usually go camping, so I don't have access to a computer for days at a time. I don't log.

CarvedTones

I log with guesses when I eat out. If you can find a listing of the restaurant or a a similar meal, then it is an educated guess (those are never exact). I worry about getting into the habit of justifying not logging more than I worry about being dead on. I log on my phone, but if I were unable to for a while, I would write it down and enter it later.

Gisel2015

I don't log unless I am doing some of the cooking and I am familiar with the ingredients; very is seldom when I am on vacation. I am going to be out of the country in few weeks and I know that logging will not be an option for me. Too many unknowns to worry about and I don't want to crowd my food list with items that I am not going to eat again. It is also a diet, logging, and MFP break for me

My technique before going on vacation is to eat at a deficit (I am in maintenance) for a month and try to lose one or two lbs before I start the holiday, to compensate for any weight gained. I weigh myself before leaving and again when I return to determine any gains. With this approach I can watch how long it takes me to shed water weight, and assume that the rest, if any, is fat weight.

I am not a foodie or a drinker and I move a lot when on vacation; mainly walking and sometimes doing some calisthenics in what ever place I am, and most of the time my weight gain is nothing to worry about.