Vacation

KimmySmellsbee

I'm leaving for vacation this Thursday. What are your best strategies to keep your eating and fitness on track during vacation?

Danger zones: Visiting family, so big dinners. Drinks - we enjoy a lot of alcohol on vacation. Days driving all day - hard to exercise when you drive 8 hours. No access to the ususals - gym or yoga studio. Treats - easy to try to justify treats b/c its 'special' when on vacation. Mother in law who cooks decently healthy but has a 'need to feed' - makes lots of food and wants you to eat.

Positives: We are focusing on mountain biking - bringing our bikes and planning long rides. Camping many of the days - so will likely also do a little hike, and some nice walks. Pre packing and planning lots of healthy foods.

Any tips are appreciated. I'm certain there's things I haven't thought of. Thanks in advance.

mbaker566

postives are very good
the danger is avoidable or minimize-able. you don't need a gym or studio to work out. you can eat smaller portions and nurse your alcohol. you do not need to exercise to lose weight.
you are an adult and tell MIL no

also you are on vacation. have fun. don't get too caught up in what you are eating or doing. don't go nuts but don't wring your hands either
on vacation, i aim more for maintenance calories

midlomel1971

It sounds like you're on the right track. I feel your anxiety...vacations ALWAYS throw me off track. And it usually takes weeks for me to get back on board. Lots of wine, vacation treats my mom buys like Poptarts and chips, Duck Donuts (we vacay in the Outer Banks NC and these donuts are LETHAL).

I think my plan is to just eat breakfast and lunch as I normally do. And just not worry about dinner and the drinking I'll do. BUT make sure to get some kind of workout in for 30 minutes a day. And most importantly not stress about gaining a few pounds. It is vacation, after all. And to make sure to get back here to MFP and start logging away the following Monday.

hesn92

Personally I just enjoy myself. It’s a vacation. I will drink as much as I want and eat what I want. I’m not going out of my way to work out, although I enjoy doing active things like hiking. That’s just me though.

Leannep2201

I’m also going on vacation- on Friday, for a long weekend.
In the past I have also eaten at maintenance and tried to get some activity in each day- last time it was just as simple as ensuring I got enough steps around the campground.
This time, we will be eating breakfast where we are staying, and lunches and dinners out. Will be aiming to make healthy choices from what is available and watch my portion sizes.
Hope that helps!

1BlueAurora

Your planned activities sound great! Those long car drives can be killer. We always pack a small cooler of no-calorie drinks, fresh fruit, cheese and yogurt to eat at scenic overlooks or pretty rest areas. For the big family dinners, I just confine myself to a portion of everything or a huge helping of what I want to eat and a token serving of what looks particularly dangerous. When mom-in-law tries to wheedle me into eating more, I usually say I'm stuffed but it was delicious, and can she give me the recipe for whatever because it was so good. Or, no thank you, I'm saving room for wine! I think with all the physical activity you've planned, a little overindulging won't set you back very far. Have fun!

malibu927

I'm leaving tomorrow and planned a diet break around this week. I'll be eating at maintenance and doing a lot of walking around the city...especially because I don't think my hotel has an exercise room.

KimmySmellsbee

Thanks for all the thoughtful input and different strategies! I will have fun and some indulgences but we do a lot of trips (lucky I know), so I need to stay on track at some level.

elisa123gal

activity is what saved me..i went to italy for 14 days... i was amazed when i didnt gain weight. The only thing i can figure, was the extreme amount of walking each day. But i was walking all day long...everywhere!

LivingtheLeanDream

Big dinners - you'll probably be putting your own food on the plate? so you can limit your portion sizes in general and if there are plenty of veg, fill the plate with those e.g

You're going to be active so that right there will be a great help.

Have Fun because it's only for a short period of time in the grand scheme of things. Once you're back home again and normal routine resumes, any gain will also be history in no time.