Italian Getaway - How To Maintain!?

peaceout_aly

Hey ya'll!!! Another post. Been on a roll within the boards lately. I'm currently mid-prep for a powerlifting meet on July 14th. I'm trying to increase strength while maintaining a waist for summer - so I've been eating 1,400 - 1,500 cals x day with 100 - 140 grams of protein. My prep is going well, have added on 10 - 30 lbs. on every lift, compound or accessory, which is nice. I'm on a roll with staying consistent within diet and training, however I leave for a two-week Italian vacation next week and I'm super excited, yet stressing over how it will affect my prep.

I have two questions: any tips and tricks for maintaining strength while on vacation in another country where gyms may not be easily accessible? Also, advice for staying within calorie means while in the country of pasta & cheese?!

I'm bringing my bands, sneakers, gym clothes and protein. I plan on skipping cardio since we'll be walking so much anyway, and utilizing any hotel gym equipment that I can on 7/14 days that we're there. I know they won't have a barbell or racks, but I can do as much as I can with free weights or cable machines. Make do. For diet, I'm not a HUGE pasta fan, but I'm gonna have some a few days just to try it. Besides that I'll probably stick to seafood and chicken with veggies...and of course make room for wine. That's why I'm bringing protein because I figure if I can get protein in within the early hours then I'll at least be at 40-50 grams for the day to start off. One (sort of) plus is that I won't be able to give into my sweet tooth cravings and dig into gelato since I have a major peanut and tree nut allergy - can't take chances in another country. My one BIG goal while out and about is to drink a bunch of water, stretch daily and continue taking my vitamins daily (something I forget at least twice every trip I ever take). And of course, enjoy the time and travels and get right back to training as soon as I'm home!

MadisonMolly2017

I went to Tuscany & not once did they serve pasta! Apparently it was not big in their diet. Tons of delicious grits and vegetables, meats & fish. I was surprised & I have no idea whether Italians really eat a lot of pasta or not now LOL

One small idea is to set an alarm on your smart watch for your vitamins & carry them in your bag. OR with your toothbrush!

You may be able to get Day passes to gyms near your hotels. Often they will let you come once - sometimes even for free.

peaceout_aly

MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »

I went to Tuscany & not once did they serve pasta! Apparently it was not big in their diet. Tons of delicious grits and vegetables, meats & fish. I was surprised & I have no idea whether Italians really eat a lot of pasta or not now LOL

One small idea is to set an alarm on your smart watch for your vitamins & carry them in your bag. OR with your toothbrush!

You may be able to get Day passes to gyms near your hotels. Often they will let you come once - sometimes even for free.

Great idea! I planned out checking out gyms in a few of our stops, but I know that many of the days I will have to go either really early (tours start at 8AM, so like 5AM!!) or super late. They didn't serve pasta?! That's good news for me. I'm not a huge fan, but my boyfriend is definitely expecting pounds and pounds of pasta on this trip LOL.

peaceout_aly

Love the alarm + toothbrush idea for vitamins!

tulips_and_tea

Considering you have a competition in July I'd imagine you'll probably maintain just fine during vacation. Knowing the hard work involved it's unlikely that you'll overindulge too much.

Sure the food will be delicious, but for me personally, I'm so active during vacations that I don't worry about a few extra calories here and there. I'm cautious, too, because eating new and different foods is great to try but it can wreak havoc on the digestive system so I stick to small portions.

In other words, stay hydrated, stay active and enjoy the trip!

Semele0

Hi, where are you going exactly in Italy?
I'm going to reassure you: you will be able to eat non pasta dishes pratically everywhere, there's much more to Italian cuisine then just pasta. I would suggest you try it al least once, and so also pizza, especially if you visit southern Italy too, but on a daily basis you can eat a lot of fish and meat (maybe less chicken), and a lot of vegetables.
About gelato, there are many flavours without nuts, you shouldn't have problems, especially if you choose a fruit flavour.
Many gym will make you try the gym, so you will be able to get in once for free. It's not very nice to do it if you have no intention on signin up, but maybe if there is nothing in the hotel you can do it this way. Or maybe you could ask if they have daily passes, so you pay day by day. Since you do powerlifting I doubt bodystrenght exercises will be useful, but maybe you can search some variation of them to make them harder and a challenge for you, so you can exercise a little in your hotel room too, in case it is the only option. Try to google "advanced calisthenic" or something like that.

HoneyBadger302

Spent 10 days in Italy last year, mostly in northern Tuscany. My sister and I pretty much stayed off the beaten path, but I actually lost several pounds while there - and had zero cares about how much I was eating!

Diets are fresh, light, and you don't see the massive portions you see here. We made a couple of grocery store stops (we were both on a budget) and stocked up on meats, cheeses, olives, and, of course, wine and turned that into several meals each time - we'd get to our villa or Air BnB for the night, and spread out on the picnic table and enjoy our food and wine overlooking the countryside! I think we ate pasta once, but it's NOT a common dish, at least in that region. Oh, and as far as we were concerned, gelato was a perfectly reasonable lunch choice!

We did a TON of walking (despite my bad leg), hiking, etc. Spent one afternoon at a lake park hiking around it, and another hiking up to some waaaaay off the beaten path ruins we saw on our drive through the mountains the day before. Fair bit of exploring in small towns we were visiting or passing through.
Even in the bigger cities you'll be doing a lot of walking around from one sight to another.

As for your strength, not sure I have great ideas beyond doing some bodyweight stuff to maintain what you can.

bisky

I lived for two years in northern Italy and the food is lighter there if you can avoid the cheese, gelato, wine and desserts. But hey, vacation! I was there again for the month of March and was only up two lbs.

There is hiking if you look for it and bicycling everywhere, esp. Tuscany. On the menu there will be first and second course choices. Don't feel you have to order both. First course is usually the pasta dishes, gnocchi, risotto, soups, etc. Then second course consists of meats, chicken or fish maybe with side vegetables or polenta. Also on the menu frequently is contorni - grilled vegetables. Usually vegetable in season plus red pepper, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, egg plant,tomatoes and if you are lucky grilled radicchio. You add olive oil and balsamic to you're liking. I usually just added balsamic, salt and pepper. Also frequently the salads will not come with dressing on top unless specified and again you add olive oil & balsalmic. Be sure to visit a local grocery store for taking home olive oil, cookies, candy, balsamic vinegar, wines and limoncello. Pack light and bring home some wonderful gifts and mementos. I have a nespresso machine and the pods by lavazza are excellent and cheap.

There are a million and one pizza places but the crust is usually thin and you can find very healthy options. As far as weight lifting, I don't know. I had the military gym. Very common to order water with a meal as well as wine. Water comes bottled usually with your choice or still or frizzante (carbonated water...with lemon or lime delicious). Breakfast are the toughest I think.. a lot of hotels will serve breakfast with lodging or a small fee. Hopefully you will have fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs plus all kinds of delicious breads & sweets. The yoghurt is delicious and they usually have granola type cereal (muesli ) along with nuts and dried fruit. Always ask for a cappuccino at breakfast. Later in day more accepted to order a caffè macchiato...shot of espresso "stained" with frothed milk. I don't care for that much milk and frequently ordered a couple of macchiatos in the morning. For some reason that is more accepted than a cappuccino in the afternoon.

jrwms714

Have to agree with everyone. Have been to Italy four times, all parts of it. Eating fresh is relatively easy. Often, meals consist of about 4 ingredients, and lots of them are veggies. I'm close to vegan/vegetarian in my diet and never had a problem. The pizza is nothing like ours and you could easily have it now and then. It's thin crust and often with veggies. You should have no problem.

psychod787

Walk a lot. Sounds stupid, went to dc for 10 days back in Dec. Barely tracked, walked everywhere. Actually lost weight.

elisa123gal

just returned from14 day trip in Rome. Ate the food.... walked all day long.. did not gain a thing. walk..eat..enjoy...

lucerorojo

I've been to Italy 4 times (about 3-4 weeks each time) and each time I LOST weight. I was not tracking or watching what I ate. I was mostly in hilly areas so all of that walking probably helped. I ate pasta usually twice a day (lunch and dinner). Breakfast, except for the one time I stayed with some Italians, was usually just coffee and a pastry (if anything). At the Italian home I ate lots of bread or pannetone for breakfast. Wine every night too.

peaceout_aly

It's awesome to know that my options will not be limited to pizza and pasta! I am excited to try out the fresh veggie and seafood selection that so many have raved about on this thread. Looking back, I think every trip I've ever taken I have maintained or lost weight (with the exception of an all-inclusive followed by Turks & Caicos..lots of eating, lots of relaxing). I kind of want to invest in a Fit Bit to see how many steps we take each day. I know there will be TONS of walking. When I get the chance to hit the gym on this trip I'm going to focus on weights, bands and what not since it sounds like I will be getting enough cardio otherwise. Thanks for all the tips guys! I'm in the process of packing right now, protein and BCAA travel packs are among my essentials. Hoping I can fit all my clothes

cwolfman13

I don't think I've ever gained actual weight (fat) on vacation. In general, I'm way more active than I would be at home, even without any deliberate exercise.

You will likely gain some water weight...namely from air travel.

LivingtheLeanDream

I don't gain true weight on any vacation and we mostly do cruising these days where food is a plenty.
I keep active on holidays and generally keep an eye on portions but still will have at least one dessert a day.
Enjoy the vacation, you can soon sort any weight gain on your return - when you go back to normal eating/routine any gain is usually gone in no time.