Do you count calories / log MFP on vacations?

Gisel2015

No, I don't weigh or log (too much hassle and inaccuracies, and no worthy for me), but I mentally count calories and I chose mindfully. I don't eat fast food, and I try to limit eating out to once a day. Since I don't drink and I am not a foodie, it works for me. Walking a lot also helps.

What I do and has helped me a lot, is to go into a deficit the month before vacation, either by eating less, exercising more or a combination of both. Dropping a couple of lbs before the trip really helps to balance things out.

gallicinvasion

I haven't tried a vacation yet with my new eating habits. But I think if I were to plan a trip, I would set my goal to maintenance and estimate my food at the end of the day. My number one goal would be to practice seeing some red in the final calorie tally and being okay with that. I think estimating would help my choices stay more responsible, but setting to maintenance would make sure that I have much more leeway to enjoy new and exciting foods without guilt.

I definitely wouldn't weigh myself, though. Probably wouldn't weigh myself until like two weeks after returning from the trip, so I don't have to see any sodium/water-weight fluctuations. I'm working on making the number on the scale matter less to me, and trying to pay more attention to how fit, energetic, and content I feel.

gallicinvasion

nickb2124 wrote: »

If you do log, how would you go about it? It is so complicated to figure out the nutritional value of outside food... at home it feels like having a rough estimate of a meal a couple of times a week is ok, but when on vacation, it feels that my estimate for a day can easily be 1.5X-2X wrong.

I think the main benefit of estimating your calorie intake on vacation would be that it would encourage you to make reasonable food choices rather than going on an all-out bingefest. I don't think you could expect that your logging would be anywhere near as accurate as it is at home, but I think the behavioral effect is probably worth it.

Normally when I eat out, I try to find similar meal items from chain restaurants or get an estimate of serving size and calories from recipes online, and then I add cooking oil calories just to be realistic. If I'm a little off, I try not to sweat it.

nutmegoreo

I don't log on vacation and I've lost weight on my last 5 trips (once the flight weight came off). I tend to be really active and just try to not overindulge.

MikePTY

I didn't log on my most recent vacation. Logging is a tool. It has its benefits but in and of itself its not a means and an ends of everything. You body accurately logs for you whether you put in your diary or not. I would just try to be cognizant of what you are eating and make better choices while you are able to while still enjoying yourself.

Live_life_well

When I travel I tend to do 30k steps per day and only tend to eat 2-3 meals per day. Difficult for me to go over calories when I am so active for the entire day. The problem is when I am working and sitting at a desk for 12 hours a day

I wear my Fitbit and on my last vacation I was burning 5k calories per day. This was with me going to the gym daily and then walking 30k steps or so going around the city for 12 hours.

trinati2001

I don't log when on vacation (a trip away from home. I still log for a staycation). But what I do is prelose the weight. I'm really strick and controlled a week or a month before the trip to lose as much as possible. My goal is that I'm ok not allowed to gain what I've already lost. It works really well because I don't really want to gain the weight that I just really worked really hard to lose. So I splurge when it is really worth it.

This worked great in Paris and Budapest!

NorthCascades

I go on vacation every June and don't have cell reception or internet access. But then I have to carry all my food a rough mile to the cabin, which keeps me from going overboard.

Safari_Gal

I travel a lot - I log on all vacations. For me - it’s a vacation from work not health and weight loss.

Danp

I haven't had a holiday of any reasonable length since starting to manage my weight but I can't see myself bothering when I do.

When I decided to get my weight under control I made a few promises to myself. Promises which ensured that what I was doing would be lasting, permanent and not require any effort to continue. One was that I wasn't going to make any changes that I couldn't commit to forever and another was that I was going to be the 'real me' (ie the 'normal weight' me) from the outset, living my 'normal life'. Logging while on holidays goes against both of those promises.

There's no way I could honestly commit to logging while on holidays for the rest of my life so it's not something I'm going to do while I'm losing weight. It's not forever, so it's not on now.

For me (the real me) holidays, vacations and celebrations are times when I want to enjoy myself, and treat myself. I want to order the indulgent food when I go to a restaurant, I want to knock back the calorie laden cocktails by the pool, I want to take the kids out for ice cream and have a sundae with them. And quite frankly, if I get back from that holiday temporarily 5kg heavier than I was when I left I'd count that as well worth it.

scorpcookie

It depends, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I'll be going to NYC for the first time next weekend, that will definitely be a I'm not logging vacation as I intend on experiencing plenty of different foods.

Courtscan2

I don't log, but I do try to eat reasonably well, and stop myself from overeating - at least for a day or two, then I usually cave and just eat and drink to my heart's content and worry about the consequences when I get back home. I do try to stay active though.

confidenceinrain

I logged on vacation when we visited my family this year, although missed a couple of dinners due to a spotty roaming service. It was good to at least log in for a mental reminder to watch what I eat.

mazdauk

I always log - if I can't find exactly what I've had I pick the nearest thing. I know its not as accurate as when I'm at home with my scale but it helps me be mindful. I also won't finish something if its not delicious - not worth the calories. I continue to log my exercise as well - mainly walking, but sometimes there's a class I can do. If I get out of the habit then its too easy to backslide and get into bad habits of nibbling something without logging it as "its only one chocolate/slice of cheese/ few chips"

missysippy930

Yes, to the best of my ability, and I will continue to log everything, even when/if I reach maintenance. Whether I am over, or under my daily calorie budget. It keeps me accountable and aware of what I am eating.

dbanks80

amy19355 wrote: »

dbanks80 wrote: »

I went on an 11 day trip in August. I did not log anything. But we did a ton of walking. I ended maintaining my weight. I ate and drank what i wanted. It was Italy and I wanted to enjoy everything Italy had to offer.

I also was a little worried about keeping up with my goals during my recent business trip to Italy.

But a combo of lots of walking plus mindfulness about portion sizes made the week easy and enjoyable, without missing out in any of the yummy foods.

Such as : big green olives stuffed with sausage meat then battered and deep fried.

I had gelato every single day!! OMG the food was fantastic! Stuffed olives sounds delicious!!

paperpudding

I do nto log on vacation. Eating different foods and no scale would just make estimates so inaccurate - and thats from someone who never tries to be that accurate in the first place.

I take a break from logging when on vacation and just try to eat sensibly and to keep up the activity level.