How to manage going on holiday (UK based)

nooboots
nooboots Posts: 480 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have just started, hopefully for the last time, to get my weight under some sort of control. I need to lose 10stone really but have set my goal at 4st 7lbs (63lbs) as this would achieve me being able to fit into a wetsuit which is my goal.

I started on Monday and have been doing well.

But, we have a long holiday coming up at the end of May where we are going to Scotland. This means various pub meals, tea rooms, snacks etc etc. Normally on holiday we eat our way through each day, I love experiencing local food and local restaurants, cosy pubs, pies, pasties, the lot.

My method of weight loss (which has worked well in the past if I stick to it) is to cut out pasta, rice, bread and potatoes and things made of those within reason. I dont call myself a low carber and certainly not doing keto or paleo as thats not right for me.

What to eat while on holiday? What sort of meals, which are not going to be ghastly salad leaves with zero nutrition leaving me hungry, can I eat?

thanks

Replies

  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    edited May 2019
    Well there is no way I can eat the foods I outlined, they are like cocaine to me. (hence my weight problem, they make me ravenous)

    I know what my appropriate portions are, I have been 'dieting' all my life, since the age of about 8,, I know by eye how much things weigh to quite an accurate level.

    Its more about what sort of menu options are there which dont include those items or at least to a very minimal degree? The reason I mention salad is that eating out or restaurant salads are woeful. Zero nutrition in them. When we do a salad here at home the plate is loaded with good things which would keep you full like beetroot, sweetcorn, mushrooms, radish, avocado, nuts, beans, lentils, carrots, so on and so on.

    You never see that in a restaurant, its usually some piddly bit of protein with masses of frisee (which I hate) and couscous (which I am excluding).

    Sandwiches I wouldnt eat, Id be starving after that and be craving food and be unable to manage. I dont even eat them when Im not dieting!
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Yes its about getting straight back to it, something that I always struggle with and hence why Im hoping this is the last time I do this.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    edited May 2019
    I find menus throughout the UK to be similar, though not the same.

    My yearly visit (from the west coast of Canada) goes from the south coast, through Wales and Lancashire and ends with a month in the Borders, Scotland.

    If you are based in the UK, eat similar to what you would if eating out at home.

    Another thing to do would to start researching local food specialities and restaurants at the places you are visiting so you can have a rough idea of what is available and what fits in to your calories and food preferences.

    Cheers, h.

    Eta: I often go for a light breakfast, eggs on toast, yogurt and fruit, etc.
    Lunch I may pick up something in a grocery store, and make a picnic of deli meat and cheeses. Sometimes a pub burger and pint.
    Dinner a meat, 2 veg and starch or skip the starch and have an extra veg.
    Sometimes steak or salmon grilled with veg or salad.

    And of course a couple of Asian meals thrown in, Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. I just check the menus on line.

    I have had some excellent salads too. Cob with ham and turkey, Caesar and steak. Spinach with grilled prawns.

    I think researching options on line for the place(s) you are staying would be a good option. h
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Oh dont worry about that, I live on trip advisor, planning the next meal out.

    Well similar to what we are eating out at home is difficult as once we do this (losing weight again) we dont tend to eat out as much, both of us do the lower carb thing and its so hard in pubs and places where everything is piled high with chips, or pastry.

    I think I may have to be really determined and ask for any chips or rice or whatever to be left off and replaced with veg. I just resent paying for the whole meal when half of it is missing and often when you ask for a salad, as I say, its this measily thing without any substance.

    I just love food too much but equally we always stay in holiday cottages, not hotels so should really eat indoors, a breakfast before we go out for the day and then come home and cook something but I hate that on holiday.
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 3,061 Member
    I'm off to Scotland on Sunday as it happens - we're staying in a hotel. I've checked out the hotel and it does have a swimming pool (probably quite small- they usually are) and we shall be doing lots of sightseeing. So I will be quite active for the 5 days we're there. Think of me swimming round and round a mini hotel pool! We are travelling up from somerset in a coach with an overnight stopover in a hotel in Carlisle both ways. So there will be a lot of sitting in the coach but we always try to walk about as much as possible whenever the coach stops - no sitting around with coffee and cakes. I lost about 50 lbs over about 9 months with lots of holidays. Try to be as active as possible, say no to chips and pastry but otherwise enjoy yourself and just be aware of what you're eating and make sure it is worth the calories.
    There is nothing wrong with potatoes (they have useful amounts of protein and fibre and vitamin C) but ask for new potatoes or jacket - and go easy on the butter! The aroma of a hot pasty is almost irresistible but they have almost nil nutritional value and I find they never taste quite as good as they smell.
    Enjoy yourself and come home refreshed!
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Well here's the plan, we are also stopping off but in Penrith on the way up. We are taking our bikes which we are servicing this weekend but I have not been on the bike for years (hoping it doesnt collapse underneath the weight I have since put on) and I have 'travelled' around the lochs that we are cycling on street view to prepare. (Loch Etive and Loch Creren, Loch Linnhe) Our cottage is on the edge of a loch, so straight out the front door and cycling round, very flat quiet roads I hope.

    Then, we like wild swimming. OH has a wetsuit which unfortunately I dont because Im too fat to find one to fit me, so Im hoping to get a little bit of swimming in the lochs. It will be cold so Im not sure how much I can do. We went swimming in Cornwall at Easter and that was very cold, only managed an hour.

    Potatoes, unfortunately on paper no, theres nothing wrong with them and they contain valuable nutrients. But like I say, those foods fill me with hunger and cravings and are like coke or something to me. I have to stay away or I start to binge.
  • Slayingdragons
    Slayingdragons Posts: 3 Member
    But Scotland does have plenty of fish and game with vegetables and I’d have thought especially around lochs, that you will be able to get fish and green veg. So try finding places which pride themselves on local produce - it’s not always loaded with carbs.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    I just had a similar vacation and got some great advice from @sijomial - I can have yummy things but I don't have to have them all in one day! So much like the advice above perhaps you can plan ahead fr what extra special thing to have each day but not ALL the food ALL the time. Worked great for me and I still felt satisfied and happy without having to spend too much time re-losing when I returned.
  • Misskittyfantastico
    Misskittyfantastico Posts: 35 Member
    I recently posted after coming back from a trip. I’m sharing some of what I said below. I was scared during, but the honesty / accuracy / over estimating thing - I think that was the key. If you’re HONEST then the scales won’t be a surprise when you get home.
    .......
    Just wanted to share recent experience. I don't know if anyone will find it useful or motivational, but it's useful for me to keep track of what works for myself, too, and engaging actively here keeps me accountable.

    I've just got back from a one month work trip to the States. I was really concerned about gaining weight, particularly as my accommodation didn't have scales and I would be eating out a fair bit, plus missing my regular training and classes at the gym. I just tried my hardest to keep to my weight loss calories where possible (1600 ish). I managed this some days, but it was more like 1700-2000 some days too, with the odd all-out 2500-3000 once or twice (e.g. when exploring restaurants in New York). I have been missing my usual gym routine, but I did make sure I walked at least 10,000 steps a day, often more - walking instead of ubering or bussing whenever I could. I've just got home and the scales are...... basically the same as before I left (+ 1 or 2 lbs). I'm so pleased - I really had no idea where they would be. I've lost 34 lbs recently and I really believe if I hadn't kept on top of this I could have gained a big percentage of that back on this trip, if not possibly all of it. I think lessons for myself for the future are:

    - I logged every day
    - I was honest, estimating high rather than low when eating out
    - I aimed at my 'loss' calories, which seemed to mean with some variance I managed to maintain - and I wasn't beating myself up about enjoying food sometimes because there was balance
    - I kept active
    - I weighed myself immediately on getting home, even though I was scared. The loss work starts again now!

    I'm interested to see if others have experiences or strategies for managing work travel and lack of scales!
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    In my limited experience of Scotland I would say choose porridge for breakfast every day as it's absolutely awful the way they prepare it (grey, watery, salty). Definitely very diet friendly.

    For alcohol go for Bucky (Buckfast tonic wine) - so dreadful it's hard to imagine being able to drink more than a sip (for taste comparison think iron filings in red grape juice).

    Save your calories for deep fried Mars bar washed down with Irn Bru.

    (For full disclosure last time I passed through Scotland I ate four full Scottish breakfasts in a 24hr period and they were absolutely divine.)



    Ah the bucky, the drink of the teenage boy up and down the country
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
    There are lots of fresh fish options in Scotland. Last time I went I mainly ate fish and vegetables and only had a 0.5lbs gain as spent every day walking.
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  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    I always have a plan, I dont stick to it though, thats the problem

    The plan is straightforward. Breakfast every day in the cottage, a light lunch OR a light dinner, excluding the things I cant eat and focusing on the protein and veg.

    However I am so weak willed. But I just cant continue to be, Im too old and unhealthy to keep going at this weight, its going to kill me so I must change how I approach holidays (we have a lot).

    Another thing I struggle with is getting back to it once we are back, as said upthread, this is key.

    For those that log the food while you're away, how do you approximate what you've had in a restaurant or pub?
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    As mentioned up thread.

    For knowing how to approximate in an eating out environment I use the portion size I use at home.

    If at home I eat 125g of chicken. I know what that portion size looks like and put the overage aside. (Ask for a doggy bag to take it home. It is a very N American thing but I have found many restaurants and pubs in Scotland oblige when asked.)

    I know you plan to restrict your carbs, but if you do eat then on occasion know the appropriate portion size for those before you go.

    Cheers, h.
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    As mentioned up thread.

    For knowing how to approximate in an eating out environment I use the portion size I use at home.

    If at home I eat 125g of chicken. I know what that portion size looks like and put the overage aside. (Ask for a doggy bag to take it home. It is a very N American thing but I have found many restaurants and pubs in Scotland oblige when asked.)

    I know you plan to restrict your carbs, but if you do eat then on occasion know the appropriate portion size for those before you go.

    Cheers, h.

    Oh yes, all UK places give you a doggy bag if you ask, thats not a problem. For me personally I cannot leave it if its on the plate, unless Im literally stuffed.

    So my plan is that I will have to make the right choice rather than limit what I eat of what Ive ordered. Ive been 'travelling' round the restaurants and pubs we will be going to and have identified some good options so I feel like I can do it.
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Well a bit of an update to this.

    I forgot that we had booked up a little mini break this weekend. We have just got home.

    Now I have found this weekend that my plan to be able to 'estimate' weights/calculations has gone seriously wrong.

    There are some dishes I have had this weekend which I feel I can make a fairly competent stab at calculating, such as a caesar salad on Friday and fish pie yesterday, but Ive also had tapas and a curry and wouldnt know where to start with that, plus a lot of gin and beer.

    Any ideas? (I know this is somewhat of a nearly impossible question)

    Or shall I just give the logging a miss when we go away? Problem is we go away quite a lot. I have all the food I had written down on the phone with my estimations (I have over estimated just in case)
  • fesimo34197
    fesimo34197 Posts: 94 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    In my limited experience of Scotland I would say choose porridge for breakfast every day as it's absolutely awful the way they prepare it (grey, watery, salty). Definitely very diet friendly.

    For alcohol go for Bucky (Buckfast tonic wine) - so dreadful it's hard to imagine being able to drink more than a sip (for taste comparison think iron filings in red grape juice).

    Save your calories for deep fried Mars bar washed down with Irn Bru.

    (For full disclosure last time I passed through Scotland I ate four full Scottish breakfasts in a 24hr period and they were absolutely divine.)



    Whoever made your porridge must have been a disaster 😂🤦🏻‍♀️. As a Scot I think I make good porridge 😂.

    OP hope you enjoyed your trip!

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    For the gin and beer, they are in the data base.
    No need to get the mfg for beer use the alcahol %, and the type of beer you are drinking. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just a good estimate.

    Gin is pretty easy as most popular makes are in the data base ( if you are trying a specialty sipping gin like some of Edinburgh gins, use a generic like sapphire, it will be close enough.
    For your mixer, I usually have tonic, ask for it in the single serving can/bottle where possible. Otherwise if these are drinks you generally have, log your usual portion.

    For things like the curries. If you don’t make them or eat them out when you are at home, make a best guess estimate. I would use a chain restraint menu if you use one when home and know and can compare portion sizes, otherwise I would use M&S, Tesco, etc for the same type curry.

    Tapas are so varied I would just deconstruct and make a best guess.

    If you go away quite a lot I think, if you want to lose weight, learning to limit portions and being happy with best estimate for calories is the best you can do.

    Again if you are going away a lot, I wouldn’t abandon logging you may just end up continuing to yo-yo.

    Best guesses and working with collected data may be your best option.

    Cheers, h.
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    I have done everything except for the tapas. I have no idea where to start

    I had clams in sherry with chopped serrano ham on top
    Baked mussels in garlic, a fairly dry dish, I would say I had about 5 of them on my own
    A feta and anchovy salad (hunt the anchovy)
    A dressed salad
    Figs baked with goats cheese (hunt the goats cheese)
    Prawns in garlic and chilli oil, a good 2 tbs of oil
    Around 25g of bread which I used to eat all the oil with (stingy)
    A sweet potato, chorizo and salt cod hash.

    All of those above dishes were served in about 5 inch tapas dishes and were shared with my partner, so we had about half each

    I was a bit tongue in cheek about the beer and gin, and to some extent the curry, but the tapas really threw me.

    Overall Im pleased with what I picked, I would normally have spent the entire time eating cake, burgers, pizza and chips and I picked fairly ok dishes although I could have made wiser choices with the curry as I had one with a sauce and next time I will forgo the starter and have a dry dish. We left quite a lot anyway as I think we have started to get used to eating less and it defeated us.

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