Vacation binge advice?

dave_in_ni

So was off and leave last week. I never went anywhere which was actually worse as I was bored and all I had to do was eat and I really went to town.

I’m talking takeaway every night, chocolate crisps all the junk I could eat basically.

I fell of the wagon big time. Have you ever done this? I just feel so guilty and fat now.

I’m back to work tomorrow so I know I will be back on track then but as I say just feel so bad now.

Any advice? I should add I am going on a weeks vacation in a couple of weeks, I need to learn from this and not let it happen again.

LyndaBSS

We've all been there. Sounds like you know what you need to do to get back on track. 😉

NovusDies

You need to start by losing the guilt. You ate food. It wasn't an immoral act. I find it hard to be objective when I am plagued with guilt. Overfeeds are not necessarily a bad thing anyway. The one I had in April helped me lose some fatigue that was causing my rate of loss to start slipping. During the overfeed I regained half a pound but since then I have been losing back at my normal pace. I planned to do it though because I felt it would help and it did.

Since yours was not planned prevention always starts with how you are handling your deficit days. Are you eating enough treats in your normal routine? Are you eating enough calories to lose at a comfortable pace for yourself?

texasredreb

Forgive yourself. Log it all accurately. Move on.

Azdak

Keep in mind that even if you overate by 1000 calories a day, that’s only 2lbs. No biggie.

Danp

What if there was no wagon?

What if overeating for an entire weak doesn't mean squat because 1 week makes up less than 2% of the entire year and what you did/do during that 2% is in the grand scheme of things pretty meaningless when compared to what you do during the other 98%

What if enjoying yourself sometimes is important and healthy?

What if being perfect all the time is impossible and not something you should expect?

What if you did nothing wrong?

slbbw

At worst saying you ate 1000 calories over MAINTENANCE each day (which would be a bunch to sustain daily), then you possibly could have gained up to 2lbs of fat in that week. You may also have de-stressed a bit, reset your hunger hormones and did a bunch of other beneficial things that week as well. Likely you did not overeat by quite that much gained a percentage of that 2lbs but still had some of the positive side effects of the reset. Feel no guilt. Do not try and compensate. Do get back on the steady plan you ad and in a week everything will be back to where you started or maybe even still on track. Most importantly do not let it derail your long term mindset.

dave_in_ni

Danp wrote: »

What if there was no wagon?

What if overeating for an entire weak doesn't mean squat because 1 week makes up less than 2% of the entire year and what you did/do during that 2% is in the grand scheme of things pretty meaningless when compared to what you do during the other 98%

What if enjoying yourself sometimes is important and healthy?

What if being perfect all the time is impossible and not something you should expect?

What if you did nothing wrong?

Good way of looking at it I guess.

Momjogger

Danp wrote: »

What if there was no wagon?

What if overeating for an entire weak doesn't mean squat because 1 week makes up less than 2% of the entire year and what you did/do during that 2% is in the grand scheme of things pretty meaningless when compared to what you do during the other 98%

What if enjoying yourself sometimes is important and healthy?

What if being perfect all the time is impossible and not something you should expect?

What if you did nothing wrong?

I love this. So true. I ate too much when I was away, and then ate too much when I got back. I logged my food every day, even on my cheat days so I stay in the habit and can track my eating patterns. Feeling guilt starts those defeatist thoughts, which can derail you. Look at it as a lifelong journey and trust in the process. I call cheat days “re - feeds” and then just try again the next day. It’s not easy, but give yourself a break!

shrinking_amazonian

I eat out of boredom too. A lot. I have a ton of vacation with my job and am very lucky for it but my spouse has no paid vacation so I am often home alone.

If I do not have some structure while I am on vacation it can easily turn into a free for all. I need to keep myself busy. Cleaning and chores helps but who wants to do that all holiday? I like to try and get out of the house, go for walks, go to the park and enjoy nature, go the library, visit with my grandma, go walk the mall if the weather is poor ... anything I can do to stay away from the fridge for a few hours so I am not in there rummaging around.

ExistingFish

Think of how long it takes to lose weight. Believe it not, you don't gain weight much faster. Months of progress doesn't just fall off with a week of being "off". A week, in the grand scheme of the rest of your life of healthy eating, is nothing.

You may see a huge scale jump. You didn't gain that much, you are probably retaining water from the extra food and sodium-laden restaurant food.

RelCanonical

I agree with a lot of the comments above. Looking to the future, what's helped me on vacation is planning and keeping busy, but not too busy (where you get overtired). So, for planning, I make sure to bring things along that I enjoy, but I won't go overboard with. It can be treats! That way, it's easier to portion. I also make sure I bring things to do in downtime. A book, or video games, so I'm not stuck with nothing to do in downtime, which is also when I go to eat. I also try to make a grocery store visit while on vacation, and buy things that I can just keep around the house. Again, doesn't have to be totally low-calories things, but things you enjoy and won't go crazy overboard on. I make a list beforehand so I don't get caught up in the things at the grocery store that are impulsive.

Lastly, I try to make some time for downtime, because being too busy makes me just want to grab whatever, and that's when I go overboard. It also helps because I can cook. I generally do the airbnb thing so I'm not as limited, although I do have grocery lists that take into account no stove top, microwave, or fridge.

Blythmag

Came off keto 2 weeks ago after my wedding .went on honeymoon wouldn't say I ate to excess tbh.i had a lot of carbs and more booze ...jumped on the scales today, got back yesterday, shocked at a 7lb weight gain .however I now understand a couple of that will be water weight and I hope in a week to have shed 2 pounds.back on strict keto today.

Blythmag

The time I ever try to diet or watch what I eat on holiday will be the day I give up holidays

sunfastrose

I leave on Friday for the vacation that is the highlight of my year. It’s a large group, family vacation that we’ve been going on since 1981. During those two weeks, we go on what we call “constant eating mode”. When that vacation is over, I come back, wince a bit at the scale, and get back to normal. I have maintained a 50 pound weight loss for 18 years - including this vacation.

PAV8888

Blythmag wrote: »

Came off keto 2 weeks ago after my wedding .went on honeymoon wouldn't say I ate to excess tbh.i had a lot of carbs and more booze ...jumped on the scales today, got back yesterday, shocked at a 7lb weight gain .however I now understand a couple of that will be water weight and I hope in a week to have shed 2 pounds.back on strict keto today.

Keto is an even more special case since people have to deal with glycogen depletion/replenishment in addition to everything else!

A good 66% + of your 7lbs is probably due to glycogen replenishment because you went off keto. This is not fat gain as by definition glycogen is lean mass. And it is the same lean mass you will lose when starting up keto. In other words it is borrowed water weight loss and gain that will always be there when you enter and exit keto.