Camping?

This summer we've planned several trips in our RV. Does anyone have any tips on keeping on weightloss goals while camping? We camped a long weekend in May, and I gained 3 pounds in 3 days. :(

Things I have thought of:

1. take my blender, crockpot, kettle and teapot- for smoothies, soups and tea
2. plan, plan, plan
3. make flat freezer meals that can go easily in the crockpot www.thefamilyfreezer.com is where i get my inspiration for these
4. don't take anything I might overeat, like protein bars
5. no need to bring ice cream treats (my big downfall), frozen cool-whip is tasty and lower in calories
6. let myself have a couple of treats so I don't feel deprive
7. Give myself a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, if I only gain say 5 pounds over 2 months

Thankfully, we are going to Jasper and Banff in the Rockies and Alberta has some pretty strict rules in place. So we can avoid going into the townsites and eating out.

Any other suggestions?
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Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,329 Member
    Yes, the 3lbs were likely water weight. Sodium, unfamiliar temperatures, moving more, sitting in a car/van for longer tomes or generally moving less, sleeping less well, excitement, etc...
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,427 Member
    This summer we've planned several trips in our RV. Does anyone have any tips on keeping on weightloss goals while camping? We camped a long weekend in May, and I gained 3 pounds in 3 days. :(

    Things I have thought of:

    1. take my blender, crockpot, kettle and teapot- for smoothies, soups and tea
    2. plan, plan, plan
    3. make flat freezer meals that can go easily in the crockpot www.thefamilyfreezer.com is where i get my inspiration for these
    4. don't take anything I might overeat, like protein bars
    5. no need to bring ice cream treats (my big downfall), frozen cool-whip is tasty and lower in calories
    6. let myself have a couple of treats so I don't feel deprive
    7. Give myself a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, if I only gain say 5 pounds over 2 months

    Thankfully, we are going to Jasper and Banff in the Rockies and Alberta has some pretty strict rules in place. So we can avoid going into the townsites and eating out.

    Any other suggestions?

    You should be more active when camping.

    IMO, don't plan to fail.
  • zaknjakesmum
    zaknjakesmum Posts: 73 Member
    edited June 2021
    Thank you for the suggestions. It's only the 2 of us going, and we have a 32 foot RV, so lots of room and hidey-holes for my appliances- consistancy really seems to work for me. Hiking and other activities would be great and maybe I could do something slow, but I have had MS for 21 years and I do things in slow-mo, not a great help in weight loss. I should have mentioned that in the first post, sorry.
    We won't have wifi in the mountains. but I'm going to take some paper copies...tracking is a very useful tool for me! I should have done a #8- drink lots of water!

    Jen, 49
    234 /184/ 150?
  • rhaiin
    rhaiin Posts: 35 Member
    Last time I went camping, I did all my prep work ahead of time and threw meals into ziploc bags. When it was time to eat, I just dumped them into a foil pack and threw them in the fire. I'm sure you could do these recipes in a crockpot as well.

    - Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and broccoli with olive oil and ranch powder
    - Cubed Chicken, Asparagus, Lemon Wedges and Butter
    - Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and Cajun Seasonings

    I also had cut up fruit, veggies, summer sausage, and cheese to snack on. I made egg muffins ahead of time for breakfast items.

    Drink water or iced tea. Make sure to stay hydrated.

    If you're not being super active while camping, maybe make it a point to take a walk at least once a day. Geocaching is also a fun hobby while camping. You use an app to follow GPS coordinates to hidden caches. Some have cool little items in them and some are just logbooks that you sign to show that you found it.


  • zaknjakesmum
    zaknjakesmum Posts: 73 Member
    rhaiin wrote: »
    Last time I went camping, I did all my prep work ahead of time and threw meals into ziploc bags. When it was time to eat, I just dumped them into a foil pack and threw them in the fire. I'm sure you could do these recipes in a crockpot as well.

    - Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and broccoli with olive oil and ranch powder
    - Cubed Chicken, Asparagus, Lemon Wedges and Butter
    - Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and Cajun Seasonings

    I also had cut up fruit, veggies, summer sausage, and cheese to snack on. I made egg muffins ahead of time for breakfast items.

    Thank you for the great suggestions! Prepping beforehand makes a lot of sense!

    Jen, 49
    234/ 183.6/ 150

  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Seconding (and thirding!) the water weight, and also the meal prep.

    I've been in the Appalachian backwoods for 4 days armed with measured and seasoned veggie "pucks" (frozen and turned out of a silicon muffin pan, then wrapped in foil for quick cooking in the fire), and a goodly quantity of fresh blueberries and apples.

    And I measured out my rations of Nutter Butter cookies and marshmallows for Nutty S'mores as well :-)
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    What is the purpose of your trip? Usually people go camping go connect with nature, and you said you're going to Jasper and Banff, places with world class mountains, some of the best nature has to offer.

    Usually people like to connect with nature by being outdoors, seeing the sights. Notice how much everything changes with each step, if you've visited the cathedrals in Europe you've seen how they were carefully engineered to have their own internal consistency, also amazing, the mountains though are exactly the opposite.

    You said you're slow, and that's ok. What I'm getting at is that there's so much to see, you'll probably be more active than usual for you. Such that your TDEE is higher than you're used to and this becomes less of an issue. Maybe you can stroll down a trail, rent a canoe, go for a midnight walk to stargaze by the lake, go look at the wildlife, see some waterfalls, tame a sabertooth tiger and ride it home...
  • Indee19
    Indee19 Posts: 49 Member
    Camping used to be my excuse to eat a bunch of crap. Oatmeal Creme Pies, Pop Tarts, cookies, chips were must have food items. Recently I've cut that back significantly. I still choose a few treats but now instead of chex mix I'll get Poppables. Instead of Oreos I'll get animal crackers. Treats but not treats I'll overdo.

    I bring a griddle or electric skillet to start each day with a big, mostly healthy breakfast like eggs, hash browns, bacon (ok, not so healthy). Pack some snacks like string cheese, pre-cut raw veggies and a bag of grapes. A dinner staple is a shrimp boil in a foil pan over the fire. Pre-boil the potatoes and corn and it's a quick meal that gets rave reviews every time!
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 429 Member
    I've just come back from camping and I definitely did not stick to my calorie goals, neither was I more active. I wasn't able to do my workouts or evening walks. My kids can't walk more than 5km without getting bored/tired, and it's less than 5km if it's really hot so my step count was actually down compared to normal days.

    The things I've learned for next time though - My meals were actually ok, they were planned and sensible - I knew roughly what I was consuming. It was the snacks and evening beers that let me down! I need to have some healthier options to hand which is basically more fruit I think. Things that don't need to be kept chilled. I refuse to ditch my evening beer though! (I'm on holiday for just a few days at a time and I'm already at a healthy weight!)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I guess people approach camping differently.

    My version is hiking 5 to 10 miles with everything you need in your backpack, sleeping on the dirt wearing all your clothes, pouring boiling water into a bag of gruel if you want to be fancy, and pooping in a hole in the ground.

    I want to get back into that once my kids are just a bit older. My wife and I used to do quite a bit of packing in our before kids days. I was actually cleaning up a bit in the garage last weekend and came across a bunch of our gear...we'll definitely need new gear. Pretty old and dated...my pack is an external frame.

    We have a small hybrid travel trailer right now and usually go to a NFS campground or boondock off a forest/fire road. When I camp, it's usually only for 2-3 nights...occasionally 4. I don't eat drastically different than I do at home...but I don't really worry about a couple days either and I do quite a bit of hiking and/or mountain biking when I'm up there.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    I do something between with activity and dirt sleeping.

    But my food has never, ever, involved much gruel :P
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    Just another camping variation: I used to do a lot of canoe-camping with portages, week or 10 days at a time away from car/roads/stores, and took a lot of hippie-esque food that was *heavy* (think bulgar wheat with seasonings & protein, and that sort of thing). No refrigeration, no conveniences, but if you only have to carry it for a couple of miles or so at a time, it works. 😉 Burns plenty calories paddling/portaging for hours, too.

    To me, a lot of the point of camping was getting to be places where one couldn't be in any other mode. If I'm gonna stay in civilization rather than backwoods, hotels are fine. But, I may be biased by having grown up in the country, where we didn't have to camp because the house was in nicer woods than most campgrounds . . . and I still live in a "more trees than people" setting these days, too.
  • sandielewis2001
    sandielewis2001 Posts: 318 Member
    We camp in a 31' trailer and we just stick pretty closely to our normal routine. All meals are planned ahead of time with good snacks available. We utilize the crockpot for arrival days and have pre-frozen meals like chili or homemade sloppy joes. Grilled meat and veggies most nights with salad and leftover meat often for lunch. Also add in lots more walking, hiking, swimming and exploring. We have our trailer stocked with a food scale and everything we need to stay on track.
  • nancydriedger
    nancydriedger Posts: 48 Member
    What is the purpose of your trip? Usually people go camping go connect with nature, and you said you're going to Jasper and Banff, places with world class mountains, some of the best nature has to offer.

    Usually people like to connect with nature by being outdoors, seeing the sights. Notice how much everything changes with each step, if you've visited the cathedrals in Europe you've seen how they were carefully engineered to have their own internal consistency, also amazing, the mountains though are exactly the opposite.

    You said you're slow, and that's ok. What I'm getting at is that there's so much to see, you'll probably be more active than usual for you. Such that your TDEE is higher than you're used to and this becomes less of an issue. Maybe you can stroll down a trail, rent a canoe, go for a midnight walk to stargaze by the lake, go look at the wildlife, see some waterfalls, tame a sabertooth tiger and ride it home...

    Or tame a buffalo :smile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ4T9CQA0UM
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 975 Member
    Fellow camper here...teardrop trailer (enough room for only the bed, and a kitchen galley when you open the back hatch)...we boondock on our own property in the Rockies, no water, electricity or internet reception. We do what others have mentioned: plan, precook, and freeze (all critical). Frozen food helps with the coolers, too. I eat a protein bar every morning when camping; you bring the exact number you need. You don’t dare eat more or you’ll go hungry later! Although I work to intuitively eat when camping, a food scale could readily be used. Also, I able to hike/other, which helps. I have turned into my mother (boondocked in northern Ontario during part of childhood summers); her lists and planning would rival any military strategist! You can do this!