Vacations Tips

erjamesyyc944

Hi everybody,

Looking for some vacation tips! I know things tend to go out the window (and sometimes they should!) but any tips for maintaining some progress on vacation while still having a good time?

AnnPT77

If you're like most of us, vacation is a week or two out of the year. Honestly, that's a drop in the ocean. What we do the overwhelming majority of our days on repeat - our routine habits of eating and exercise - that's the ocean. The majority of our days delivers the majority of our results.

I'm not suggesting letting loose and going wild on vacation with some kind of food-coma blowout and copious cocktails, then lying on a chaise longue all day unmoving except to apply sunscreen.

What I'm suggesting is to try to keep things reasonable in total, while still enjoying some of the special eating/drinking that's part of many vacation plans. In addition, many vacations offer options for being more active than we might be in regular daily life, even if what that is is simply walking around a new location sightseeing. Anything on offer counts: Walking, hiking, biking, swimming, dancing, etc. Look for active fun. Sometimes trying things we haven't done before - including new active things - is part of the fun.

Think about your days, and plan a bit. If there's a special dinner coming up with rich and delicious treats, go for a light breakfast and lunch earlier in the day. Don't under-fuel to the point of reaching dinner and eating everything in sight, just eat lightly earlier, maybe drink some water at the start of the meal, order thoughtfully, eat slowly and savor the treats. Notice when you feel adequately full. Don't eat all of a thing just because it's there, but if it's extra special and delicious, that's an option to consider. It's not necessary to finish everything, ever.

Personally, I don't try to keep losing while vacationing, though you may. For me, a maintenance break is OK on vacation.

One thing to know, if you're relatively new to this weight loss process: Eating in ways that aren't typical for us tends to increase water retention. Doing unusual activities can also increase water retention. On top of that, long drives and air travel almost always increase water retention. That water weight may add up, and mean arriving home to an initial weigh-in that's noticeably up several pounds/kilos from weight on departure day.

If that happens, don't panic. Commit to going back to your normal healthy routine the minute you get back home, then give your body time to readjust. If there has been any net fat gain, that won't be clear for literally a week or two, in my experience . . . maybe longer for women who have menstrual cycles because of the hormonal water weight confusing things further. Just get back on plan, and keep going. For me, most of any initial scale jump - sometimes all of it - drops off within a couple of weeks, because it was mostly water weight. No sense in panicking before things sort themselves out.

Some people suggest not weighing ourselves right away on return home. I think that's a personality-dependent question. Me, as a data geek, I want to weigh myself and see where I am on arrival home, then continue with my personal usual daily weigh-ins to see what happens over the next few days. Doing that helped me understand how my own personal body responds in this kind of situation, and for me that knowledge was empowering, and long-term calming.

However, I know that some people would find a scale jump anxiety-producing, stressful, discouraging, etc. They may be better off getting back on their regular eating/activity routine, then waiting a week or two for the first weigh-in. You can do what works best for you.

Have a great vacation, and use it as a learning experience about how to achieve enjoyment in a context of also supporting our long term goals. Best wishes!