Vacation Anxiety... Tips for staying on track???

APLAWING

I've been doing great(IMO) so far, lost 20 lbs in 50 days but I still have a lot more to go.

My family and I are going on a 7 day beach vacation & I am very anxious about my diet/staying on track. I plan to excercise 5x a week the way that I have been at home, but it's going to be super difficult to eat the way that I have been eating when I am away from my normal routine. My typical routine is something SMALL (100 cals) for breakfast, around 200-250 cals for lunch & then the rest of my calories for dinner. That is just what works best for me because it saves me from cooking two separate meals for dinner every night(one for my family & healthy one for me). It's easy while I'm at home because I work during the day & have complete control over what I expose myself to. It's going to be hard when I am faced with all of the junk food & large portions that my family eats at every meal. Not to mention eating out & fast food...

Do you all have any advice or tips for me??? I'm on the verge of an anxiety attack because I do not want to go off of my diet for 7 days, mainly because EVERY TIME I have fallen off the wagon, even for a week, I usually give up completely & I do not want that to happen again. It's to the point to where I'd rather not even go! I had lost 50lbs two years ago, went on a cruise & completely gave up when I got back because the guilt had consumed me & I felt that I had ruined everything. Needless to say I gained it ALL back. I've shed 20 of it again but I want to keep it off & keep losing.

Any advice or tips appreciated! Thanks!

nomeejerome

My general advice is always to go enjoy yourself and get back to it when you return home. However, if you feel this will be a huge barrier for you, I suggest to stay as active as you can (without missing awesome parts of the vacation with your family) and eat smaller portions of the meals. Do your best. Enjoy the trip.

kbkeats

I recently went on a vacation with my boyfriend's family - all of whom are big eaters (all over 6', lots of beer and wings).
I managed to not gain a pound, but I by no means held back at meal times either! I found I didn't have time to log my food, but made a conscious effort to pick the healthier of the indulgent options. If we were all going out for ice cream, I'd get gelato. A run and diet coke instead of a beer. You get the idea.
Fitting in extra walks (especially down the beach - sounds amazing!) will help as well, but even if you do gain some weight back, no big. You lost it before, you can lose it again!

links_slayer

Do you all have any advice or tips for me???

Relax. Enjoy life. Enjoy your vacation. 1 week away isn't going to completely derail your progress.

kaseyr1505

I'd set my calories to maintain, and live a little. Life happens.

randomtai

If I ever get into the position to actually be able to afford a freaking vacation, I sure as hell am not counting anything but the number of margaritas I can consume in a 24 hour period. :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

brcossette

Plan out all your meals ahead of time. It's too hard to find good healthy food options on the fly when your on vacation

ccm1313

Great topic as I will be vacationing in a few weeks as well.

I plan on having a good time, but being mindful of what I'm eating. It is a vaca, and I don't want to have the diet overtake the day. We have reservations at a hotel with an exercise room so that will be good for that night. We will be doing a decent bit of walking, so that should help.

Make sure you enjoy the time 1st. Don't look back with any regret. It is a time when most "let it hang a little loose".

serindipte

I took a week vacation earlier this month and opted not to track or deprive myself of what I truly wanted. I did get what I really wanted but, the rest of the day, I ate more sensibly. I usually had one meal per day that I ate whatever I wanted and then kept it light and simple the rest of the time. While we did eat out a lot, I ordered several grillled chicken salads (though I didn't hold back on the dressing like I do at home). I ate a delicious hamburger with bacon, cheese and fries.. had an ice cream cone.. fried shrimp.. etc. I just didn't do it for every meal.

The added activity of walking through Silver Dollar City, going to ride go-carts, touring a cave, etc, had me getting enough exercise to counter the added calories I was eating. I weighed the same on my day home as I did the day I left.

ETA: I did make it a point to log on every day because I do love seeing that streak number going up, plus, it was a reminder to myself that I still needed to be mindful of my eating even as I was indulging.

pastryari

I don't diet on vacation. It's one week. Have fun, enjoy yourself, and get back to it when you get home.

kmorgan221

Enjoy your vacation. That's it.

When you get back, don't use your vacation as an excuse to stay on track.

huntergreene71

Don't worry too much about it. Remember how fast the first few pounds come off and you disregard it as water weight? Well, remember you can add water weight too and it'll come off just as fast again. Plus, if you've gotten into the mindset that this is a permanent change in your eating habits as opposed to a diet, I'm sure you'll make intelligent eating choices while on vacay anyway.

Lalasharni

If you're on a beach vacation, then do LOTS of walking in the sand. Sand walking is calorie consuming and great for your calves too.
Swim, run on the beach, sight-see and walk. If you do all these things, then a little extra consumption will not hurt, but if you cant be moderate with "treats" then tell yourself that you are only eating what's healthy for your body and tuck into the fish, lean meats, salads and fruits of wherever you are vacationing.

ABOVE ALL enjoy your vacation. Youv'e earned that, and its no point in making yourself miserable by denying yourself some treats.