Your strategy when on holiday

logg1e

How come you can't log whilst in "Europe" Daisy?

_lyndseybrooke_

I'll be going to Orlando for a week in October with my husband. This will be our last pre-baby vacation. I plan on working my butt off to look as hot as I possibly can when October comes around, I plan on getting a Brazilian wax a couple days before we leave, and I plan on eating whatever the *kitten* I want.

I'm not going to eat until I feel ill or purposefully choose high-calorie foods just for the hell of it, but I have no plans to log while I'm on vacation. Yes, I'll pack on a bunch of water weight and maybe even 1-2 lbs of actual fat, but I can shed that in the 2-3 weeks afterward. No problemo. We'll only have a small fridge and a microwave in the room, so we'll be consuming most, if not all, meals out. I'll be damned if I'm going to stress about going over my calories on vacation. You gotta live, people! A week isn't going to make or break you.

I do plan on bringing my pull-up bar and my 20-lb dumbbells, and I'm sure I'll feel some guilt about skipping an entire week of lifting, but I suspect these things won't even be used. By then, a week's break from lifting will do me some good. I'll be doing plenty of walking at the parks, and plenty of nookie in the hotel (gotta put that Brazilian to use!), so I'm not too concerned about it.

I'm hoping to be at maintenance by then anyway, so a couple weeks of cutting after we get back won't hurt me.

jeansuza

I just came back from an all-inclusive in Cuba 2 weeks ago. Didn't log but tried to make good healthy choices most of the time. Unfortunately I lost control on portions and on desserts by the end of the week. I hardly could stop myself to eat.
I gained a lot of water weight. When I left I was 132. Came back at 145, was back to 135 after 4 days. Then, today, 5 days later, I am back to 132.

Ninkyou

If you can't stick with your goals whole you are away from home, regardless of the reason (I.e., vacation, business trip, etc.), then you haven't changed your " lifestyle". How can you really expect to succeed?

It really depends on what your goals are. Plus, goals change.
As for lifestyle changes, you really have to look at the bigger picture. Are a couple of weeks out of the year (vacation, holidays, parties, etc) really going to have such a huge impact? No. It's not like they're going to undo all of your hard work. So, on those days, you enjoy yourself eating at maintenance, or maybe even a little over. And then you just get right back to doing what you were doing afterwards. Those few weeks or days are a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of your life.

Like I said, when I was on vacation, I was mindful, but I didn't deny myself anything. I didn't go completely off the deep end and go overboard. But I wasn't 100% accurate either, and that's okay. It's fine to have days like that every once in a while. You can't enjoy life being super anal about every little thing. :flowerforyou:

rileyleigh

I'm on a Disney vacation as I write this. My question for others: how can you call your "weight loss journey" a "lifestyle change" if you "forget about logging and calories" while you are on vacation? It doesn't make sense, the two are mutually exclusive. If you are changing the way you eat and exercise, then it shouldn't matter if you are home or if you are on vacation. I'm trying to incorporate my changes while here. There is a fitness center at Wilderness Lodge, I'm using it every morning. I get up earlier than the family, do my workout (they have Mickey Mouse weights!), then go off to a park for the day.

If you can't stick with your goals whole you are away from home, regardless of the reason (I.e., vacation, business trip, etc.), then you haven't changed your " lifestyle". How can you really expect to succeed?

To me, a lifestyle change implies that i won't be counting calories forever. The point is that i learn the right kinds of foods, and the right portion sizes for me to remain healthy. Thus, i can take a week vacation, know what my limits are, perhaps enjoy some indulging, and return home from to "real life" and continue on with my health journey.

Its not that you are abandoning everything for your whole vacation. Hopefully you have learned enough to know what treats you can afford and what you cannot afford. Enjoy your vacations, just don't go crazy and stuff every thing you can see right down your throat. Even if you gain a pound of two on your trip, your lifestyle change will help you lose that weight in 1 to 2 weeks.

thavoice

For those lucky enough to have time off and going somewhere nice, what strategies have you considered, which have you opted for and why?

Also, anyone want to share the benefit of their experience and what they'd do differently next time?

Enjoy it and not worry much about calories.

With that said though, I will usually skip a meal and a snack per day so I can eat something tasty that day for whatever we have all set up.

Just got back from a week on the lake. Ate like a king almost every night...came back the same weight.
Mostly because I was active alot, and I would skip BF or lunch and a snack just by being too busy

Faye_Anderson

I log in and keep my diary but that's just habit, I just go and enjoy myself, there's no way I'm going to put the 80-odd lbs back on over that time, at most I usually come back with a 5lb gain, which in the grand scheme of things is nothing at all

Iwishyouwell

I don't have a "strategy" while on holiday. I eat whatever I want, as much as I want, and move on.

xWendyJonesx

I go away next week for a 10 day all inclusive beach holiday, I'm not going to log anything, I'm going to try and make healthy choices and watch my portion sizes, but at the end of the day I'm on holiday and I intend to enjoy myself, I plan to do lots of walking on the beach and swimming in the pool for exercise.

Last year I took a similar approach (2 weeks in Florida) and I only put on 4 lbs which I soon lost when I got home.

kmorgan221

I'm on a Disney vacation as I write this. My question for others: how can you call your "weight loss journey" a "lifestyle change" if you "forget about logging and calories" while you are on vacation? It doesn't make sense, the two are mutually exclusive. If you are changing the way you eat and exercise, then it shouldn't matter if you are home or if you are on vacation. I'm trying to incorporate my changes while here. There is a fitness center at Wilderness Lodge, I'm using it every morning. I get up earlier than the family, do my workout (they have Mickey Mouse weights!), then go off to a park for the day.

If you can't stick with your goals whole you are away from home, regardless of the reason (I.e., vacation, business trip, etc.), then you haven't changed your " lifestyle". How can you really expect to succeed?

I'm going to eat what I want, not everything in sight.

My "lifestyle change" includes being able to judge and control my portions with or without measuring cups or apps, or worrying about what my food may have been cooked with.

I'd rather remember the fun I have on a vacation, not the time spent worrying about what I may or may not be eating. (see #9 in the post above).

_lyndseybrooke_

I'm on a Disney vacation as I write this. My question for others: how can you call your "weight loss journey" a "lifestyle change" if you "forget about logging and calories" while you are on vacation? It doesn't make sense, the two are mutually exclusive. If you are changing the way you eat and exercise, then it shouldn't matter if you are home or if you are on vacation. I'm trying to incorporate my changes while here. There is a fitness center at Wilderness Lodge, I'm using it every morning. I get up earlier than the family, do my workout (they have Mickey Mouse weights!), then go off to a park for the day.

If you can't stick with your goals whole you are away from home, regardless of the reason (I.e., vacation, business trip, etc.), then you haven't changed your " lifestyle". How can you really expect to succeed?

Unless you're lucky and have loads of money, vacations only come once or maybe twice a year. Most people eat differently on vacation (and on holidays like Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas) than a normal day - this includes people who have never had to count a single calorie. To me, a "lifestyle change" is something with a little flexibility, unlike a "diet." You have to live life in order to succeed in this "lifestyle change."

Business trips are a different thing entirely. I've never been on a business trip, but I'd treat it just like any other work day. A vacation is an entirely different thing. A week is not going to ruin all of my progress. I'm certainly not getting up early on vacation to work out. If you want to, that's your prerogative, but there's nothing wrong with enjoying your vacation and indulging a bit. It's what normal folks do.

Daisy471

How come you can't log whilst in "Europe" Daisy?

I didn't say that I can't, I said that I am not going to log my food. I will still be mindful of what I eat and how much, I'm just not going to write everything down.

Francl27

I tried not to go totally crazy. Basically I prioritized what I wanted to spend my calories on, for example not having a high calorie entree and dessert the same day, and limiting dessert to once a day. I still gained a bit, but it could have been worse.