Help! Traveling abroad. How do I track/maintain weight?

taliyai

Hey everyone,

The subject of this message says it all -- This Friday I am flying to Israel for Spring Break, for about a week. I am visiting family and doing some touristy things with my father. I am so excited about this trip, don't get me wrong... but I'm nervous as well! I have been tracking my food religiously and exercising regularly for a little more than a month now, and I am unsure of how to keep this up in another country.

Maybe it doesn't sound so hard, but it will be a very big change for me. I have been buying my own groceries and making my own food for a while -- I basically know how much of which ingredient goes into everything I make. I've lost almost 10 lb. that way. In Israel, I will obviously be eating native foods from restaurants and family friends. I'm not exactly keen on asking how much of everything is in all my meals and which brands, you know? PLUS I want to be sure to enjoy my trip rather than worry about food all the time.

As for exercise, I'm sure I will be doing a lot of walking and site-seeing. But, who knows what my schedule will be like? I doubt I will be able to get in any serious cardio or weight-training. My father and I are wake up early, site-see all day and come back pooped kind of people. So, in summary... I'm not sure about regular exercise, outside of walking.

Does anyone out there have any advice? Has anyone traveled like this during their weight loss journey and been successful in losing weight? Or at least maintaining it? Any tips would help. I'm at a loss, and so nervous about it! I want to enjoy my trip, but the last thing i want is to gain weight.

Thanks

BrianJLamb

Enjoy your trip. Have fun. It is a week of extensive walking. Eat things you will remember. Just know when to say when and what to pass on. I dont know how often you plan on going to Israel, but it is a trip to experience and remember. You will have the rest of your life not on vacation to do what you have to do.

radicalreader

Enjoy your trip. Make good food choices and pay attention to your body, but DO NOT worry about your weight.
If you are committed to a long-term lifestyle change, then one week of fully enjoying another culture will not cause you irreparable harm.
When you get back, get back on track and give yourself a couple weeks of being back on target before you weigh yourself.

nerdyandilikeit

i dont get to travel much, but if you know the general kinds of food you might run into over there, could you maybe look up some averages for what they are worth before you go? then you can just make the best choices you can, while still not obsessing and enjoy your trip too! and i agree, the sightseeing will be plenty of exercise i would think, to at least stay close to maintaining while youre there

eleonoreOU

I'd say go and enjoy your vacation and hit the gym hard when you come back!

Katbaran

Years ago, I went to Italy for 2 weeks to see my boyfriend. He was stationed there with the US Army. (He has now been my hubby for 30 years this August.) We traveled all over Italy by car and by train and we walked. We also ate whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted with one full meal at the end of the day. A bowl of pasta or a steak and a salad or pizza. I lost 27 pounds in those 2 weeks. If you are sightseeing and walking and hiking through museums and to landmarks, you should be ok. Go easy on the portions and you'll be fine. Like BrianJLamb said--enjoy the trip and don't worry too much about food!!!

habibti

Hi there! I just spent 10 days abroad and thought I was going to be really "good" the whole time, log everything, not go over on calories, etc., exercise the same amount. But a few days in, I sorta hit my stride with the realization that I WAS away from the normalcy of home, and I should enjoy myself! I logged most foods, a lot of times just "guesstimating" the foods I had eaten. I got some exercise in , but not as much as at home, and some days I went (waaay) over in calories/carbs/fat/sodium/sugar. But then the trip was done, and I flew back home, and got back to business. Simple as that. No regrets.

Also, I'm not sure about what you'll experience, but I live in the Middle East and a surprisingly huge amount of local origin foods that I eat are already in the database. Cool, huh? (Thanks, fellow MFP'ers!)