Holiday in Egypt with NO MFP - Help!

AshinAms

I am in my tenth week of MFP and really into the habit of counting my cals now and have become fairly obsessed (in a good way though!). However, we have a week's holiday booked in a resort in Egypt from this Saturday and I am panicking a bit about being without my safety net. I purposely did NOT book an all-inclusive package so that there are some brakes on the eating/drinking, but what am I going to do?

Shall I:

a) Not count for the week, but make good choices, considering that we will be doing a fair amount of sport - diving, snorkelling, tennis & running and it should even out?
b) Write everything down on paper and enter it manually when I get back (seems logical but not really holiday spirited?!) or try and find wifi to enter it in every day?
c) Just say 'b&gg&r that' and have a whole week off?

I have a tendency to vary wildly between eating too little and too much when I am off the MFP reins.

What have some others done on holiday? I don't want to jeopardise my progress and I feel like it wouldn't be worth it if I came back with a 2 kilo gain.

Help!

jeff261159

Its gonna have to be the wifi option and use your smart phone (if youve got one)!!

Naomi_84

You've been working hard for 10 weeks so it'd be a shame to sabotage your efforts by completely letting go. I lost 2 stone last year and decided at Christmas that I would give myself a break, went back to my old ways and I'm only just getting back on track after piling on a stone. I would continue to be careful but allow yourself some treats and try to incorporate some physical activity every day, you'll probably be doing lots of walking and swimming.

Bottom line, enjoy your holiday (that includes satisfying food) but not at the expense of your efforts so far as you might regret it when you get home. There will be lots of healthy options available, lean meats, vegetables.

Have a great holiday!

vivient

I think give yourself the holiday, but when it comes to meals, you can always skip the starter and dessert! You still want to have fun, but just know that after 20 mins of food you will feel full! Drink loads of water as it is usually what your craving and not food. Also Egypt will be hot so water is what you need!
As you said, you will be doing a bit of exercise while there so you should be fine!
Just make sure to get straight back on MFP when you get home and you'll be back in business within a couple of days!

BerryH

I vote a). The advantages of MFP are it teaches you good choices you can carry everywhere without having to log every single thing. And it sounds like you'll be very active for the duration. It's only one week, don't spend it glued to the broadband.

Have a lovely holiday!

louiseei

I'd go with 1 - you'll have a good idea about what you should and shouldn't eat now, and in the heat you won't want so much stodge anyway.

meggers123

I think A. After 10 weeks on mfp you should have a good indea about portions and smart choices. Don't put too much pressure on yourself and what you eat (ok, but be reasonable). If it helps you to keep a food journal on paper, do it, but don't bother trying to get it online everyday. If you want, you could enter it in when you get back home, and see how you did without mfp as a crutch.

Have fun!!!

cindy859

I just got back from a ten day vacation in Hawaii with no MFP--you will be ok, first off you will be surprised how good you can be with out it,just keep your goals in the back of your mind and try to make the best choices that are available to you. Make the promise to yourself that when you get home you will return to mfp and just pick up where you left off and last but not least walk walk walk that way you are getting a good amount of exercise to burn off any excess calories you consume I made sure I got up in the morning and took a good walk to start my day then walked anywhere that I could through out the day. Do not stress-- its only a week go and have a great time take healthy snacks on the plane they don't offer much that is not high in salt content. Good luck and have fun!!!!!!!

kirstiey

After 10 weeks you should be hardwired to make good choices. MFP is only there to assist you. You are prob ready to fly now and make good well informed choices on your own. I would not log, or try to log. Enjoy yourself knowing you are fully in control and empowered to make good decisions. YOU have lost the weight so far, not MFP. YOU can continue to do so. When you get back, don't weigh in. Get back on track for a week, drinking lots of water and weigh in at the end of the week.

Try to limit the alcohol. 1) It will dehydrate you 2) Its empty calories 3) it brings down your defences and kicks in a "sod it" attitude that will have you on the chips and cocktails which really will mess up your progress.

Most of all have a fantastic time, feeling confident that you look far better than you would have done 10 weeks ago!

well done.

myofibril

I would choose a) without a shadow of a doubt.

Really, if you view this as a "lifestyle change" there will always be times or situations in your life where you cannot control your food intake or know exactly the amount of calories you are eating. Learning how to deal with these times and having a strategy in place will help reduce anxiety that you will be able to keep weight off when you move to maintenance.

In reality, healthy eating, keeping portion sizes in check, moderation and so on never ends when you come off your "diet" if you want to remain slim for a long time.

Indulge a little, enjoy yourself, make good choices most of the time. You will be fine.

girlinahat

I vote just enjoy it and go for the healthy options for meals (there's plenty of great fruit and veg available). You'll need plenty of water, plus you'll be doing plenty of exercise - I'm thrilled that scuba diving seems to use so many calories!!!


Of course, knowing what happens to most people in Egypt, you'll find much of the food goes straight through you anyway..........

helenium

Have a good holiday. Just a quick note - if you're exercising in a very hot environment, you're quite likely to lose a lot of fluid and salt in your sweat. Please don't rehydrate yourself with pure water every time, or you are running a very high risk. Do have the occasional isotonic beverage (preferably without caffeine) e.g. diluted fruit juice.

To answer your actual question - it's entirely up to you, but I would advise against giving up completely and eating far too much. This would reinforce the idea that you're on a temporary diet, whereas these should be lifetime changes you're making. Get a rough idea of how many calories you should be eating to maintain your weight but no need to diligently count if you don't want to. Use portion control if you can - all those skills which you WILL need in the future when you're at your goal weight and not (necessarily) counting calories anymore.

melsinct

I also pick choice A. I went on a 10 day vacation out of country with very sporadic internet access, so MFP was not an option. My vacation came when I was 3 months into MFP so I just made the best choices I could using what I have learned so far and gave myself a little leeway since it was vacation after all (e.g. did not beat myself up when I shared a dessert with my husband, or had a few extra drinks one night). I came back just over 1 pound heavier- not bad at all. By the next week I was back to normal like I never left MFP.

Bottom line: Have a great time, make good food choices while on vacation, and hop right back on MFP when you get back.

AshinAms

Thanks everyone! I am going to go with the good choices and the lots of exercise. OH is with me on this so we made a pact to use the running trail and the gym first thing in the morning before breakfast. Then I can pretty much do what I want, having been accustomed to making good choices here anyway.

I hope I don't get Pharoah's Revenge! (Although secretly I think it would help the weightloss):blushing:

Thanks for all the great replies!

BerryH

For avoidance of Pharaoh's Revenge, I was told in Egypt to wash my hands after handling the currency. Because they have a low value, the notes change hands often and get a bit ratty and germy. Have fun!

purpleprose

I did 2 weeks in India at the beginning of January and I was a little panicked because I had grown really dependent on MFP to help me track what I ate and stay accountable. Indian food, however, is really hard to log!

You just need to do what is comfortable for YOU - if you think writing it down will help you stay accountable, then do that. If you think you can handle it on your own, then do that! I would say, though, that option (c) is probably not the best. You've worked too hard to then say "oh sod it" and just eat whatever, whenever.