Going on Vacation? Here's a word to the Wise!

kevywan53

Hi MFP'ers!

I just went on a week's vacation to the beach with my family and extended family. A lot of those folks came equipped with an array of junk foods: chips, cookies, ice cream, sodas of every type, donuts, and lots of homemade baked goods!

Ahead of going, I searched the internet for the closest gym and found out you could buy a 5 or 10 day punch card pass (it was about 20 minutes from our beach cottage). I bought one and I worked out 6 of the 7 days we were there. Nonetheless, the temptation of all the junk cracked me, and though I thought i was being conservative in my eating of these things I still gained 5.5lbs while gone! OUCH! I have worked really hard since getting home, and am 1/4lb away from my pre-vaca weight, but I have to say it's easier to resist temptation than to fight your way back through 5.5 lbs of cheating (and that's with the working out, can you imagine if I hadn't worked out??)

So my advice is resist, resist and resist the temptation to eat crap! I generally saw my energy dive too when I did indulge, so it's really a lose/lose/lose (weight gain/fatigue/disappointment in yourself).

Does anyone else have thoughts or tips on how to skip the bad food choices while relaxing on vaca?

ZebraHead

I brought my own healthy 'junk'. But I had a blast.

We were oceanfront for 2 weeks I swam and walked on the beach everyday.


I gained 4 pounds, lost 2 of it within 3 days of returning to the real world.

I would not stress terribly while on vacation. But everyone is different.

:flowerforyou:

ProTFitness

Take what you can with you that is healthy and nutritious. SO you have it to grab it and so you are not as tempted to grab the bad stuff. Because if you are hungry you will eat what ever is in front of you. While I was in Vegas I took Kashi Go Lean High Proien cereal, TLC Kashi bars, and my shakeology and raw nuts. These things helped me get thru. Now in a couple of weeks we are going to a family weekend gathering. I know there will be Junk and Crap all over. So I will be prepared and take my own veggies fruit and cereal to get me thru the weekend. Be smart and in control and assume that there will be Bad choices so Make your own and bring what you can FOR YOU !! :-)

unsuspectingfish

I was so exhausted when I came back from my vacation, mostly because I didn't eat as many fruits and veggies as I was used to. One thing I did do was bring along a lot of my own snacks in the form of dried fruits and such. I also made sure that one of my first stops was at the local grocery store, so I could stock up on some fresh fruits.

Oh, and I actually lost three pounds while I was there.

souperficial

That was me when I went to Disney. I just managed to lose the weight I gained from that trip. Unfortunately, it's a bit harder to avoid that kind of stuff there than it is at a beach house. My family usually stays at a house at the beach for a week each summer, and at the beginning of the trip, we all go to the grocery store as a giant group to buy lunch meat, food, and snacks for the week, as well as a bunch of little ziploc bags. We'll all bag our own snacks for easy access and pack ourselves a sandwich in the morning. The bagging definitely helps for me cause I'll only bag one serving and know what I'm eating. I guess as far as the drinks, I'm kind of trained to grab water, especially because we're out in the sun all day and I really need that hydration. I totally couldn't avoid the homemade treats, though, but anything in moderation is good.

Kelly_Wilson1990

I am with you! I went on a two week vacation and still lost weight. I continued to follow my healthy eating plan. I walked everyday while I was gone. I consider my new eating plan a lifestyle change so I eat the same way whether I am home or not.

Hanni

...but I have to say it's easier to resist temptation than to fight your way back through 5.5 lbs of cheating...

So very very true!

We are off to New York next week with my mum and mum-in-law as a gift from us to them. However I am NOT looking forward to all the eating in restaurants and cafes!!! I know there will be a lot of walking around NY but I know my hubby too, there will also be a whole lot of eating out! :noway: I am so close to my first stone loss, I am sure I am going to make it this week. But with next week abroad in the US i will probably put on.

Good for you to have worked your gain off again!

janknudsen

Vacationing is hard on the diet. I went on a vacation to a fishing resort in Canada at the end of June and then to a wedding in Florida just last week. In Canada, we cooked every meal once there, but ate out during the four days of driving to and back. I managed to stay the same, thanks in part to splitting meals on the drive and stocking up on lots of watermelon and strawberries and eating Special K Cracker Chips with Greek Yogurt dip. (Everyone loved the dip made with yogurt and even used it on the fish.) But it's hard when everyone else just wants to eat and eat with no regard to healthy portions or healthy choices.

In Florida, I enjoyed the wedding day feast, but really watched myself with everything else. I drank tons of water and got up early every day and power walked in the hotel halls (using the stairs as I went floor to floor). There were a few folks who saw me during my several passes....but I didn't care...I just wanted to lose weight this week. This morning I stepped on the scale, one week after leaving for that trip, and I lost 3 pounds!

The best part of MFT is that I don't feel like I'm dieting. I just finally being accountable to myself.

swaymyway

I just went on holiday for a week and didn't work out or watch what I ate, I have been doing this weight loss thing for over 3 years now and the last thing I wanted to be thinking about while away was calories and working out - blah - when I got back I was up 7lbs, which is MASSIVE for me as I have always been a slow loser and have lost nothing since December. However 3lbs of it fell literally straight back off (just water weight probably) and 2 more pounds came off last week once I got back to my usual routine and I am sure those final 2 pounds won't be far behind.

So for me it was worth it - I had a great week where I let lose and enjoyed myself and it'll take me 2 weeks to get back to where I was. That's 3 weeks with no progress - but I had gone 7 months with working out daily and eating right with no progress

So my advice is that if losing weight is a lifestyle change for you, something you plan to keep up forever - rather than just do for a while to lose weight as quick as you can - when you go on holiday enjoy yourself and take any gain with a pinch of salt, it'll come back off again

meggers123

I went camping with my famiy while in CA and it was the same story with the junk food.

I ended up not gaining (yay!) but not losing either, but I did this:

I only drank alcohol 2 of the 4 days we were there. I also only had 1 beer during the day (before dinner), since I usually lose track over 10 hours at the lake (eeek). I snacked on fruit and a veggie platter we brought, rather than the chips and brownies and candy. That being said, I had a smore one night and some jelly bellys, so I didn't cut back completely.

I guess the biggest thing was making sure to eat 3 "real" meals, so I wasn't snacking all the time. And making sure I was really active (swimming, water skiing, hiking).

beccarockslife

I find I always hold water after travel, from flying, from eating salty crap, so it comes off again fairly easily but it's hard work not going mad. Going to Cuba in Feb and hoping it will be ok with fruit and veg!

dls06

It's a vacation. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Can't wait for mine.