How to Stick to Your Diet While On Vacation... HELP!

JackeeW

So... my hubs and I have had a weekend trip to New Orleans planned for several months now. I'm REALLY excited about the trip and the alone time, but I am worried too.

I'm worried that I'll go crazy this weekend, eat everything in sight, and not workout at all. Granted, we'll only be gone from Saturday morning until Monday afternoon, but that's enough time to do some damage!

One of my biggest weight loss struggles is eating healthy on the weekends. In fact, I can't even count the hundreds of pounds I've probably lost during the week and then regained that same weekend. So, I have THAT against me as it is... add in the fact that I'm going to be on vacation and I'm really in trouble.

Any words of advice? Any weight loss wisdom to share? What do you do when you go on vacation to help insure that you have a good time but don't go crazy?

PlunderBunneh

I too have a tendency to splurge on weekends. What I try to do, and what might help you, is making sure that I allow myself one meal that is a bit bigger, or heavier, or what have you, without guilt, but eating to accommodate that the rest of the day. So if you know you are going out for a delish dinner, stick to egg whites and wheat toast in the morning and a salad with fat free dressing for lunch. Also keep in mind the little things to you can do to a heavy meal to make it a tad bit better, such as no cheese, or fruit instead of fries. Walk as much as you can, and sneak in half an hour of aerobics in the morning. Have fun!

nrvo

I up my cals to maintenance and keep tracking. Eating at maintenance feels like a lot since I'm used to eating less, but I won't gain!

SheriffJen

When I eat out, I stay away from the bread, dinner rolls, etc. It seems that every place loves to offer you nice warm bread. I just skip it - figure there are a ton of extra calories in there that I don't need. I also tried to order a salad with my bigger meals. so I fill up a bit on the good stuff and then avoided some of the extra calories. Also,don't be afraid to leave some of whatever you order. I always wanted to finish, to not waste the money, but don't feel guilty about leaving it.
Good luck and most importantly - have a great vacation!

dawnthomas5

Try to keep your calories to a minimum in the beginning of the day so that at the end of the day you have an adequate amount of calories to eat out. Yesterday I used up only 300cal between breakfast and lunch (banana for breakfast, tuna with lettuce for lunch) so that I was able to go to Starbucks and Applebees at the end of the day. But at Starbucks I got a grande instead of venti which used about 350 of my calories (medium instead of large) and at Applebee's I got one of their lower-cal meals for only 400 calories. At the end of the day I even had enough cal left over for a half a cup of ice cream! For me, I know that I am going to want something special at night so I restrict a little more earlier in the day. But remember, you're only gone for a couple of days so even if you don't work out and go a little over your calories it's not the end of the world.

iheartyarn

i just got home from vacation, and the only way i restricted myself was portion control, i kept myself from mindlessly eating chips and salsa like i used to, and kept measuring the foods that i was preparing myself. in the three days i was gone i went for afternoon jogs on two of them and felt so great doing so! when i came home i thought for sure i would have maintained or even gained just a pound..turns out i lost 2!!

stevwil41

I used to live in New Orleans so my advice would be to watch your portions but eat what you want. Don't overeat but if you want to try something, do it. It's only a couple of days and honestly you may as well enjoy yourself. Food is such a part of the culture that it'd be a shame to miss out on it because you were worried about logging your calories. The trick is to get right back on track when you get back from vacation, do some damage control, and move on with your life.

mcmcmcshane

If I were going to New Orleans, I'd want to try a little bit of everything! Just remember all the other things you're there to enjoy. You need to eat to live; you don't need to live to eat. This summer we went on a few trips & each time I tried to log a few days ahead on MFP. It was easiest when we went camping - I only packed what I had logged for the weekend so that's all I could eat! New Orleans may be harder though! Try going online to look up some restaurants you want to try, most menus are posted online now. If something catches your eye you can log your meal before you go.
If it's not possible to do that kind of prep work - just enjoy yourself. Enjoy the time with your husband & if you happen to gain weight, do a few days of recovery to make up for it!!

SueInAz

I used to live in New Orleans so my advice would be to watch your portions but eat what you want. Don't overeat but if you want to try something, do it. It's only a couple of days and honestly you may as well enjoy yourself. Food is such a part of the culture that it'd be a shame to miss out on it because you were worried about logging your calories. The trick is to get right back on track when you get back from vacation, do some damage control, and move on with your life.

I'm in agreement. A lot of the experience in New Orleans is the food. You shouldn't miss out on that because you're worried you might gain a few ounces over the weekend.

I realize that you're trying to make a change to your usual destructive weekend eating pattern, but IMHO vacations are special. I recently went to a gambling town in Nevada (not Las Vegas) with my family for my dad's 70th birthday. I ate too much, drank way too much beer, and didn't go running because it was 118°F in the shade. I had gained 1.5 pounds when I stepped on the scale on Tuesday morning and they were gone by Thursday morning. You really can't do too much damage in one weekend and it's easy enough to reverse when you get home. Have fun and enjoy yourself!