Vacation - To log or not to log

Tara4boys

I'm going to Disney for a week.

I'm torn on whether to try to log my food or not. Either way - I'm going to try my best not to go "buck wild" with eating.

What have you done in the past?

runnercheryl

When I went to Disney World I logged everything. I always aim to log. I aim to stick to eating healthy, but even if I didn't I'd want to have the record of what I ate and when, just to look back on once the holiday is over and I'm back into my usual routine.

jstein_77

I have been to Disney a bunch, and I wanted to let you know of a few options that you have if you want to stay in control of your meals while on vacation. Disney will let you bring in a soft sided cooler. I have small children, so we also bring a stroller for them to ride in when they get tired. The soft sided cooler stows in the bottom with no issues. We typically make sandwiches, bring string cheese (even the kids love it), bring fresh fruit, nutri-grain bars (again, the kids love those things), etc. We also bring several bottles of bottled water and Gatorade. Bringing stuff in will not only help you avoid the standard chicken tenders, burgers and fries fare that the park will offer you, but it will also help you keep costs down. Honestly, I don't think we have ever bought a meal at the park. We buy the kids an ice cream when we go and I have caved and bought one of those smoothies that they sell in Tomorrowland. Other than that, we bring pretty much everything that we need for a full day. You have to remember that if you do it right, you will walk several miles each day that you go to Disney. I would love to know how far we walk each day we are there. Seems like a hundred miles.

Having said all that, I think it is a balance that you have to decide on when you are vacationing that you don't want to give up all enjoyment at the expense of tracking calories. For me, eating bad for the entire week would be a bad idea. We usually choose a night where we go out to eat somewhere there and I eat whatever I want that night. Then we usually go out for ice cream. The rest of the week we are pretty good. Turkey burgers, chicken breast lunch meat, fruit, etc.

The most important thing that you need to do while you are there is have fun.

dls06

I would not bother. Just be smart in your choices.:drinker:

journeysover

When your circumstances change temporarily logging gives you a reminder of the time, relieves the monotony and means you are not cheating Yourself

cmriverside

I don't log on vacation. You are usually walking a lot at Disney Parks, so it all evens out. I think it's smart of you to try to make better choices than you may have in the past, but you have to allow yourself a little leeway while on vacation. Don't stress over it, you'll become "that" person who annoys everyone.

lolagirl12

I like to keep track when I'm away from home. I think just keeping the discipline is helpful. Believe me, I won't pass up the awesome key lime pie, but, I might order salad with my cheeseburger instead of fries. I think a lot of weight loss has to do in being conscience of the choices. I wouldn't make it a habit of living on pina coladas, but I'm not going to deprive myself while on a relaxing trip. So I log, and then get back to business when I get home.

81Katz

Personally I would log as much as you can. If it was me I would hate to not log it, come home and see a gain and I don't just mean a pound or two gain.

just my two cents.

yesthistime

I log.

susannamarie

I log on vacation. As a matter of fact I was just gone for half a week, and you can see I was not exactly in complete control -- but all the records are there, and I was NOT doing what I have done on vacations before (eating an entire loaf of my mother's homemade bread in one day) :P

gangstagirl625

in my opinion you should log just so you dont get out of the habit. also you dont want suprises on the scale youve worked to hard to get to where your at. Good luck and have fun at Disney!!!!!!!
:happy:

MarincicS

I just came back from vacation and logged every day. I also tried to keep up with cardio and strength workouts whenever possible. I found it a bit burdensome, but it was really useful for my continued learning about food and eating healthy. Today, after being home for a couple of days and getting settled, i looked back through the log to see when i went over my calories and why. Over the course of the 10 days, i still ended up with a bit of a calorie deficit over my weekly goal, but was really shocked at how hard it is to eat healthy foods when rushing through airports! It seems like the only fast and convenient foods are crap!

So if for no other reason, it can be quite informative to log.

neverstray

I wouldn't log on vacation. Just be mindful, cheat a little, have fun, get drunk, or do whatever you want. It's a vacation.

Sometimes on vacation, like at resorts and cruises, they have a gym, so I'll go in there for an hour in the morning and workout. But, I don't log anything.

I don't want to be that restrictive in my life. Life's short. I've had people very close to me over the past few years that have died for various reasons, and I have learned that you have to keep things in perspective sometimes. Not logging your food while on vacation is not really a big deal. When you get home, get back to it.

denisem23

I would never go "buck wild" however you are on vacation so ENJOY! Personally if it were me I would still keep track just so I know I'm not going overboard, but maybe while your on your vacation just raise your calorie goal for the week, like if your calorie goal is to lose weight raise it to maintenance weight . Then when you come home check your weight. If I gained a few pounds I would try detox and cut back calories for 1 week to balance it all out. Remember healthy life style is about making smart choices and still ENJOYING life, have a great vacay!

Athijade

I do not log on vacation. Normally I simple do not have time, especially during a Disney vacation! Add to that how much you walk on a typical day at the parks... it would simply be nearly impossible to get an accurate idea. I mean, the fastpass sprint first thing in the morning has got to burn a ton of calories by itself!

Just make better choices when you are eating. You can find healthy fare in all the parks if you know where to look (and really, it's not hard to find AT ALL). Fresh Fruit is plentiful. If you don't want fries, just ask to change it out for grapes or apple slices (prepackaged items offered for the kids meals, but will be subed on an adult entree). If you don't want a side at all, ask them about ordering JUST the entree without it (most CS locations will do this, but you have to ask and it won't be on the menu). Disney is awesome about accommodating food requests!

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to message me. I do Disney travel planning for friends and myself (was just there last Oct and will be back in June. Next trip after that is Oct 2013 most likely) and spend WAY too much time on Disney message boards!

kaetra

I went to Disney World in January for 6 nights, 7 days - and I logged what I could, when I could. But I only wound up recording about 25% of what I ate. I just tried to make the best choices I could and ate whatever was healthiest.

We were on the Quick Service Dining Plan. I took LOTS of food with me, but the only thing I wound up eating was the peanut butter and bananas for breakfast. I also reviewed every single menu at every single restaurant in every single park before I went just to know where to find stuff that was both Yummy and Not-All-Together unhealthy.

When I weighed in on our return I had gained 5 pounds!!!! But within 3 days of returning I was back to my pre-vacation weight - it had all been water weight from the sodium.

If you want to hear some of the better options I found send me a message. I still have the list around here somewhere.