Consistency and Vacation

justagirl2013

I've been dreading my vacation that will be taking place 3 weeks from this coming Wednesday.

I am not bringing a scale with me (either food or weight), will not have access to the gym, and will not be really tracking my calories as I normally do. I will be able to go swimming at the beach (hopefully), and continue my c25k.

I will be very busy the first 1.5 weeks with lots of running around. The 2nd 1.5 weeks will involve caring for my grandmother and running errands, but not as busy as the first 1.5 weeks.

I'm concerned in 2 ways, a) that the group of people I will be around with say that I eat a lot (uh duh!) and b) that I will be under my calorie goals. I'm okay with going over, but I do not want to be under!!! I've had 4 days in these past 5 weeks where I was under (due to being sick or excessive calorie burn) and I know that they are already going to affect my consistency.

I've already packaged almonds up for 3 weeks, and plan to grab some luna bars (probably not the healthiest choice, but I can tolerate them. Is there any other foods that are non-perishable that I can package and that are healthy?

Honestly, this is a scary step for me, to be without my "tools"...Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

gemiwing

I would find some visual clues to size/weight for your most-eaten items. Compare them to something that means something for you. Like you need to eat chicken that looks like three of your phones stacked together- and that weighs X amount because you weighed it at home.

Or take pictures of differing foods at weights and store them on your phone or iThing. Put them all next to a common object for scale- something you'll have with you (like.. say a cell phone lol).

The hardest thing for me would be having tons of people tell me to stop eating so much- but then again.. even here on MFP we deal with that so it won't really be new per se.

Foods- peanut butter and nuts- you already have the almonds

justagirl2013

Good idea! I thought about eating a lot of chicken and stuff that I could get from the butcher block. I could have them weigh out my portion, which would really help! I can guesstimate pretty well now on what things weigh/how much to eat, so I do have that. I will probably quick add 100-200 extra calories each day just to make sure that I am as close to accurate as possible.

My hardest thing is also people telling me to stop eating so much. I just talked to my best friend and broke down about how much I eat and what I eat. To my relief she said that that's my business and what works for me is awesome.

Peanut butter seems to be messy but I found these individual serving cups at the store today, Jif makes them. I picked up 2 of them, and some pre-packaged 3oz baby carrots. Stuff like that is awesome, IMO. I don't eat a lot of processed food anymore, but this will really help me out. I also prepackaged my oatmeal in those little 100 calorie snack bags. I need to measure out my brown sugar too.

Veggies will seem to be a bigger deal, but they aren't as bad for you if you eat more than what you think, their calories are much lower thankfully!

twinmomtwice4

I just got back from vacation and my mother was constantly saying to me, "Are you sure you should be eating THAT if you're on a diet?" and "I don't see how you can lose weight with all the food you're eating". It was driving me nuts!!

I didn't really track much but made a mental note of how much I was eating to be sure I was still in a deficit (but not too large of a deficit). I was walking a lot and burning about 3500 calories a day so I had to keep making sure I was eating enough.

I pre-packed bags of almonds, pumpkin seeds, carrots (all measured ahead of time). I made sure to only drink water...no soda or other drinks. Made sure to get my protein in.

But yeah it was difficult to do it without all my tools at hand. I did check MFP several times on my iPhone just so I could get an idea of the nutrition facts for what I was eating. I'm sure I went way over in sodium on most days.

ANewLucia

Man I couldn't care less what peole say about my eating. I am teased because I eat six meals a day and all the never ending dieters look longingly at my food. So sad one is forever on weight watchers, another always on some low cals diet, and they just keep regaining any weight they lose....this had been ongoing for years now. I have offered advise but I don't offer unless asked but they always look at me like I'm crazy. Glad it never deterred me...lol. Anyway, enjoy your vacation, don't be moved by comments, stand by your conviction, this is your life!

rubybeach

I can't speak to the comments from people regarding your diet, this is why I don't discuss it with certain people..... I just say I'm focused on being healthy, which is the truth.

In regards to food, I pack Kind Bars and oatmeal. I also hit up the store if I can when I get in town. Is that an option?

mommamuscles

Man I couldn't care less what peole say about my eating. I am teased because I eat six meals a day and all the never ending dieters look longingly at my food. So sad one is forever on weight watchers, another always on some low cals diet, and they just keep regaining any weight they lose....this had been ongoing for years now. I have offered advise but I don't offer unless asked but they always look at me like I'm crazy. Glad it never deterred me...lol. Anyway, enjoy your vacation, don't be moved by comments, stand by your conviction, this is your life!

I hear ya, Lucia!!!! The last time I went on vacation, I earned the name honey badger because of all my eating, lol. If you're confused. Look it pm YouTube, it will make perfect sense!!!
For food, I try to be prepared but I alSo know I a going to treat myself occasionally.I always have homemade packs of oatmeal that I mix up with oatmeal, protein powder, and flaxseed and maybe some nuts or dried fruit. I also take packets of tuna, fruits and veggies, peanut butter, homemade protein bars, Greek yogurt, and packets of nuts. I hit up the grocery store when I get to town, and try for one restaurant meal a day. I can usually get protein and veggies anywhere but also relax a but because after all, it is vacation. Most restaurants are pretty accommodating.
The last time I went on vacation I took a diet break where I ate at maintenance and ended up losing 3 lbs in 2 weeks!!! Going on vacation next week and plan to do the same thing...fingers crossed, lol.
Enjoy your time away!!

31prvrbs

When I go on vacation, we always hit up a grocery store and stock up on some healthy snacks for the room, and to have on hand (in purse or whatever). So when we're in the room, car, etc, we have some good healthy options. But other than that, I pretty much eat what I want when we go out to eat, etc.

People always comment on how much I eat, even when I'm not on vaca, lol...

justagirl2013

I just got back from vacation and my mother was constantly saying to me, "Are you sure you should be eating THAT if you're on a diet?" and "I don't see how you can lose weight with all the food you're eating". It was driving me nuts!!

I didn't really track much but made a mental note of how much I was eating to be sure I was still in a deficit (but not too large of a deficit). I was walking a lot and burning about 3500 calories a day so I had to keep making sure I was eating enough.

I pre-packed bags of almonds, pumpkin seeds, carrots (all measured ahead of time). I made sure to only drink water...no soda or other drinks. Made sure to get my protein in.

But yeah it was difficult to do it without all my tools at hand. I did check MFP several times on my iPhone just so I could get an idea of the nutrition facts for what I was eating. I'm sure I went way over in sodium on most days.

What your mother said is going to be exactly what my grandmother says. I have a feeling I'll be walking on the beach eating almonds, peanut butter and carrots every day so I can up my cals hah!

Hitting a grocery store is definitely an option, and the grocery store there is extremely customer orientated, so I'm sure they would do anything for me within reason.

I'm going to eat what I want a few times, but I'm afraid if I did that 3 straight weeks, I'd undo all my hard work to this point. I just went out of town last weekend and threw everything to the wind. I drank alcoholic drinks, ate fatty fried foods, and felt like crap hah! I need to meet some kind of middle there

justagirl2013

I hear ya, Lucia!!!! The last time I went on vacation, I earned the name honey badger because of all my eating, lol. If you're confused. Look it pm YouTube, it will make perfect sense!!!
For food, I try to be prepared but I alSo know I a going to treat myself occasionally.I always have homemade packs of oatmeal that I mix up with oatmeal, protein powder, and flaxseed and maybe some nuts or dried fruit. I also take packets of tuna, fruits and veggies, peanut butter, homemade protein bars, Greek yogurt, and packets of nuts. I hit up the grocery store when I get to town, and try for one restaurant meal a day. I can usually get protein and veggies anywhere but also relax a but because after all, it is vacation. Most restaurants are pretty accommodating.
The last time I went on vacation I took a diet break where I ate at maintenance and ended up losing 3 lbs in 2 weeks!!! Going on vacation next week and plan to do the same thing...fingers crossed, lol.
Enjoy your time away!!

Okay, how come whenever I mix protein powder in my oatmeal it turns into a chalky nasty mess?

I do plan on picking up some greek yogurt when I arrive, that is one of my staples for breakfast along with some strawberries and blueberries mixed in. I have some tuna packs so I can take those, I'm sure I could get some individual packs of mayonnaise from somewhere too. I have a couple luna bars, I might look up some homemade bars but I'm not sure if I have the time to make them right now.

Thanks everyone for the ideas/support!

mommamuscles

If you go to Youtube and search for Lean Body Lifestyle they have a lot of super easy recipes for quick snacks. Just for future reference.

I have experimented with different protein powders and some seem to work in oatmeal, others not so much. I use MRM brand which works pretty well. I get it on amazon or vitacost. I also find it works best if I put it in a bowl and add boiling water, then cover with a plate and let it sit a few minutes.
Hope it works out for you! I think your ideas sound great!

justagirl2013

If you go to Youtube and search for Lean Body Lifestyle they have a lot of super easy recipes for quick snacks. Just for future reference.

I have experimented with different protein powders and some seem to work in oatmeal, others not so much. I use MRM brand which works pretty well. I get it on amazon or vitacost. I also find it works best if I put it in a bowl and add boiling water, then cover with a plate and let it sit a few minutes.
Hope it works out for you! I think your ideas sound great!

I will definitely go search that now and see what I come up with! I bought some bell peppers today to cut up and will pick up some broccoli and cauliflower to eat raw also.

I use the Whole Foods brand and forget it! It is just disgusting! I generally drink a protein shake at night so I'll save it for then, but it might be nice occasionally!