Going on a cruise-best way to count calories?

empressbee

i cruise on carnival a LOT and know that they will make special things for you if you ask them. fat free, low sodium, whatever. the spa choices on the bottom of the menu are wonderful and there is always fresh fruit for dessert. you will be doing a lot of walking so that will help, i also like to get in the pool and do water jogging when everyone is off the ship in port. dance in the clubs at night! smile and just enjoy yourself... bee

MostlyWater

I have gone on several trips like this. The first time, I was so active I actually lost 5 lbs. The 2nd time, I stayed the same. Take small portions, keep active, and enjoy yourself. You don't do this every day or even every year.

Graelwyn75

Just be mindful and enjoy. Keep two meals relatively healthy and allow yourself to indulge for dinner. You should also consider yourself fortunate as there are some, like myself, who have not been able to have any sort of vacation, let alone a cruise, in decades. Seriously.

christianteach

The best way is to simply enjoy your cruise, enjoy the meals, eat smart when you can (breakfast and lunch was easiest for me), and start counting again upon your return. Portion sizes help too.

Many people "anguish" about this but find out they only gain a pound or two when on vacation...so just enjoy it.

Guilt is a terrible companion to have on vacation!

That's the plan, but breakfast won't be so easy for me. At home I usually have either a protein shake or protein bar but I love pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy. Maybe I should just bring my protein bars so I don't have to face all the bad stuff I love.

christianteach

We will be cruising soon and are bringing a travel scale to monitor our weight daily like we do at home. We ordered it off Amazon. On our last cruise we were successful with eating a late lunch, and skipping dinner in the dining room. We've been on many cruises so did not feel like we were missing out on the dining experience.

Try to take the stairs versus elevator, eat within reason, watch the alcohol and you should be fine.

A travel scale is a great idea! I wonder if I could find one in store somewhere. Skipping dinner wouldn't work well for us though. I like to eat small meals early in the day and save my calories for a nice dinner. I'm sure it would work great for some though.

We took the stairs on our last cruise too, great idea! We aren't big drinkers, although I would enjoy having a glass of wine with dinner some nights or maybe a cocktail or two over the course of the week. I am going to try to avoid it for the most part though, especially since I like the frozen, sugar filled drinks...Miami Vice, Strawberry Margarita, etc.

christianteach

Tough one!

Relax! Go on holiday and enjoy the food. Is it possible to work out at all? You can do lots of push ups and assisted pull ups and bodyweight squats.

Yes, they have a gym and I already have my workout clothes packed. Now forcing myself to go when I would rather lounge by the pool with my Kindle...we shall see.

christianteach

My family and I were able to maintain weight on a cruise last year by first loading up on salad and fresh fruit before hitting up the rest of the buffet and just monitoring portion control and staying away/limiting the more dangerous items. And we stayed active during the sea days by walking the decks to enjoy the nice weather, taking stairs (elevators were always so slow and always full anyways), basketball, and their dance classes! Lots of dancing!! Just were more conscious of what we were doing and eating but still had a ton of fun

Enjoy yourself and your vacation!! :bigsmile:

Congrats on maintaining during your cruise! I hope we can do the same!! I like your idea's and I love fruit and salad. I could easily fill up on that for breakfast and lunch and save my calories for the dining room.

RunMumRun1

My last cruise I gained about 4kg, all we did was eat and drink a lot of cocktails. But I'm glad I just sat back and relaxed because you deserve it once in a while. They have good healthy food on board, a gym which we went to twice and then gave up on day 3. Haha. If you are really worried about it, just be vigilant on the food you order and take it easy on the alcohol, always use the stairs, swim alot. We have another cruise in October and I can't wait. Go out, have fun and worry about it all when you get back. Time to let your hair down.

FiftyandGettingBetter

Congratulations on your up coming cruise.
I went on my first cruise Sept of 2012. The first day even before we left port was take a tour of the ship. We went down to the fitness area and spa. I signed up for a Boot Camp Class (yes it was extra $$, but I figured that if I spent to money I was going to use it) I didn't do anything other than to the Boot Camp (on our 7 day cruise I went 4 days) we never missed any fun activities. We were out to sea or before we docked when the Boot Camp was going on. I ate probably more than I did back home, desserts. But I did always ask for an extra serving of vegetables, which they were more than happy to provide. We did a lot of walking on the boat and on shore.
Got back home stepped on the scale.... drum rollll.... I lost 0.6lbs! I was very happy about that. I lost 6/10 of a pound ate like a king and saw some wonderful sites. SO take advantage of the fitness center and spa. But most of all.... ENJOY yourself.

BookWormAnjela

I just got back from a carnival cruise, you can still log your calories with your phone in offline mode. Just do a rough estimate and they have a gym and running track on board, I exercised everyday while on the cruise and when I got back had lost one pound. You can do it, just try to make healthy choices and splurge once in awhile.

Mavrick_RN

I bought a very small travel scale from Harbor Freight for 10-12 bucks. I have it at work to measure stuff when the gang has a pot luck or orders out.

DO enjoy your cruise. Set yourself some boundaries like one plate buffet meals, veggies before proteins, chocolate melting cake every-OTHER night etc. My wife and I get up early and take to the panorama deck for a session of stretching and some brisk walking laps around the track. (The rest of the year at the gym I invision the view from the deck when I do my stretches.)

DO NOT impose your restrictions on others or moan about your healthy choices "I sure wish I could have that but I can't because I'm on a diet" grrrrrrrr that is party-pooper attitude.

I expect to gain a pound a day so my first post-cruise weigh-in is high probably from all the sodium. No matter, I get back into my routine just as I do with everything else and it comes off in 2-3 days so it has to be water weight. Make a screen saver of your vacation pictures and start planning the next one!

laurynwithawhy

Cruises have a TON of options. I was on a Norwegian cruise, and there was tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, a juicer bar, and an omelette station where I always got egg whites. You can definitely be healthy if you want to stick to your diet. I, however, gained 10 pounds in 10 days and it was NOT all water weight lol. Don't drink too much, and definitely avoid the super sugary Island type drinks. Alcohol has a ton of calories, is expensive, and leads to bad food decisions. But treat yourself a little, it is a vacation after all!

Mavrick_RN

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=scale

Here is a link to the Harbor Freight site with the travel scale. A good companion wherever you go.

Again - DO enjoy your cruise, take many o' pictures and little movies. I always buy a useful souvenir like a Carnival Beach towel to use in the gym.

Greciankoukla

I do not know about logging calories, but stick to lean meats, fish and veggies.. And always leave food on your plate. Eat half, because if they are like any cruise I have been on , the plate will be overflowing with food. Have Fun!