How do you handle vacation eating?

TammyS327

I have a mini vacation coming up next week for 4 days and not sure how I am going to handle it. I am heading to the beach for Bike Week which usually means lots of seafood, including oysters fried, raw, baked, and steamed, beer, tropical drinks and beer. I'm sure I can locate a salad or something very light for lunch but the evenings are going to be rough. Exercise won't be a problem because I will take daily walks on the beach and continue the 30 day squat challenge, but the food will be a hurdle. So how do you deal with vacation? Do you still count calories, carbs or whatever you are watching? Do you let your hair down and just have everything in moderation?

Mazzyx

Hey,
I tend to let my hair down but eat in moderation. If you are still doing your exercises, I wouldnt worry too much. Its your holiday, enjoy it!

azzkikin

Just take it one fork at a time and enjoy the ride.

Natihilator

I Indulge on seafood because I can't really get the good stuff at home. I would just limit the fried stuff and try to eat more steamed/grilled and maybe stick to 1 tropical drink per day, because those can add up with calories quick.

Have a great time!

jreesethomas

Don't worry so much about what you're eating, but try to stick to a strict policy of no seconds. Enjoy a moderate serving, and don't go back for more.

EmilyOfTheSun

It's vacation. I usually just enjoy the crap out of it and over indulge like a complete slob.
Just don't let your vacation habits turn into your everyday way of doing things. Get back in the game after vaca!

Hope you have a good time.

elainecroft

Enjoy yourself, but just try to make good choices. For example, eat a ton of the raw/ grilled seafood, but not the fried. Drink light beer or wine instead of cocktails, or try to interspace cocktails with other drinks.

The no-seconds idea is good too - I am going to steal that one!

khall86790

Hey,
I tend to let my hair down but eat in moderation. If you are still doing your exercises, I wouldnt worry too much. Its your holiday, enjoy it!

This.

jdhosier

I do my best to log my calories, even though it really annoys my wife. I am always over, but I will track it and own it. Besides, it helps me to make better choices, or at the very least, informed decision.

Enjoy your vacation.

tuffytuffy1

I tend to just try to eat in moderation. When I go on vacation, we usually rent a house and grill so I eat lots of grilled chicken, grilled fish, grilled veggies. If you are going out to dinner, when I was in Disney World, I ordered a lot of grilled chicken salads, things like that. Try not to stress, just enjoy yourself!

Sweetestthing87

When I go on vacation I like to workout first thing in the morning. I typically get a 2-4 mile run in and then I feel great the rest of the day. It also helps curb my appetite and I am sure I consume less by keeping active.

I try to eat lighter for breakfast and lunch and then for dinner I let my hair down and eat what I want but rarely do I overindulge.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself. That is what vacations are all about. I am on the countdown to a vaction myself. It is so exciting. The funny thing about doing this program/using MFP continuously is that you develop healthier eating habits and suddenly vacations aren't about how much weight you will gain but more about how much fun you will have and how much more active you will be.

mazdauk

I just had a break 3 weeks ago, and by logging my exercise as well I could see I was actually not really over my allowance even though I was having a cooked breakfast. One day we didn'thave lunch as we were full, but did on other days and had some drinks:drinker:

Switch your calories to maintenance and as others have said avoid those trpoical drinks (you know fruit juice is calorific, so stick to spirit with a slimline mixer, or have wone or beer - but get small beers if you can).

Its only 4 days, be good before you go and when you get back and it will make no difference (or not enough to be bothersome)

patty43ck

As long as you walk the beach, do your squats and try to pick the grilled option on the seafood, enjoy those fruity concoctions girlfriend...it's not like you do that all the time! Let your hair down and enjoy your vacation!

mkoff32

When I'm on vacation I don't work out and eat whatever I want. It's vacation. It won't kill you. Enjoy yourself and get back on track when you get home. Everyone needs to let loose every once in a while and enjoy life.

KAR1959

I eat in moderation and try to make good choices. Usually when I go to the beach I walk so much I don't have to worry. I have actually loss weight on vacation. Just enjoy yourself.

running_shoe

On vacation, I just go off the rails. Vacation is about leaving stress behind. No work, no counting, just hedonism. You'll be back to real life soon enough. ENJOY!

Kelley528

I dont vacations are an excuse to eat like a pig. Its one thing not to exercise the way you would if you were home but personally, I believe you still need to be accountable for what you eat.

As long as you eat right you can still have all the so-called treats people seem to think you cant have. If you want to have fried or breaded seafood, just dont do it 3 meals a day every day. Dont overlead on the portion sizes.

Thinking you need to eat a salad every day wont keep your weight loss sustainable in the future anyway. It is not realistic. You are better off learning how to control what you eat and how you eat now so you can keep it up for the rest of your life.

caseythirteen

I'll typically not worry too much about it, especially if I'm still doing some exercise. Having just gotten back from a trip, I can say that I tried to eat a decent breakfast and sometimes lunch and I also brought some healthy snacks that were easily portable. The two that I used the most were Quest bars and homemade trail mix (almonds, sunflower seeds and dried cranberries). For the trail mix, I just measured it out in to baggies before leaving home and that way it was easy for me to throw a bag in to my bag/purse for the day. Since they are both pretty dense snacks, it helped keep my appetite at bay until meal times and therefore avoiding junk snacks (which were everywhere - it was Disney World ).

BikerGirlElaine

It's bike week. Enjoy it. Especially if it is the only rally you are going to.

However, I have plans for a bunch of rallies this summer. I'm planning to stick with the best healthy low cal options available to me except for like one or two meals each rally.

I've got some restrictions on my eating so I have been bringing a lot of my own food for years now. I have a protein shake for breakfast that I bring all of the supplies for. We camp at rallies, so I am going to bring freeze dried foods all mixed up with seasonings, etc. in baggies. Find some hot water and it makes a meal.

But yeah, I'll be having frito pies and bacon cheeseburgers here and there too. :bigsmile:

LoraF83

It's practice for how you are going to handle moderating your choices for the rest of your life.

So, I don't worry about having a deficit. I eat what I want, but I try to be mindful of my choices. If I know I want a lavish dessert, I have a salad with my dinner instead of french fries. I drink water and stay away from soda and juices so I have room for a drink or two at night.

Make good choices and be mindful, but don't be afraid to indulge a little too. You're going to have to work through situations like this forever, so practice now.

turkeyhunter60

I tend to just try to eat in moderation. When I go on vacation, we usually rent a house and grill so I eat lots of grilled chicken, grilled fish, grilled veggies. If you are going out to dinner, when I was in Disney World, I ordered a lot of grilled chicken salads, things like that. Try not to stress, just enjoy yourself!

This

theCarlton

Oh man, please enjoy yourself there.There will be plenty of salad when you get back. Reign it in on your way home, plan a workout or something to get you back in the swing of things.

trud72

nothing bad about seafood a lot of it is already low cal/high protein right!
and you say its a biking holiday so as long as you offset the fair wack of beer with biking no problem! :bigsmile:
have fun x

eep223

I just did this last weekend. I tried to log pretty much everyday, but didn't really limit what I ate. I ate over my calories and gained a little, but got back on track when I came home. Just don't freak out about it, and you should be fine.

I do want to add, though, raw oysters are pretty good for you and also pretty much the most delicious thing ever. Maybe try limiting the fried, but eating dozens and dozens of the raw! Jealous!!

ChristyRunStarr

I just got back from a mini 5 day vacation in Disney-if I wanted something, I had it and I made smarter choices than I would have a year ago. I worked out every day while there (my typical running and weight days) but remember, it's a vacation. It's supposed to be fun. I enjoyed myself and the only reason I made time to workout is cause I enjoy it so much and I love running around new places.

MinnieInMaine

During my first vacation while "dieting", I was very careful. I didn't specifically count points (was doing WW at the time) but I did write everything down mentally guesstimate to make sure I was in the ballpark. I was also very conscious of my choices and made sure I got a ton of activity in. And in the end, I managed to lose 2 pounds! That said, we walked pretty much everywhere (Williamsburg VA area) so on top of gym time I was burning a huge amount of calories which I'm sure made a big difference.

The last couple of vacations, I've decided to just let it be. I'm still conscious of my eating choices but I don't keep track of everything. I make sure I get in 30-60 minutes of dedicated exercise a day and try to do something else active if I can. And I allow myself one meal/evening to just let loose - drink lots, eat lots and have fun! I've always been up a few pounds after these vacations but it's mostly water weight from restaurant food and that last blast drinking and it goes away in a few weeks time as long as you get right back on track.

docdick9120

Don't worry about it too much. Just do the best you can and try not to get in a "binge mode". When you get back from vacation, get right back on track. Most of us did not get to be overweight just by eating too much on vacation.

Sunnyjb

HAHA! I'm going the beach for 3 days this weekend. I am bringing my own snacks and breakfast, will be going to CHOW DOWN on seafood I'm also doing a 30 day squat challenge. Sending you a FR

Absonthebrain

On vacations I like to relax and just eat but I usually eat without stuffing myself, leaves more room in my tummy for drinking that way. You work hard for a vacation so you might as well enjoy yourself and you can workout and exercise when youre back home

coachDidi

i often go on business trips and in the past, it meant PIG OUT time. and i would be paid to eat junk food and be alone to do it and not have to hide it from people! yay! what a disaster.
ive since changed all that, am doing p90x/insanity hybrid, and am eating clean, and on the first trip i took since changing my life around, i was very worried that id screw it up by eating crap food.
i did a few things to control the situation
1) shakeology. i brought a portion for every day i was away and id literally just put it in my shaker cup and add water and that was my breakfast. one meal down.
2) i brought lots of protein bars, and pre-measured out portion of nuts for me to eat as snacks instead of stopping places and eating muffins and donuts and sandwhiches and chips and pizza etc
3) i have been so afraid of restaurants because you just never know what they have hidden in their plates. for example, you can order a healthy salad and then find out you just ate about 1000 calories without realizing it, THINK you made a smart healthy choice, not be full, and then eat even more later that day because you think you ate less than you did. You can order an egg white omelet with vegetables and not know that a lot of places add pancake batter, cream, or butter to it so the eggs are nice and fluffy! and again you think you had a nice healthy meal. so now, as much as possible, i will ask how things are prepared and give strict instructions like say not to cook it in oil or butter, dont add any cream, dressing on the side, meat only grilled, no added stuff. but honestly, sometimes it gets really embarrassing to do all that if you're out with certain people. so my other trick was to go to subways. now... im not really a fan of subways. i dont crave it. i dont find the food to be awesome. BUT, with subways you know what the nutritional value of your food is, and you can get a very filling meal for about 400 calories, and you can still log your food choices. so in my 4 day business trip, i went to subways 4 times, just because i didnt have the option of cooking my own food and knowing exactly what i was putting in it. a lot of restaurant chains post the nutritional value of their food online so its a good idea to check it out and choose wisely.

now its gotten to the point where i just dont feel its worth it to have that 600 calorie dessert with 40g of sugar and 15g of fat. the pleasure from the food lasts 5 minutes, and then i need to do a very high intensity workout for about an hour to burn those calories. but the sugar and fat is already in my system and causing a cycle effect of more cravings and sugar levels spiking and the wrong enzymes being released to make the cycle continue!

its hard!

AllonsYtotheTardis

- it's only 4 days
- it's a vacation, not a penance
- have fun, and stop overanalysing FFS