going camping and I'm scared of overeating and drinking...

I prepare my food in advance and stick it in containers so that I can grab easily. We usually go hiking while camping so that is a great way to burn a lot of calories as well.

Don't pack crap to eat, make sure you bring a lot of fruits, power bars, etc for fuel.

So I am going camping with some friends and my bf this weekend. I have been doing so good recently... Going to the gym at least 5 days a week, watching what I eat and so far, It has paid off. My body feels great and I am really happy .. but this whole camping thing is stressing me out. Around the camp fire at night, for sure I will want to eat marshmallows, chips, candys.. And even if I can resist, I know they will probably say something like : common it is just one weekend it wont kill you.!! And then, I will propably end up eating those, just so I don't feel like an outsider ( kinda hard to explain, I don't know if you understand.. but that is how I will feel). And on top of that all of the alcool.. OMG same thing there I will propably tell them that I want to have one drink or two but will end up drinking sooo much more. but I don't want too .. and before we leave we will all go eat breakfest at the restaurant . I don't know what to eat . I will be tempted to order eggs, bacon, patatoes, sausage.. ahhhhhhhh .. I'm going crazy just thinking about it .. what should I do ? please help I really need some advice and motivation

I have two points that may seem conflicting and may not help you but I believe they are worth mentioning.


1) Who the F cares whether or not they approve of your food choices. It's none of their business. I can't tell where you are in your fitness journey based on your pic but I can tell you that at some point (and that may be now, it may be in a year, w/e), you will look better and be in better shape than ALL of your friends and at that point they ain't sayin' SH%T.

2) Your fear and anxiety over this event are more detrimental than the drinks and smores would be. I think you need to find a way to balance your diet with your social events, and while that's going to differ from person to person, for ME that means having the ability to ignore the food log occasionally and just be a normal person. For example, yesterday was my birthday and we're going for BBQ today and I've got a party tonight. I'm not going to BINGE, but I AM going to eat what I want and not worry about it.

bring drinks that are a little healthier. etc. light beer instead of regular, diet coke and rum instead of rum and coke...
its not much but a little bit of a difference.
also, maybe try waking up before everyone and going for a jog?

So I am going camping with some friends and my bf this weekend. I have been doing so good recently... Going to the gym at least 5 days a week, watching what I eat and so far, It has paid off. My body feels great and I am really happy .. but this whole camping thing is stressing me out. Around the camp fire at night, for sure I will want to eat marshmallows, chips, candys.. And even if I can resist, I know they will probably say something like : common it is just one weekend it wont kill you.!! And then, I will propably end up eating those, just so I don't feel like an outsider ( kinda hard to explain, I don't know if you understand.. but that is how I will feel). And on top of that all of the alcool.. OMG same thing there I will propably tell them that I want to have one drink or two but will end up drinking sooo much more. but I don't want too .. and before we leave we will all go eat breakfest at the restaurant . I don't know what to eat . I will be tempted to order eggs, bacon, patatoes, sausage.. ahhhhhhhh .. I'm going crazy just thinking about it .. what should I do ? please help I really need some advice and motivation

THIS!

I have two points that may seem conflicting and may not help you but I believe they are worth mentioning.


1) Who the F cares whether or not they approve of your food choices. It's none of their business. I can't tell where you are in your fitness journey based on your pic but I can tell you that at some point (and that may be now, it may be in a year, w/e), you will look better and be in better shape than ALL of your friends and at that point they ain't sayin' SH%T.

2) Your fear and anxiety over this event are more detrimental than the drinks and smores would be. I think you need to find a way to balance your diet with your social events, and while that's going to differ from person to person, for ME that means having the ability to ignore the food log occasionally and just be a normal person. For example, yesterday was my birthday and we're going for BBQ today and I've got a party tonight. I'm not going to BINGE, but I AM going to eat what I want and not worry about it.

It really sounds like you are worried about eating and drinking in a way that makes somebody else happy and not yourself. It is one thing if you want that extra drink, or the chips, or the big breakfast, and quite another if you are eating it to make somebody else happy.

I also agree with Sidesteal that sometimes, you need to let go of the log and just enjoy a social event (because you want to, not to make someone else happy). Mental health is a great part of this as well.

To sum up: what is it you WANT to do? That is ultimately up to you to decide. If you want to cut loose this weekend, enjoy! Don't look back and don't feel guilty. If you want to stay on plan, well then, pack and plan accordingly and don't make yourself out to be a martyr because you are eating differently from everyone else.

A) Be as active as you can! Help set up tents, take a few extra trips to the car, go on a walk in the morning after breakfast, swim, hike, chop some wood

At meals, make a plate and stick with it. On one hand, hanging out with friends and talking/laughing can help in the sense you may eat slower and realize you're full before you've cleared your plate, but more often than not, you're paying attention to your friends WHILE pawing food into your mouth.

C) It can feel awkward to turn down food/snacks/drinks since it can draw attention to you changing your lifestyle...if that is something that you want to avoid, go ahead and make that s'more, take a bite, and then make a point to get up and go get something (a jacket, bug spray, a drink) and chuck it if you don't want it. For drinks, go make your own...and add little or no alcohol. If you guys are drinking beer, get up to go 'get a beer' and offer to get other people one...hand them theirs and then keep drinking the beer you already had. They won't notice that you didn't get a full one because they'll be concentrating on theirs!

1. Pack Snacks
2. Skinny Girl cocktails will help on drinking cals
3. Breathe
4. If you decide to eat what everyone else is eating just cut it in half
5. You will be pleasantly surprised with yourself... When the smell of s'mores and booze hits your nose you will find yourself saying things like I worked my tail off the past couple weeks and Im not going to let it be in vain!
6. If 1-5 does not happen, it really is one weekend. Lifestyle changes take time and patience. If you do great you will be proud if you dont do so hot you will be upset but you will know what you need to work harder at. You cant stress about it though. It just makes it worse. Have a healthy attitude going in and dont be so concerned about food and cals that you dont enjoy your trip. Good luck!

I have two points that may seem conflicting and may not help you but I believe they are worth mentioning.


1) Who the F cares whether or not they approve of your food choices. It's none of their business. I can't tell where you are in your fitness journey based on your pic but I can tell you that at some point (and that may be now, it may be in a year, w/e), you will look better and be in better shape than ALL of your friends and at that point they ain't sayin' SH%T.

2) Your fear and anxiety over this event are more detrimental than the drinks and smores would be. I think you need to find a way to balance your diet with your social events, and while that's going to differ from person to person, for ME that means having the ability to ignore the food log occasionally and just be a normal person. For example, yesterday was my birthday and we're going for BBQ today and I've got a party tonight. I'm not going to BINGE, but I AM going to eat what I want and not worry about it.

Can't tell you how much I appreciate that common sense, real life approach and attitude. You're the man, SS.

These people are making some really good points. I understand where you're coming from -- I just got back from a full week of camping with family and friends, and I was also nervous that there would be a lot of temptations and it would be a set-back when I got on the scale back at home. It was also the first time in 2 months that I would not be logging my food on MFP, because I was without internet connection for a week. I knew though that I just needed to try to be smart-- not perfect, but smart.. because after doing this for 2 months, I have learned enough to be a better judge of what foods to eat and how much, and I just needed to trust myself! So I made sure I watched my portions at meal time, and didn't go back for seconds. I made sure to keep active -- 3 or 4 days of the week I went on long walks/hikes, and we also did some swimming and played volleyball. If you have a chance to do any fun & active stuff like that, take advantage of it, especially if your body is used to going to the gym 5 days a week. And then I allowed myself some treats that I wouldn't normally have (ice cream, s'mores), just because I was on vacation, and was OKAY with it. I still didn't go CRAZY on that stuff... but kept with the motto of not striving for perfection, but still trying hard to make smart food choices/portions, while allowing myself a little wiggle room, because who wants to be that strict on vacation? I thought when I got home that I may have gained a couple, but was thrilled that I was down 1/2 a pound! And now I'm hitting it hard again since I'm back to normal life.

The other thing to think about is your priorities, as many have said. Only you can answer whether it is more important to you to keep working hard toward your goals and feeling good about your healthy lifestyle... or if it is more important for you to not feel "like an outsider" in a group of people who apparently don't share your health and fitness goals. Or maybe think about it this way -- which will end up making you feel worse afterward? Saying no to a second s'more or another handful of chips, or feeling guilty about losing ground on your fitness goals when you get back home? There's really no reason you can't find a happy medium like I did. I didn't feel deprived of anything (even though I limited my junk food, I still had some) but I also don't feel like I sabotaged all the work I've put in toward my fitness so far in the process.

If getting fit is important to you, which is sounds like it is and you've been proud of your recent hard work... then you will need to learn how to cope and live in a world where people (especially those close to you) are not going to have the same views on food as you do, and figure out how to make it work. Whether it's now at camping, or a party you go to, or a holiday... you need to figure out how you can continue to make smart choices in the face of temptation, or you will end up feeling stressed like this every time. Sometimes that means saying "no thanks" and sometimes it means "I can afford to have a little fun today, but I'm not gonna overdo it". For me.. it all comes down to planning ahead and being prepared. Make sure you pack a lot of healthy snack options to keep you full so that chips and candy are NOT the only things around staring you in the face when you're feeling munchy. Don't go into meals or campfire time starving, or that will end badly. And for being good at restaurants, I don't know where you're going... but if they have a website, you can probably look up the menu ahead of time and figure out some Nutrition Facts... so that you have a better idea of what to order when you get there. If you can't find that info, then try for something like eggs and wheat toast, and take it easy on the breakfast meats, hashbrowns, pancakes, etc... that you probably know can skyrocket your calories and everything else. If you really want some, have 1 strip of bacon or 1 sausage link... but not 3, you know? Opt for a fruit cup in place of something else. Little tweaks here and there make a big difference if you are willing to do them.

I hope that your friends and especially your bf respect you enough not to give you such a hard time if they know that this is something important to you that you're proud of... and if not, then I hope you can respect yourself enough to care more about what you think of yourself than what they think of you. Best of luck though! And Happy Camping!!

When I go camping, I am very active - hiking, unpacking, moving all the time.

I also only go camping a few weekends a year, weekends I love.

Therefore, I eat s'mores. I eat chips. I drink beer. I don't count calories. I'm not on a diet, I'm living a healthier life. My healthier life sometimes involves indulgences.

Then, the moment I get back, I'm right back to tracking calories and hitting the gym. I might go up a few pounds due to water retention, but it will all even out in the end. And even if it didn't even out, so what? It will set me back like a week from reaching my goal max? I'm cool with that. I don't care how quickly I reach my goal, but I do care about loving my life, enjoying time outdoors in the summer, and formulating a plan I can sustain forever. Deprivation is not conducive to that.

All that said, if you choose to stick to your plan, who cares what your friends say?