I'm sure this has been asked before but......

BobcatGirl110
BobcatGirl110 Posts: 364 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm sure this has been asked before but I've only been on the boards since February so I am going to ask because I've learned to trust the MFPers to help when you ask for it :)

So I'm going on a cruise next month....I've been doing awesome and I am happy with my eating. I know I can exercise when I'm on the vacation; that is not hard with the outdoor excursions and on board ability to run but I'm curious about food. Is it easy to still log MFP to the best of your ability the foods so you can keep track of your intake? I'm curious if anyone else has done it and how hard it is to log while eating food like that? Thanks so much for your help guys...you've become a necessity for my healthy lifestyle successes :heart:

Replies

  • mrp56839
    mrp56839 Posts: 159 Member
    If it were me (and I sure could use a vacation about now), I'd probably try to make good food choices 80% of the time and not log at all. Activity is going to be key - Personally, i'd be happy if I only gained a lb or two and thrilled if I maintained. After you come back, hit it hard core for a week to weed out any bad habits or cravings and you should be good.

    That's what I'd do!
  • jofe84
    jofe84 Posts: 11
    I agree with the post above, be good majority of the time but dont forget you are on holiday so you are allowed a treat :-). If I logged on when I was on holiday I would punish myself if I went over and think I need to cut back next day and i wouldnt enjoy the holiday. I advise set up a food and exercise plan before you go so when you come back you are ready to start it
  • FattieBabs
    FattieBabs Posts: 542 Member
    I would set MFP for maintenance and carry on logging. If you gain a few pounds you can drop them off quickly when you get back. Good luck and enjoy the cruise!
  • BobcatGirl110
    BobcatGirl110 Posts: 364 Member
    thanks for opinions guys :) I'm hoping someone who has been on a cruise sees this and lets us know what they did (successfully or unsuccessfully).....I definitely have an opinion of what I believe I should do, but certainly appreciate hearing others give their 2 cents so I can make a better decision :wink:
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I am going on a vacation for 7 days starting this weekend. I do not plan on logging my food. I just want to relax and for once, not worry about it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go crazy and splurge and eat everything under the sun. I will still try to make the healthiest choices I can, and try to get in some activity every day aside from lounging by the pool all the time!
    Sometimes, your body does well with a week off from "dieting" and eating perfectly. As long as you don't over do it, you aren't going to gain 10 lbs in a week. Even if I come back a few pounds up, I am confident it will come off in the next week or two and I'll be back on track.
    I did this last year - I was up 3 lbs when I came home and lost it within 2 weeks.
  • BobcatGirl110
    BobcatGirl110 Posts: 364 Member
    I am going on a vacation for 7 days starting this weekend. I do not plan on logging my food. I just want to relax and for once, not worry about it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go crazy and splurge and eat everything under the sun. I will still try to make the healthiest choices I can, and try to get in some activity every day aside from lounging by the pool all the time!
    Sometimes, your body does well with a week off from "dieting" and eating perfectly. As long as you don't over do it, you aren't going to gain 10 lbs in a week. Even if I come back a few pounds up, I am confident it will come off in the next week or two and I'll be back on track.
    I did this last year - I was up 3 lbs when I came home and lost it within 2 weeks.

    Congrats!!! looks like you are almost at your goal!!
  • Brittany3914
    Brittany3914 Posts: 258 Member
    The last thing I'd want to do on a cruise is carry around my cell phone and try logging the food. Enjoy your vacation! Make healthy choices (fruit over fried potatoes, for example). Take the stairs over the elevator. Don't go "overboard" and you'll be fine (See what I did there?)

    :)
  • mindygeske
    mindygeske Posts: 120 Member
    Bumping this for later.

    I'm in a similar position, except my cruise is in November and it's 15 nights. Beyond stressed!
  • kellie1055
    kellie1055 Posts: 80 Member
    I went on a cruise last year, 5 days, 4 nights. Came back 10 pounds heavier.....its just too easy to eat all day. Its food food food everywhere and its ffrrrreeeee......im going again in the fall and I will make healthier choices. Its just so hard. Pizza bars, sub bars, dessert towers, salad bars with bacon bits, deli meats, cheese, free room service, steak, lobster, bread and butter, fruity drinks.......i could go on and on! This time Im really going to try and restrain myself!
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    I love cruising! We're going on one for Thanksgiving this year, in fact.

    Logging will be difficult at best at sea. The internet service is spotty and slow and EXPENSIVE. You have to purchase internet/wifi access while on the ship and it doesn't come cheap. If you really want to log, take a journal and log the old fashioned way.

    Having said that, my advice would be to not kill yourself trying to log everything while on your cruise. Enjoy the ship and all the work out/walking/jogging facilities available. Have a fantastic time on your shore excursions. Take the stairs instead of the elevators (there are a lot of stairs on the ship!) and enjoy the food. Make the best food choices you can, but don't beat yourself up or feel guilty over indulging in something you normally wouldn't. This *is* your vacation after all!

    This is only one week of your life and you should give yourself permission to enjoy it and not feel guilty over food or exercise choices. Weight loss and getting in shape happens over the course of a long time. What you do for one week isn't going to make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things. The trick will be to get right back at it the minute you come home. Don't let a one week vacation be an excuse to completely fall off the wagon for an indefinite amount of time. As long as you get right back to it when you get home, this will only be a minor blip on the radar and you'll have some great memories!
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Vacations should be fun, you shouldn't have to worry about logging your food the whole time. You'll be plenty active on the cruise (like you said), and they usually have pretty healthy options. Don't worry about logging, it'll get way too complicated and stressful. Just try to make healthy-ish choices, but allow yourself some treats too! If you gain a pound on your vacation, so what? You can lose it again easily. Idk, to me it's more important to actually be able to enjoy yourself in life.

    BTW I've been on 3 cruises since starting MFP, didn't log during any of them and didn't gain a single pound during any of them either. Relax and have a good time :)
  • Megz2006
    Megz2006 Posts: 122 Member
    I've went on a cruise before, and it is REALLY hard to get cell service, and expensive to go on if you want good internet. In my opinion, I would try to eat the best you can and not log because who wants to do that on a vacation?

    There are many healthy food choices on the ship, but there are also loads of unhealthy choices. You can still have a dessert just don't go crazy. I gained so much weight from our honeymoon cruise because I couldn't resist all the temptations. Knowing what I know now, I would have filled up on more fruit, vegetables, and good meals.
  • BobcatGirl110
    BobcatGirl110 Posts: 364 Member
    Vacations should be fun, you shouldn't have to worry about logging your food the whole time. You'll be plenty active on the cruise (like you said), and they usually have pretty healthy options. Don't worry about logging, it'll get way too complicated and stressful. Just try to make healthy-ish choices, but allow yourself some treats too! If you gain a pound on your vacation, so what? You can lose it again easily. Idk, to me it's more important to actually be able to enjoy yourself in life.

    BTW I've been on 3 cruises since starting MFP, didn't log during any of them and didn't gain a single pound during any of them either. Relax and have a good time :)

    I hope to be as lucky! If you didn't gain I shouldn't have to either :) Upside is I can log on my phone (no internet needed), it's Alaska so we aren't far offshore so cell service is available...and I will say that I AM that dork who does want to log...it's become important to me to track and search the databases to see how good or bad a choice is...I think I NEED it tbh...or maybe I WANT it...same thing in my book right now.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I am going on a vacation for 7 days starting this weekend. I do not plan on logging my food. I just want to relax and for once, not worry about it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go crazy and splurge and eat everything under the sun. I will still try to make the healthiest choices I can, and try to get in some activity every day aside from lounging by the pool all the time!
    Sometimes, your body does well with a week off from "dieting" and eating perfectly. As long as you don't over do it, you aren't going to gain 10 lbs in a week. Even if I come back a few pounds up, I am confident it will come off in the next week or two and I'll be back on track.
    I did this last year - I was up 3 lbs when I came home and lost it within 2 weeks.

    Congrats!!! looks like you are almost at your goal!!
    Unfortnately, no. I just have 3 lbs til I've lost 45 lbs.. still a long way til goal.
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
    For vacations my inclination is to set to maintenance and log anyway. For me at least using the it's your vacation relacx excuse just prompts me to keep backsliding.

Categories