Will my muscle turn to fat when I stop working out?

enjoy your holiday.

why will you have no control over eating and drinking? i know you'll be having fun, but still be mindfull of your intake.

make an effort to exercise every day. you can alternate running and strength training.

will you be staying in a hotel or hostels or ppls houses?? either way, here is a 20 minute hotel work out. i advise you print it out and take it with you. in fact, try it out a few times at home first. http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/12/20/the-20-minute-hotel-workout/

well muscle is muscle and fat is fat so technically muscle CANNOT turn to fat. But look at any image of an aging bodybuilder and what you will see is less bulked up or taut muscle structure.

if you've put that much effort in, why let it go to rack and ruin? don't just laze around on your holiday, get active, try new sports.

you have control over what goes into your mouth - unless of course someone is going to stick a tube down your throat and force feed you. You can eat and drink the same stuff as your friends as long as you care with portions - don't stuff yourself, drink soft drinks as well as booze. Listen to your body - if you are going somewhere hot you may well find you don't WANT to stuff yourself and crave healthy foods. Eat what the locals eat, where the locals eat.

above all, enjoy - it's probably the last time you'll ever get to spend ten weeks on holiday!!!!

muscle and fat are 2 different things. Muscle doesn't turn into fat and fat doesn't turn into muscle.

Your body is like an efficient machine, If you stop exercising and become sedentary then your body will simply break down your muscles for fuel because it will see no reason to keep them.

Although I seriously doubt 1 week will make too much difference.

If you stop for 10 weeks you will lose a lot of definition. I am going through this right now. I had to stop lifting for medical reasons for about 2 months and there is a marked difference.

Do enjoy yourself, muscle has great memory.

Thank you for the article, that's really helpful. We're probably going to be staying in hostels/hotels mainly.

Maybe control is the wrong word - we're going to be on a limited budget is one of the main concerns so getting fresh fruit and veg, meat etc is obviously going to work out more expensive than something like pasta, noodles, rice.

I think I need to not see it as a 'holiday' in the same way I would if I was going away for 2 weeks, and remember to keep tracking and be mindful of making healthy choices. I know it will be tough...my self control isn't the best, especially if those I'm with aren't being careful x

I'm guessing you are travelling during those ten weeks? Street food tends to be cheapest, and despite how it may seem may end up being the freshest and full of nutrients to that served in a 'restaurant'. In many countries fresh fruits and vegetables are the standard snack - green mango in Thailand for example. Try and keep away from chain restaurants, bread-type products and anything 'westernised' - you'll fare much better health-wise sticking to the local diet. and stay safe.

Each time I have done any extended travelling I have lost weight. The first time I lived on bread/cheese and ritz crackers - I don't recommend that, but the second time I explored the local diet.

Muscle and Fat are made up of two totally different kinds of tissues so it's physically impossible for your muscle to turn into fat.

HOWEVER, it is possible to lose muscle mass and gain more adipose tissue (fat). When you lose muscle mass the muscles that everyone has (we all have the same muscles unless you've had them removed surgically or are born without them) simply atrophy. An extreme example of muscle atrophy is when you have a cast on your arm and when they take it off one arm is smaller and weaker than the other. Basically the more you use a muscle, especially with added resistance makes your msucle stronger, if you stop using it then the strength and tone in your muscle will diminish to the level that your current activity requires of it.

Since you're going to be gone for 10 weeks you will most likely see a difference in your body if you stop exercising completely and begin eating rich, heavy foods and too many calories.

My suggestion would be to pack some resistance bands, get a book on great body weight exercises, and some good running shoes. I have to have things mapped out for myself to reduce the amount of wasted wandering time as well as to optimize my results so it may help you to sit down and have 8-10 workouts written out before hand (there are lots of books that have workouts in them if you have no clue what to write out for workouts on your own) and bring those too.

As for the eating part, when I go on vacation I use the rule of eating healthfully for most of the day and allowing myself one meal to eat whatever I want. I've only ever gone on a 1 week vacation though so you may need to tweak that to 1-2 meals a week of whatever splurge that you feel the need for. This doesn't mean that you have to eat like a rabbit all the time and miss out on the cultural foods, just keep track of your serving sizes, make it a habit to bring a doggie bag home with you.

I hope this helps and I hope you have a great vacation!!

PS. I'm travelling around N. America (I'm from the UK) - doing the west coast, Florida and New York

Awesome! A lot of hotels here have gyms with treadmills, ellipticals, and bike machines. Weights too.

And if you haven't already booked your hotels, check out the residence inn. They have kitchens in the hotels so you can prepare meals.

PS. I'm travelling around N. America (I'm from the UK) - doing the west coast, Florida and New York

I envy you (in a nice way, not maliciously lol). Have an absolutely fantastic experience and take care.