Vacation- to track or not to track…

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khk2010
khk2010 Posts: 451 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Going on vacation to Boston for the next week. Trying to decide if I should take the week off of tracking with MFP and just watch it - or to track. What do you do on vacation?

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  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
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    Take that week off. I'm sure you'll be walking around a lot and that'll burn a lot of calories. Enjoy yourself, it's vacation.
  • fxdl2k2
    fxdl2k2 Posts: 250 Member
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    I don't track, but then I usually "unplug" if I am on vacation. It is a personal choice. Do what you think will be best for you.
  • lisa511
    lisa511 Posts: 14
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    I would track, just to keep an eye on what damage control you are going to have to do when you get home, but I would still let yourself enjoy the trip. If you want dessert, eat it. If you want an extra drink, drink it. Enjoy
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    I agree with the "enjoy yourself" comments. Personally I have found though that when I try to do that, and not track, I end up thinking about it constantly. Have I gone over yet? Man, I must have gone way over today... And so on and so forth. Tracking actually makes me LESS stressed about the situation. Then when I came home from camping and found I lost more that week than the week before when I was at home with MY food I was thrilled!
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I would track on a notepad....actually you have to decide how much of an inconvenience
    tracking will be and if you have mastered maintaining and portion sizes....track if you want to be 100% accountable or you could risk a gain when you return ..you have to decide whats more important i guess
  • summerblunden
    summerblunden Posts: 184 Member
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    I agree with the not track. Just dont be bummed when you get home and have gained, or not lost. The hubby and I are going away for our anniversarym abd have made the agreement that we will not track that weekend, and skip weighing,m so we have another week to get ourselves back on track. Same will be the case enxt May when we go on a cruise, cause really, how can you possibly expect to track on a cruise!

    So enjoy the break, don't stress out, and get back to it when you get home.
  • raelbee
    raelbee Posts: 219
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    I would take it easy on the tracking, but still try to make the majority of my choices healthy ones.

    And you MUST go to Mike's Pastry in the North End. The canolis are worth the splurge :)
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Here's an idea maybe- change your goals to "maintain" your weight just for the time that you're gone. You still know how many you can eat to lose but then you will know what not to go over or else you will actually put on some weight. This way you can eat/drink more (if you want to) and not feel to worried that you are gaining. Just a thought...
  • Firebranda
    Firebranda Posts: 19 Member
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    I would track but not stress about being ON it. I went on vacation for 3 weeks and wished I had MFP then! We ate really well and were active but made crappy choices and drank a TONNE of pop. I'm convinced that if I'd have had to track my pop I would've made better choices and even lost some weight. In the end do what makes YOU content and enjoy your vacation!!
  • Kminor67
    Kminor67 Posts: 900 Member
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    I would track, but I would also not worry about whether or not I went over. Besides... you'll probably walk off everything you eat.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
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    Ditto what so many others have said...take a break and enjoy it. And if you overdo it, so what! It's only one week. My experience has been that if I do overdo it, most of the weight gain is water, and it goes away pretty quick once I get back on track.
  • JoyJulRay
    JoyJulRay Posts: 99 Member
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    When my husband and I go away, we are always trying to save money like most people. So when we go eat we both get a salad and then we pick an entree that we both like and split it.
  • stressd1mom
    stressd1mom Posts: 151 Member
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    I debated the same question when I went on vacation last month. I decided against tracking. I was able to maintain while I was gone. That was all I was asking for, just to maintain that week. No big expectation of any loss, I just didn't want to gain. I found that I did a lot more walking around while we were gone. Plus, I took some of what I have already learned from tracking my foods to apply to eating out on our vacation. I knew when I was 'being bad'. Just enjoy yourself!
  • courtneysmith3212
    courtneysmith3212 Posts: 97
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    I just got back from a weekend trip..and it was wonderful! I didn't track what I ate, for one I was away from a computer, and two I just wanted to enjoy myself.. We took food up to the cabin, but we also ate out too.! My husband said just get whatever your on vacation.. Remember vacation is about relaxing and not stressing out.. I was cautious when I ate though, but not too cautious, I wanted to enjoy it... and I did.. and I think I am good for a while from the food I ate.. LOL.. and even better.. I got home and weighed myself the next day.. and I had lost weight.. amazing right?? I am still on that high!
  • moosenbratsmommy
    moosenbratsmommy Posts: 170
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    if i could ever afford vacation again lol... i would track! thanks to the app, i can add my foods and exercise in anytime-anywhere! love it! i probably wouldn't be as tough on myself so that i could enjoy myself a little more, but i'd still track everything so i'd know why i may have gained or loss
  • kmcclain77
    kmcclain77 Posts: 6
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    I appreciate the various thoughts and opinions as I, too, have been debating this. My husband and I are going on a week-long cruise to Alaska in just one week and my first mini-goal weight follows our return - eek! All I keep hearing about is the food on the cruise - but I think if I just keep out the soda for one, that will help.
    We'll see how it goes! I don't want to back-track, but don't want to be anal either.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    On my most recent vacation I did not track at all. I tried to get in a pretty decent amount of exercise, tried to make sensible choices, while not overly depriving myself (its vacation darnit!). I was gone 6 days and put on about 3 lbs. It was all gone almost immediately on my return and getting back to normal eating.

    Personally, I would try to enjoy it, but just be sensible about it. It'll be a good test, considering, unless you want to log for the rest of your life, you'll need to get good at just making good choices.

    Good luck and have fun!
  • KayKGee98
    KayKGee98 Posts: 14
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    If you CAN track it all i think you should. i just got back from california a few days ago and i couldn't track anything while i was there because i had no internet and plus my family was watching me so they would think it was weird. I got back and i gained two pounds! TWO POUNDS! It was gross. So yeah, if you can then i would say yes you should:)
  • Douniap
    Douniap Posts: 841
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    By now you should be able to identify the foods that have extra calories, etc..
    so that means you won't be eating "bad calories" and even if you did, you would have a small bite of it..
    If you have your phone with you and have the app on it, ya why not just enter the food when you can. However, i will not stress over it.. After all, you are on vacation and you should enjoy every moment of it, indulge if you want to but don't overdo it:) and keep moving..
    Cheers
  • TracieJ65
    TracieJ65 Posts: 645 Member
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    It is amazing how posts show up on here right at the perfect time. We go on a week long vacation at the same time every year, third week of October. This will be the first vacation since I have begun my journey and this week I have really been thinking about how I want to handle my food diary and eating situation. It actually has stressed me just a little bit. I do not want to go backwards on what has been a continual step forward every week since I began. It is still two months away, but I like to always be ready. After a lot of thought, I am going to continue to track my food, as best as I can. We will be driving to CA, staying 6 days there, then a day and a half in Vegas and I won't always have access to the internet. I just this week got a bike rack to attach to our motor home and will be taking my bike with me and plan on doing a lot of biking. But, at the same time, it is vacation and it is a time to relax and destress! I do NOT eat out much during the year and want to be able to enjoy myself at restaurants, within reason, of course. So, I guess it has boiled down to, for me, anyway, that I am going to track my food diary, I am going to do a lot of biking, and when we eat out, I am going to enjoy my food, but play the "putting half of my food in a to go box as soon as I receive it," and think about how/what I order! I think I would be too stressed if I didn't track as best as I could.

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