Tips to maintain/minimise gain on 2 week holiday

Clare291174
Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all

I go away next week for 2 weeks to Greece with my husband and 2 children. I don't want to be a killjoy on holiday turning my nose up to bread, ice creams and wine in some ways more for my husband than even myself as its a total mood killer to watch your other half holding back. This holiday is our first in ages and cost us quite a bit so it would be selfish and silly of me not to let my hair down.

The problem is its took me 8 weeks of meticulous dieting and gruelling exercise to lose 8lbs and the thought of gaining a few pounds is demoralising as it took so much effort to lose it. What scares me is some weeks I haven't lost any weight despite my diet and exercise so when I picture myself eating more and exercising less all I can imagine is pounds gained.

Here's my plan. There is a gym at the hotel which I intend to use daily, nothing crazy but 30-45 mins cardio and strength training to include tabata training. Breakfast, eggs, a little fruit, lunch sensible, evening meal again sensible but the odd splurge on pizza. I know I will drink 2-3 glasses of wine virtually every night but again Intend to watch this and have the odd night off.

Do you all think that it sounds like I can have fun and limit any gains with this approach? I just want to enjoy it and not spoil it for my family but don't want to undo all my hard work, my other plan is not to weigh myself til been home a couple of weeks and back on healthier eating/more exercise.

Thanks

Replies

  • witmer1
    witmer1 Posts: 128 Member
    Hit the salad bar often. Stick to lean protein as much as possible. Keep moving. Log everything. 5 minutes logging per day doesn't detract from the vacation that much. Don't splurge on EVERYTHING and you'll be ok. Have a great time.
  • runningcat76
    runningcat76 Posts: 82
    I hear you.. I am going away in a few weeks too and am a bit nervous about how to tackle the food/drinking.. I know if i even suggest i take my trainers with me, my other half will go mad at me! Its an all inclusive resort too so food and drink is freely available all day!
  • Clare291174
    Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
    Ha ha! Fair play to my husband he is fine w me bringing my trainers. I've hit the gym on holiday before so when I see I will go every day I really will! I miss it if I don't. I guess it's a case of showing some restraint but tempering that with letting loose a little. I think it's hard because I am not quite at my goal yet and I lose slowly. That's because I don't have much to lose to be fair.
  • RubyRunner14
    RubyRunner14 Posts: 148 Member
    Like what others have said... Drink plenty of water, move as much as possible, stick to clean foods, log everything. If you can, eat out as least as possible. It is expensive, and you can get a great deal of experience buying fresh from markets, cooking it yourself or asking someone to (if you can), and interacting with locals.

    Overall, splurge at least once because you're 1) on vacation and 2) in another country you may or may not ever visit again. Good luck and enjoy!
  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
    I would probably say to splurge on one or two things such as wine and/or bread, but maybe do without the ice cream. Why? Because you can get ice cream anywhere!

    I went on vacation for a week and was crazy worried I would gain weight, but it turned out that despite eating loads of bread and a few (I tried to go in for a few salads here and there) heavy meals I ended up losing a little weight. I did work out once at the gym, but what I didn't count on was the amount of walking that I did. We purposely didn't rent a car, so we walked hours a day which helped the calories from piling on.

    Add that Greece has some hilly country and you might have a workout for you already. Just a walk for 20-30 minutes in the morning may be enough to keep the pounds at bay. Bring comfortable shoes!
  • Clare291174
    Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
    Ha ha! Fair play to my husband he is fine w me bringing my trainers. I've hit the gym on holiday before so when I see I will go every day I really will! I miss it if I don't. I guess it's a case of showing some restraint but tempering that with letting loose a little. I think it's hard because I am not quite at my goal yet and I lose slowly. That's because I don't have much to lose to be fair.
  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
    One more thing -- I've found that ordering from the appetizers/starters menu also is much less calorie-dense than entrees. Enjoy your holiday and be sure to eat some great food!
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    Eat half portions. Eat a protein bar before you go out to dinner. Finish your water glass before you start eating. Whatever helps. I mean, don't stress too much. It's only 2 weeks. You can't gain that much in 2 weeks, right? (No, that is not a challenge! lol).

    Have fun, enjoy your holiday. :flowerforyou:
  • Clare291174
    Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
    We will be eating out as we are in a hotel on a bed/breakfast basis but yes I think with lots of water, some gym sessions, walking, mostly clean eating which is what I genuinely prefer anyway and some indulgences I should be ok. i don't mind a little gain as I always think if it goes on quickly it comes off quickly I just don't want to undo all my hard work. Thanks for the tips
  • alwaysgreen17
    alwaysgreen17 Posts: 85 Member
    I think between hitting the hotel gym and site seeing (a ton of walking), you shouldn't have to worry a lot. I agree with the half portions so you can still enjoy the culture....food is a huge part of it! Have a great time.
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
    Eat 1 "horiatiki" salad every day, that's the greek salad with tomato/cucumber/feta/olives, and just graze from everything else. Eat "horta" that's boiled dandellions, or "tzatziki" greek yogyrt with cucumber. Swim for one hour daily. Walk everywhere, drink a lot of water. If there is a fridge in the room, you can buy fresh peaches, honeydew melon, melon to eat, they are fresh and delicious, or even tomatoes on the vine, all very sweet and flavorful. Avoid bread, pies, desserts, or try to have small portions of them. Have souvlaki -the kebab, but not on the pita bread, just on the horiatiki salad.
  • UNLESS19
    UNLESS19 Posts: 118
    I know how you feel although i only went for just over a week and i was in my boyfriends grandparents place- but it was still a holiday! I had one meal out almost everyday but just made sure i was active and bought things for brake fast/lunch/dinner that i could have when we're not out that are diet friendly :)
    Going to greece you can swim which is the best, hike (if you explore the area/it's history), walk around and play with the kids :)
    Make sure you drink plenty to save you from dehydration/water retention, also make sure to have a tiny bit more salt to make up for what you've lost through sweat!
    Log everything or even pre-log food you know you're going to have or even search foods in advance to have a list of things you can splurge a little but have less calories etc than other things you could have. i did this before we went to starbucks/frankie&bennys and it helps put things in perspective as well as you can treat yourself :)
    I also made sure i had water with every meal so i could make sure i wasn't just thirsty and you also eat a bit less :)
    Just enjoy your holiday though! this weightloss will take time and you will follow it when you get back, so does a few extra lbs really matter? live a little :)
    enjoy! <3
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    Do as the erm, Greeks do and you'll be fine. Staying clear of tourist chow and eating like the locals will probably do tons to help keep you on track.
  • Clare291174
    Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
    I can't swim!!!! Ha ha but I can do everything else! I think I can pull it off, have fun, maybe gain a little but not a lot!
  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
    I forgot that I also had a fridge in the hotel and I bought a baguette and some food for the odd lunch (we were doing a lot of walking and sightseeing, so a packed lunch was actually a good idea.) That saved us a little money and kept us from going off the rails, as well as having us walk to the market 8 blocks away!
  • JaimeLaRae
    JaimeLaRae Posts: 279 Member
    We did two weeks in Greece a couple years ago and quite honestly, it wasn't hard to maintain my weight. Europeans walk... a lot! As well, a lot of the sites you will want to see, you have no other option than to walk. I personally found that I wasn't very fond of much of the Greek food. I ate a lot of Greek salad, kabobs, and gyros. Don't pass up the ice cream, because it's actually gelato. It's amazing & you can get a very small portion. As for the wine, I found service at restaurants to be very different than here in the states. You get your food & pretty much don't see a waiter again until you flag them down for a bill. Very rarely was I asked if I would like another glass. I guess that helped me to not over do it. LOL I did find that the wine in the little grocery stores in what looked like a 2 liter soda bottle wasn't too bad though, and cheap. hehe We are off to Mexico in 11 days, I hope I will be able to maintain, myself. Good luck & enjoy your vacation!!!
    Jaime
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    We've been traveling quite a bit. In the last several years we've been to Greece for 3 weeks. Italy for 3 weeks, France for 3 weeks and just recently back to Italy for 2 weeks. We ate whatever was local in all the towns we visited and drank wine and ate gelato and other treats. We walked and walked all day long and swam quite a bit too. We never deprived ourselves of anything we wanted but didn't go crazy either. I either maintained or lost a few and my husband only gained a few which he promptly lost after returning home.
    Just stay active. There's lots of uphills/downhills and stairs galore! We also hiked quite a bit in the countryside and the Greek Islands. We did not waste any time in gyms-no need for that.
    Have a wonderful time! Just enjoy.
  • Clare291174
    Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks all! I'm from the UK so as a Euroean myself I can vouch for the walking! Not sue how much sightseeing we can do as my youngest is 20 months so I will be running round after her which is exercise too. Been to Greece a few times and so love the food there so know what to expect. Am going to enjoy myself whilst showing a little restraint.
  • PaintedAlice
    PaintedAlice Posts: 37 Member
    Just wanted to say thanks for the tips everyone and good luck Claire. I'm in a similar boat; I have a really regular schedule and eat three home-prepared meals a day during term time (I'm a teacher) but in the summer holidays I have nearly two months of not being in control of my meals, what with weddings/parties/barbecues every weekend and also a holiday to Italy with my partner coming up in late August. I feel the same- I've worked so hard at getting the weight off since joining here in April, but don't want to be a killjoy at these special 'once in a lifetime' events... I find it impossible to estimate how much I'm eating, so I can't really log, nor do I know what is in many of the meals I'm served. Part of the reason I'm overweight to start with was my inability to estimate portion size or stop when I'm full :-( I suppose we just need to accept weight gain will probably happen, enjoy the holidays, and get back on track afterwards. Boo!
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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I know all about slow weight loss and I know only too well how you feel about the forthcoming holiday....I'm home a fortnight from two weeks cruising and despite walking miles and miles each day, hitting the gym and saying no thanks to bread I gained 6 lbs! I don't know how much I wouldn't have gained had I ate everything I wanted! And believe me I was keeping an eye on everything...but you have to remember you saved for a great holiday and what's the point in not enjoying the pleasure of yummy meals? it's only two weeks, you enjoy it then you get back on track the second you come home. Half my holiday gain is gone and I feel sure in another two weeks I'll be at pre holiday weight :) so you have no need to stress, go and have yourselves an awesome time - Greece is fabulous! The islands especially, Rhodes, Corfu, Santorini..ahhhh some great memories from there :-D
  • Clare291174
    Clare291174 Posts: 24 Member
    It is hard when you have lost slowly and you aren't at goal yet. I only wanted to lose between 10 and 14lbs and as I say with daily intensive workouts and really strict portion control etc its been a slow slog. Some weeks I haven't even lost so am nervous that if eat a bit more am gonna gain. But, I have been on hols before in the midst of or just after a diet and agree the only thing you can do is make sensible choices as much as can but have a few blow outs, keep Up the exercise and get back on track when home. We have been to a few Greek islands before, this time it's Skiathos which I hear is beautiful. I owe it to myself, my husband and 2 kids to relax and have fun, I just don't want that nagging voice of worry about gain to get in the way too much.

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