Someone talk me down, please!

spaingirl2011
spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
At the beginning of March this year, I was at my lowest weight in 6 years. Then, due to carelessness and the inability to be honest with myself, I gained it all (the January-March loss--not the weight I had lost before then!) back.

As of today, I am finally back at that March weight after 8 weeks of consistency (I recommitted in early September).

Plot twist: I'm going on a 4 day vacation to (the) San Francisco (area: San Marin, Bolinas and then the actual city) on Thursday-Monday. My plan is to eat reasonably--eating things I really want and not eating things I could live without and watching portions. Please, please tell me that this won't totally kill my progress. Intellectually, I know I can't gain 7lbs back in four days, but these days I feel like fighting for every ounce lost. I also realize that this may be a good thing for my body in terms of recovery and deficit rest. Still, I'm a little worried.

Anyone have advice, success stories, want to give me a virtual shake to tell me that I'm over-thinking this?

Thanks all!

Replies

  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
    Four days is nothing, hun. Just remember to get back on track when you're back and totally enjoy that vacation.
    Your plan sounds awesome, by the way. You seem to have it under control already :P
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks for your support! Some days it just feels like it's this very delicate balance and the tiniest thing can cause a gain!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Just stick to healthy options and you should be fine!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Please, please tell me that this won't totally kill my progress.

    It can't kill your progress. NoCal - SF in particular - has tons of places to eat quality food. Be active, watch your portion sizes, and you'll totally rock it.
  • khadijak17
    khadijak17 Posts: 393 Member
    four days is no time at all i think you should enjoy your holiday and then get back to it after you get back and by that i mean re commit 100% just go back to what you have been doing and enjoy your holiday :)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks all! I think I started freaking out because my weight loss has been slowing down a bit and I didn't want to totally stop it!
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Don't worry..have a fabulous trip! Eat mostly sensibly, but definately do enjoy yourself. Remember to get some exercise. And if you do gain a tiny bit...so what? When the trip is over just get back to real life. Enjoy!
  • oxlisaxo91
    oxlisaxo91 Posts: 67 Member
    I'm also going away for a week soon, but I did plan ahead and made sure the hotel we are staying at has a gym and every morning I'm going to get up and use it because I know for a fact I cannot control my portions :(

    If you do not have a gym where you are staying go for a walk, see some surroundings! Do a short 30 min work out in your room!
    It's 4 days! Who cares, have fun, you only live once and when you get back you can get back on track :)

    Enjoy your holiday!
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    I took a four-day road trip last weekend and gained eight pounds in 4 days. I then lost all eight pounds plus two more this past week. It was only water! You would be in the hospital if you ate enough calories to gain seven pounds in fat over that period!

    Just enjoy it, drink LOTS of water to help you keep the water retention to a minimum, but EXPECT it and deal with it. And have fun!
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    I just spent two weeks in Asia. I threw caution to the wind and ate what I bloody well wanted. It's life, after all. I also did extra excercise (walking tours etc) and ended up LOSING 5lb. Holidays aren't a death trap, as long as you're prepared to count as normal or counteract with some extra working out. Note that these extra workouts can happen after as well - 4 days is nothing. I say follow your plan for eating carefully but not depriving yourself, make an effort to move, and clean things up for a few weeks when you're home.
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks everyone for your experiences, thoughts and encouragement! I'm trying to keep the attitude that I'm learning "maintenance habits" but the fear of backtracking is always there. Glad to know others have had positive experiences!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    At the beginning of March this year, I was at my lowest weight in 6 years. Then, because I ate at a calorie surplus, I gained it all (the January-March loss--not the weight I had lost before then!) back.


    FIFY...

    ...because I feared you perhaps still weren't being honest with yourself.


    As for the rest, enjoy your vacation and get back to it when you return. You can't undo weeks of progress in four reasonable (maintenance or slight surplus) or even slightly unreasonable (say, maintenance + 1750) days.
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    At the beginning of March this year, I was at my lowest weight in 6 years. Then, because I ate at a calorie surplus, I gained it all (the January-March loss--not the weight I had lost before then!) back.


    FIFY...

    ...because I feared you perhaps still weren't being honest with yourself.

    Your 'contribution' to my post was implied in the original post. Over the summer I wasn't being honest with my tracking and was most likely eating at a surplus contributing to weight gain. At the expense of sounding too wordy when I was trying to explain why I needed to be talked down, I alluded to the fact that I did not honestly log over the summer.
  • ADietadaM
    ADietadaM Posts: 213 Member
    If you think that after that 4 days (with eating what you enjoy and like) you will have difficults to back in your plane of weight loss, try to carefull with what you eat. eat more protein and good fat, and be away of sweet food (if this if your problem) . But the most important... enjoy that time, have fun and rest!
  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
    This is exactly how i feel. Losing half pound a week if that and one vacation and poof..but usually most of it is water weight which comes off in few days. Plan food and try and log if you can-even if its roughly estimate. Try and eat at maintenance if no deficit is possible, but enjoy your vacation. I know i did :)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    This is exactly how i feel. Losing half pound a week if that and one vacation and poof..but usually most of it is water weight which comes off in few days. Plan food and try and log if you can-even if its roughly estimate. Try and eat at maintenance if no deficit is possible, but enjoy your vacation. I know i did :)

    Exactly! I'm going to try to enjoy myself but be very *aware* and not eat on autopilot. I am definitely going to try to log since I do want to get an idea of how much I'm consuming.
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
    Look at it as this: RELAXING TIME!! And don't forget fun is also healthy :)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Look at it as this: RELAXING TIME!! And don't forget fun is also healthy :)

    Yep! Also trying to see it as training for maintenance! Btw, your kitty is adorable!
  • jkkenny3
    jkkenny3 Posts: 6 Member
    Bring your workout gear and run those fantastic hilly streets while you tour:) If you do this each AM before breakfast, you can scope out some fun places to stop in later, rev up your metabolism, enjoy an adventure for a half hour to an hour and burn off those breakfast/lunch calories to come!! Just one hour fun/fitness will put your mind to rest for the day. Eat your complex carbs in the first half of the day and reserve nighttime for protein (poultry, meat, salmon) and yummy salads. Go easy on the drinks...tons of water dressed up with lemon, club soda, etc. and nurse that glass of wine;P Go for a leisurely stroll after dinner for awhile and you'll have a ball and should maintain your current weight.
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Bring your workout gear and run those fantastic hilly streets while you tour:) If you do this each AM before breakfast, you can scope out some fun places to stop in later, rev up your metabolism, enjoy an adventure for a half hour to an hour and burn off those breakfast/lunch calories to come!! Just one hour fun/fitness will put your mind to rest for the day. Eat your complex carbs in the first half of the day and reserve nighttime for protein (poultry, meat, salmon) and yummy salads. Go easy on the drinks...tons of water dressed up with lemon, club soda, etc. and nurse that glass of wine;P Go for a leisurely stroll after dinner for awhile and you'll have a ball and should maintain your current weight.

    Thanks for the suggestions! We're staying at a beach house (in Bolinas) for the first couple of days and my mom mentioned she's bringing workout gear, so I definitely will too! A short run at the beach should be fun!
  • Chain_Ring
    Chain_Ring Posts: 753 Member
    Just go have fun.
  • yustick
    yustick Posts: 238 Member
    You really can't do that much damage in 4 days, especially if you are making some steps to control your intake. You may find the scale jump up when you return, but from my experience it will just be increased water weight from changing your eating habits. Don't freak out, get back on plan and it should disappear in about 5 days.

    Enjoy your vacation!
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    To gain 7lb of fat in 4 days, you'd have to eat 6,000 ish calories over your TDEE on each day you're there.

    So just don't do that, k? :wink: :bigsmile:

    Have a fab time. x
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    The thing is you are adopting new habits that follow you everywhere you go. Sure, you might go over your calorie goal sometimes while on vacation, but SF has hills and streets for plenty of walking. Just make good food choices and log everything you eat. When we go on vacation, we take snacks and plan meals.

    I hope you have a wonderful time!
  • laylaness
    laylaness Posts: 262 Member
    I'm from SF, and there are a lot of healthy options here. A TON of organic places (if you're into that sort of thing) and localvore stuff, if you're in the city. I can't vouch for Bolinas, though. ;)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks all! We'll have the beach house for a couple of days, so I can probably buy some food that will allow me to control my intake while enjoying myself when we go out. When I'm in the city, I'll have to find some cool places to eat. The only thing I'll have to worry about is getting my mom and aunt to join me! ;-)

    Thanks again, for your words of wisdom, everyone!

Categories