Vacation weight gain question

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ricer8
ricer8 Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Very annoyed ... Went on vacation for a week in the Macnack, MI area and managed to gain 3.5 pounds. We mostly ate out, but I thought I was making decent choices lots of broiled fish and veggies. Also, I walked over 5 miles every day according to my fitbit. Is this weight gain just from restaurant food having lots of salt? Almost afraid to go on vacation again.

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  • Jess__I__Can
    Jess__I__Can Posts: 307 Member
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    Probably from sodium. I gained like 4-5 pounds over the 4th weekend. In two days I am almost back to normal. Enjoy yourself when on vacation and just know there will be a small period to get back. Just don't stay off the wagon. :)
  • amyk225
    amyk225 Posts: 154
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    thats not much of a gain at all,drink plenty of water and it wil be soon gone, i spent a week on vacation,ate everything in site, lived on cocktails and pizza,no exercise whatsoever, came home with 9 pound weight gain,withen three days i was down 6 pounds and that was over two weeks ago,im only a pound off what i was before holidays, :):)
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Would guess some of it will be water weight but if you have really gained 3.5 lb I still don't see an issue. You had an exceptional week and enjoyed yourself, I wouldn't have even put in as much effort as you did

    How long will it take you to lose that weight, 3 weeks, 5?

    Enjoy your vacations secure in the knowledge that you know how to lose weight and can lose anything you gain
  • 1sgs
    1sgs Posts: 45 Member
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    I would certainly not rule out salt OR sugar. Restaurant food has tons of hidden salt and sugar in it. Also, I would be sure not to "drink my calories" when out and about, especially if you don't "count" calories. I normally question my own judgement on counting calories so I tend to count high in an effort to stay within the calorie limit. I also have a habit of rationalizing not counting calories when I am just nibbling a bite or two of something.
    I also use Fitbit and have found that when I operate machinery the Fitbit tends to count (i.e. a riding mower), so if you are seeing numbers that are "too pleasing", you might want to pull out your Fitbit and see if it is counting when it is not supposed to be (i.e. riding in a car, or bumper cars, etc.) I have also read a post or two where the individual eats only the MFP planned calorie count for the day and does not count any "exercise" (net) calories at all. I hope that helps as I am pretty much a noob here on MFP.
  • Cerakoala
    Cerakoala Posts: 2,547 Member
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    It could be sodium or it could be he fact we really don't know what they put in returant food :) I find weeks I eat out more than normal I tend to gain or not lose, even if I am within calories. I have overtime just tried to eliminate as much eating out as possible :) I would give it a few days and drink lots of water if it doesnt come back off it is probably a true gain but hey you had a good time I am assuming on vacation so it was probably worth it :) Just move forward :)
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Is this weight gain just from restaurant food having lots of salt?

    Yes, most likely.
  • ricer8
    ricer8 Posts: 39 Member
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    Thanks everyone. Yes, I did have a good time I tried to log everything, but I might have missed something here or there. The only really hard part was Mackinac is known for their fudge... Was so tempting, but it didn't fall off the wagon that far!
  • qmmanager69
    qmmanager69 Posts: 71 Member
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    Same here. Gained @ 3 lbs on vacation last week. As of today, after 3 days at home on my normal diet, it's gone again. Phew!!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I gained probably around 5 pounds, and lost 3 of those after 4 days.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
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    How much travel did you do to get there? I always find that travelling makes me retain like nobody's business. My hands and feet can swell for a few days after a flight. I dont drink enough enroute because washrooms aren't always available when you need them, and usually restaurant food is higher in sodium than I am used to. I "gained" 9lbs on my 5 day trip to Seattle just last weekend. By the day after it was 5lbs, and today I am only up 3 lbs. I havent been sleeping great so its likely going to be a few more days before the dust settles, so to speak. My rule of thumb is give yourself about a week after a trip before you call it weight gain.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Thanks everyone. Yes, I did have a good time I tried to log everything, but I might have missed something here or there. The only really hard part was Mackinac is known for their fudge... Was so tempting, but it didn't fall off the wagon that far!

    Now that takes some serious willpower!
  • Ilgamuth
    Ilgamuth Posts: 17
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    I hope you had a great vacation and that the food was amazing, that you had a really lovely time and could relax and recharge yourself.

    Now vacation is over, now go back to your routine. Don't think about this as a setback. Think about it as a way to know that you can go away from what you do and get back to buisness as usual afterwards.
  • kmadki4
    kmadki4 Posts: 20 Member
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    I got back from a 6 day vacation on Saturday. When I got home and stepped on the scale, it said I gained 9.5 lbs (which is a lot on a very small frame). However, after 2-3 days of eating normally, I am back down to 1-2lbs from my original weight. Don't worry, most of it is probably sodium and water retention, not actual fat that you gained.
  • ricer8
    ricer8 Posts: 39 Member
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    It took 12 hours to get from where I live to Macinack, so I know there was few days of inactivity while traveling there and back. Anyway, the vacation weight came off quickly, but now the back to normal life weight is coming off a bit slower. Ah well, life goes on. :)
  • Emmaa233
    Emmaa233 Posts: 12
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    Honestly, if its for vacation id say go for it because its like treating yourself and you deserve it! Or what i would do is some days get the healthiest option on the menu, and other days get whatever you want. Dont stress about this, its a vacation and youre supposed to be stress free. Just go back to your normal routine when you get home, eating unhealthy on a vacation wont kill you!
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    I just got back from vacation yesterday. 6 days of restaurant food and complimentary hotel happy-hour drinks. I knew I would gain, I pretty much planned for it. I exercised a lot in the hotel gym and we did a lot of hiking and walking. But as for food, I made the choice to indulge.

    Anyway, I did gain about 4 pounds. But today, my first day back home and eating normally...I've been peeing like crazy! Like, I can't stop. TMI, I know. But I'm pretty sure that all the high-sodium foods from the various restaurants made me retain a lot of water (which I knew and expected) and now I'm purging it all at once. It's crazy.

    Some of your weight is likely to be actual weight-gain. But I'm sure a lot of it is from the sodium. You'll even out in a few days. Don't stress over it too much.

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