On Vacation

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dpr73
dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I am on vacation this weekend for the first time since losing 60lbs and I'm getting kind of anxious! I have been vacationing for the past three days (head home tomorrow) and I have been eating at least 3000 calories all three days! I fully expect a slight gain and I have been focusing on gaining some muscle anyway. But I just don't know whether I should worry or not. Should I just get back on regiment tomorrow (whic I fully will) and not worry or should I be more cognizant of my eating next time? I had a lot of fun but I can't seem to stop worrying tha I will gain back all my weight! So my question is: is it perfectly okay to eat like a pig for a few days on vacation and still maintain my weight if I continue eating healthy otherwise?

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  • PennyVonDread
    PennyVonDread Posts: 432 Member
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    It takes a lot of surplus calories to gain the amount of weight you're fearing. Expect some bloat, maybe eat at a slight deficit for a week or two when you get home and continue maintaining. Is it really worth worrying over? Probably not.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    Well, worrying doesn't solve anything, so I'd stop doing that. As far as "eating like a pig" on vacation, what it meant to me to make a lifestyle change was to start taking vacations that did not center on food. I've taken quite a few vacations in the 745 days I've been here and I've only gone over my calories a few times. I generally take some portable food with me (nuts, granola, fruit, chocolate squares, etc.) so that I have something in my purse all the time.

    Usually hit a grocery store soon after I arrive at my destination and buy things I can eat for breakfast or light snacks. Then I have one nice meal out a day, usually lunch. Overeating on vacation usually makes me feel physically sluggish and then I don't have the energy to do all the fun things I could be doing on vacation.

    So I have better vacations and I don't spend so much of my money on restaurant food.
  • dpr73
    dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
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    It takes a lot of surplus calories to gain the amount of weight you're fearing. Expect some bloat, maybe eat at a slight deficit for a week or two when you get home and continue maintaining. Is it really worth worrying over? Probably not.

    Ok. The only thing that really worries me is that I also am trying to gain muscle, so if I have a slight gain should I go on deficit, knowing that it could be muscle gain and not fat? I am so scared that I will screw all this maintenance up because I just want to gain a little bit of muscle not a whole lot but also don't know when to start cutting calories due to fat.
  • judy17051
    judy17051 Posts: 6
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    First of all, congratulations on losing 60 lbs. There is no way you are going to gain all of that back in a few days of vacation. The few vacations I have been on in the past, I found I actually LOST weight! I think it was because I was more active on my trip than I usually was at home. Believe it or not, sometimes worrying about something can actually keep you from losing, or even make you gain a little. You have had a good time, relaxed, and had some delicious (although calorie laden) food. Whatever the scale shows when you return, accept it. Get right back to your regular GOOD eating program, and relax. The extra pounds will start to come off. Keep up the good work.
  • ge105
    ge105 Posts: 268 Member
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    If it makes you this worried I'd say no. Would you feel better if you kept it under control? Usually the weight gain of just a couple days of going nuts doesn't stick around for long (a couple weeks at most) but if its going to make you this stressed out maybe its better to eat well or fit some treats into your macros rather than eating all teh things!.
  • melannebeck
    melannebeck Posts: 7
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    I just "ate like a pig" more or less for 4 days during a long weekend on vacation and only gained about a pound and a half or so during that time so i wouldnt worry too much! Vacation (and food) is meant to be enjoyed :)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    I spent a month in Italy with my family on part vacation/part work trip recently. Before going, I had recently transitioned to maintenance. I ate all the foods - pastries every morning, pizza or pasta for lunch and dinner, and gelato every single day, not to mention all the wine. We also walked literally everywhere (didn't have a car). I was nervous to get back on the scale when we got home (about 3 weeks ago) - the first few days my weight climbed from 2 lbs over where I was when Ieft and settled at 4 lbs over where I was when I left. I didn't panic. In fact, I didn't really change my habits dramatically. I was still kind of in "eat all the food, drink all the drinks" mode because we had a lot of people to go out and catch up with. But I was essentially eating at maintenance calories, maybe slightly over. I also started getting back to my normal exercise routine. Today I'm still a pound over where I was when we left, but I consider maintenance to be a range of about +/- 3 lbs so I'm well within that. Starting this week, I'm going to be a little stricter - now that things have settled down, the holiday weekend is over, etc. I expect that last pound to go away and I'd like to be on the - side of the maintenance range instead of the + side...

    TL/DR - don't stress, you won't undo all your hard work and you will be able to get back on track in a days/weeks at the most.

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