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Vacation logging hints

jerber160
jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
edited March 1 in Motivation and Support
I'm torn between 4 days of eating and drinking anything I want or trying to moderate and log. It's a much needed vacation-psychotically so...maybe I should try for 2200? I just dropped to 1300 because NOTHING was happening... and I'm feeling OK, but what to do???

Replies

  • jeffd247
    jeffd247 Posts: 319 Member
    I go on vacation intending to eat in moderation and log it... then I usually say **ck it.

    This past vacation I decided to log what I ate regardless, and that led me eat in more moderation.

    I think learning to eat in moderation is good "all of the time", otherwise I'll just get fat again after I lose the weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    why does it have to be as extreme as eating and drinking whatever you want...it's entirely possible to enjoy yourself on vacation and make decent nutritional decisions and eat in moderation without logging. I haven't logged anything in over a year and I do it every day.

    When I was logging, I never logged on vacation. I was mindful of what I was doing though and it's actually one of the ways I trained myself for maintenance and a life without a food diary. I'm pretty sure I ate at maintenance on most vacations I ever took...I never lost anything, but I never gained anything either...and really, it's good to remove the training wheels at times just to see if maybe you can actually ride without them.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    You still have a ways to go to hit your goal so I would eat what you want but in moderation. I would suggest still logging what you eat as best as you can just so you are aware of how many calories you are putting into your body.
  • kmorgan221
    kmorgan221 Posts: 206 Member
    There's a difference between "Eating whatever I want" and "Eating everything in sight."

    When I'm on vacation, I eat whatever I want. I want to enjoy a good steak, or a few drinks, or whatever. I don't want to stuff myself with everything on the buffet until I'm bursting at the seams. I don't log a thing.

    Eat what you want, just don't want to eat everything.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    ffs. it's vacation. live a little. you didn't lose those 16 pounds in your ticker in 4 days. you're not going to put them back on in 4 days either.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    thanks peeps.. i feel like Im on a roller coaster. 2 years ago I was at 160.. I'll be happy now with 170 (I might by lying to myself-165?) the thing is, the food will be fantastic and stuff I don't normally get to eat. conch,, fritters, chowder, ceviche.. plantains.. there will shrimp, lobster, seafood, escargot (how do you log them? I haven't looked yet) . there will be french bread and maybe pastry for breakfast.. there will be grilled snapper sandwiches.. I guess I don't have to eat the whole baguette..local beers...there will also be yoga (I HOPE-I've never done yoga-gonna try for twice) and snorkeling. hopefully I can find a place to rent me a kayak to paddle around for an hour or so, once or twice and if all goes well there will be diving-hopefully twice?? There will be walking to the dining areas too, up a very, very steep hill and I told myself I will NOT cut through the hotel and use their elevators.
  • Artionis
    Artionis Posts: 105 Member
    Have conch ceviche instead of conch fritters. Have your lobster with red seafood sauce instead of butter. Load up on tropical fruit for breakfast instead of bread. Have grilled or baked plantains instead of fried. Escargot is simply a wonderful indulgence - maybe just split an order with your companion. Grilled snapper sounds yummy, don't need the bread for a sandwich. Find creative ways to maximize your dining enjoyment and control the calories. It can be done.

    Prepare mentally that breaking even on the vacation is a great thing and gaining a pound or so is tolerable. Enjoy.
  • neveragain84
    neveragain84 Posts: 534 Member
    There's a difference between "Eating whatever I want" and "Eating everything in sight."

    When I'm on vacation, I eat whatever I want. I want to enjoy a good steak, or a few drinks, or whatever. I don't want to stuff myself with everything on the buffet until I'm bursting at the seams. I don't log a thing.

    Eat what you want, just don't want to eat everything.

    This! Just show slight restraint, don't worry about it, enjoy yourself, and work hard when you get home!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    thanks peeps.. i feel like Im on a roller coaster. 2 years ago I was at 160.. I'll be happy now with 170 (I might by lying to myself-165?) the thing is, the food will be fantastic and stuff I don't normally get to eat. conch,, fritters, chowder, ceviche.. plantains.. there will shrimp, lobster, seafood, escargot (how do you log them? I haven't looked yet) . there will be french bread and maybe pastry for breakfast.. there will be grilled snapper sandwiches.. I guess I don't have to eat the whole baguette..local beers...there will also be yoga (I HOPE-I've never done yoga-gonna try for twice) and snorkeling. hopefully I can find a place to rent me a kayak to paddle around for an hour or so, once or twice and if all goes well there will be diving-hopefully twice?? There will be walking to the dining areas too, up a very, very steep hill and I told myself I will NOT cut through the hotel and use their elevators.

    Well...I'm officially jealous. Sounds like my kind of good time...especially the diving and seafood and whatnot.
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
    I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and I'm not logging. I can eat moderately on my own and I also need the mental break. Personally I believe vacation is a time to relax and sit on my *kitten* so I don't workout either. I figure I workout/log the rest of the year so 4 days isn't going to kill me. :wink:
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    Have conch ceviche instead of conch fritters. Have your lobster with red seafood sauce instead of butter. Load up on tropical fruit for breakfast instead of bread. Have grilled or baked plantains instead of fried. Escargot is simply a wonderful indulgence - maybe just split an order with your companion. Grilled snapper sounds yummy, don't need the bread for a sandwich. Find creative ways to maximize your dining enjoyment and control the calories. It can be done.

    Prepare mentally that breaking even on the vacation is a great thing and gaining a pound or so is tolerable. Enjoy.
    NO! fritters are a must. AND ceviche. AND and thick chowder that, the last time I had it made my eyes roll back in my head and my friend thought I was having a stroke from deliciousness
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    it all became moot. I had a rotten food day yesterday, and a breakfast sandwich today. tomorrow may be a free for all
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    UPDATE:
    It's odd,, I haven't been away since I started MFP and I've found I've changed.
    Vacation was great although part of my diet success has to do with the fact I was traveling alone! (my phone didn't work, but MFP stored my logging until It did)

    I did eat anything I wanted, but here's what happened.

    I got to hotel, and went immediately to the deli for a 6pak of Caribe, a round of Edam and bag of rolls, 2 pears, guava juice and a bottle of water. those were my snacks for 4 days, and a roll and some cheese came to the airport with me as snacks-no. Airport pizza and prefab sandwiches, for both $$$ and calories were not on the list and this wasn't a conscious decision. (by the bye, I'd signed up to scuba dive for the first time in 22 years and knew i'd need something to boost my energy at the surface-that's what the pears and juice were for)

    I found that diet and exercise were constantly on my mind. I knew I'd be eating big so instead of floating in the surf, I kind of naturally decided to either spend the time treading water or paddling back and forth across the bay. Sometimes I'd snorkel.

    I walked a lot-even though my beach wasn't great for long walks. to the left I hit rocks, to the right, a hotel, but I made it a point to take the hill whenever possible, even though I learned a few short cuts.

    I found the quantities of food I'd ordered tasted incredible, but didn't need to be consumed in one sitting. After yoga my first morning (yes, I took my first yoga classes-why lay around like a slug? Up with coffee on the patio at 6:30, seaside yoga at 8! the new me!) at 9am the waiter let me order off the lunch menu and half a snapper sandwich and soup were enough for that meal, plus breakfast on Wednesday (again after yoga) . Yes, soup for breakfast was better than french pastries, or pancakes could have ever been. My beloved conch fritters and fried plantains were enough for lunch plus breakfast the next day. (2-fer beers were consumed when delivered)

    I found I didn't need dessert if it didn't look incredible, sometimes shifting to coffee with a kick. Once I had a fufu drink with ice cream. Desserts weren't big where I was, so this wasn't difficult.

    the bottom line is, my outlook on eating seems to have shifted a bit. This is a Good Thing.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,134 Member
    I usually just try to net within maintenance on vacation. I do try to keep up with exercise by finding a hotel with a gym and doing some cardio while the other half sleeps. Failing that, the hotel can usually recommend a nearby gym that sells day passes. If that is not possible, i just try to do a lot of walking or swimming.

    I do tend gain a few pounds of glycogen while eating at maintenance, but this disappears quickly once you return to a deficit.
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