All Inclusive Resorts and Weight Loss

Congrats on the vacation! It really depends on you. You know what you've needed to do and how you've needed to eat to lose that 10 pounds. Keep doing it while on vacation. Track and log. Overestimate calories whenever possible. Exercise to give yourself some extra calories. Don't drink the sugary alcohol or any alcohol. If you want to drink, choose unsweetened hard liquor with calorie free mixers or light beer. Load up on veggies at the buffet and skip dessert. It's all about being sensible.

Personally, I'd just eat reasonable portions of whatever food and drink I wanted. I wouldn't calorie count on vacation. That would kind of ruin it for me.

We talked about this at our Weight Watchers meeting last night. One participant pointed out that at these resorts there are lots of things to DO, too, if we make the effort to go. Perhaps focusing on the doing stuff will help you stay on track.

When we went to Mexico a few years back I actually lost weight. I drank only water during the day except for a cup or two of coffee in the morning. We were running around and swimming so much that it seemed to make up for any extra calories.

I would use the hotel or resort gym in the mornings, while the other half sleeps in to do an extra cardio workout. I also tend to stay active with snorkelling, swimming and walking.

A couple of strategies for dealing with buffets.

1. Start with a soup, go back for salads. Only then have small servings of the more calorific stuff.
2. Remember to ask yourself "Am I really enjoying this?" If so, do continue. But don't just mindlessly eat mediocre food because it is plentiful.

I once went all inclusive to Spain for two weeks. I ate all I wanted (which was a lot). I have no idea how much I lost, but it was a lot since I went down two dress sizes. The reason for my success is because I was in the swimming pool everyday (literally all day everyday - must have done about five hours of swimming a day). Ended up with a great figure, great tan, had a great time, and ate like a horse without putting a single pound on

just because you CAN have anything.. doesn't mean you should

Enjoy yourself, 'taste' everything so you don't feel deprived and give yourself one fri-fru drink a day. Otherwise light beer, or my all time favourite, prosecco, make you feel like you are getting a treat, but lower calories than a cocktail.
As a cruiser I can tell you your biggest gain will be water, lots of salt in the food at resorts etc, so don't panic when you get on the scales when you get home. It will be gone in a couple of weeks, all the fun exercise will counteract most of your extra calories.
Go and have fun.

You control what you put in. It is there but you have to make the choice and honestly they will have lots of fruit and veggies as well as the sugar stuff. Drink water and make choices that are healthy just as you would at home. Stay away from things in sauce and ask questions about what is in things they usually are willing to help you and provide things that are healthy options.

When I go on vacation, I also typically look at it as an opportunity to vacation from logging every single little thing I eat. I realize this might not work for some people, but if I go too long obsessively logging anything and everything I put in my mouth, I tend to develop some disordered eating patterns, and it gets a little obsessive and a little unhealthy.

So, vacation time = lax logging time for me!

I also don't worry so much about unhealthy foods. I'll have a bite of desert, or a fancy cocktail, or a cinnamon roll for breakfast. However, I do try to not go overboard. If one meal is unhealthy, then make sure the other two are healthy! And portion control is important too. If you eat something on the less healthy side, maybe just eat half of what's given to you.

And stay active- take advantage of hotel gyms, gorgeous open beaches, or fancy indoor pools. 30, 60, or 90 minutes out of your day to workout is totally worth it, and it makes the rest of the day that much more awesome- now you've earned your lounge by the pool!

Most importantly: if you do slip up, and have a binge-y day, or an extra lazy day, or both of those all in one day, don't beat yourself up! We all have slip up days. Remember this is a journey, and one day won't derail your progress if you don't let it.