Vacation

I often do more exercise when I'm on holiday than when I'm at home because there's time for it.

Walk everywhere. My husband and I usually pull into a hotel in the late afternoon, park the car, and then walk ... around the neighbourhood, to restaurants, etc. We were recently in Victoria, for example, and in a hotel about 2 km from the downtown area. Each morning, we would walk into the downtown area, and then begin exploring ... mostly walking.

Hike. Check to see if there are any interesting hikes around. My husband and I did that on this trip too. We were in a mountainous area of BC and I figured there might be hikes ... sure enough, there were heaps. So up we went.

Cycle. If you don't have bicycles of your own, or don't want to bring them, see if you can rent some. This is a great way to explore at a slower pace while still covering more area than you would if you were walking.

Rent kayaks or canoes. If there's a decent body of water around, this is a fun way to spend an afternoon. My husband and I tested out a double sea kayak on our recent BC trip. He had been in one before, but I had not. Good upper body workout!

And of course little things like ... if there are stairs, climb them. If your hotel has a pool or gym ... use it.


As for food, I find going for a salad or veggies (no dressing) helps fill me up and slows the eating of a lot of other higher calorie food.

Yes, walk walk walk.

I wouldn't worry too much about it and I am speaking from experience. I just got back from a two week trip to Japan. I knew I was going to eat out for a solid two weeks for almost every meal (and I did). I was worried about the very same things that you're worried about. I had already lost 14-15 pounds and I didn't want set myself back, but I also wanted to explore the food scene.

So before I left Japan for Japan, I told myself that I would not worry about my weight loss goals. I’d eat what I wanted and not feel guilty about it, but that I would watch my portion sizes. (before leaving, I said if MFP has taught me anything it is portion control; I don’t really diet, just watch the quantity of my eating) I didn’t even log my eating in MFP while in Japan. I ate all sorts of fried foods, drank a couple of beers and some whiskey, and even ate more ice cream than usual (for me). After my trip, I came back almost a pound and a half lighter.

In full disclosure, I intended to continue running in Japan, ( I run 4-5 miles 4 times a week plus other activities like tennis, swimming , cycling and rock climbing) but it just wasn’t feasible with everything I wanted to see and do. My running shoes ended up just taking valuable space in my luggage; in the future I won’t bother with workout clothes or running shoes. After, all it is vacation and I can run and workout when I get back! I averaged about 25,000-30,000 steps per day which helped. I also climbed Mt Fuji (40,000 plus step on this day) which was a six-to-seven hour ascent and a 4 hour descent the next day. So, I walked quite a bit, but I didn’t do anything special. I allowed myself to try everything I wanted, but said no to things like the endless drink refills on the plane or a third helping of takoyaki.

I say enjoy your vacation and just be mindful of your eating.

kwtilbury wrote: »

Most hotels now have a gym that allows you to get a decent workout in - dumbbells up to 50 pounds, adjustable benches, cardio machines, mats, etc.

Yes ... even Super 8s have quite decent little gyms.

tammymoberg wrote: »

I'm really concerned about going on vacation in a couple of weeks. I'm excited to be going to Graceland for Elvis week for about 10 days, and I'm worried about losing progress. I doubt I will workout at all and the food will NOT be the best. Not to mention I might have a couple of drinks. Any suggestions on how to minimize the food effects and lack of exercise? Right now I workout 5 days per week and follow a strict diet. I've worked so hard, I'd hate to ruin it. But I also don't want it to be all consuming while we are supposed to be having fun. Please help! Lol Thanks in advance!!

Change your goal to zero loss/maintenance from whatever you chose originally. Stay within that number and enjoy your vacation, life is a marathon, not a sprint.

20-30 mins climbing up and down in the hotel stairway can be just as good a cardio workout as StairMaster or treadmill work at the gym. It should be more about staying in the habit of working out .... don't break the routine. If they're lighter/harder/different from what you normally do, that's fine.

Nothing wrong being a little more lax with your plan on vacation. A lot of ppl will switch to eating maintenance, to give themselves that extra to indulge. Lets you enjoy it, but still gives you a target so you dont feel like your "backsliding".

And, in the end, its a vacation. If you gain a couple lbs ( and you will probably, even if its just sodium induced water weight ), its not the end of the world. When you get back home, you can get back on schedule/program and go from there. It would be really hard to "do enough damage" in a couple weeks of vacation a year, to ruin your efforts the other 50.