Not gaining weight on vacation

As above, the change in diet will add water weight. I can rely on 5lb per vacation. It comes off a few days after you get home and return to your usual routine.

Don't worry about counting calories, have a holiday from them too. The amount of activity you plan to do will offset a lot of the extra calories from eating out.

It's a holiday, you will probably be having a few extra drinks, vodka, rum, or gin with a 0cal mixer is the way to go. You are still having drinks with friends, but not adding lots of cals, beer and wine can add up fast.

Go, have fun, those last four pounds can be delt with when you get back.

Cheers, h.

I generally gain about 2 to 3lbs on holidays which isn't water weight. Its just a matter of getting back on track when life returns to normal.
I do try and eat mindfully even when on holidays and keep very active. I would definately gain alot more if I wasn't mindful. It takes me too long to lose weight in general so I prefer to just keep an eye on intake all the time.

I gain 2 pounds per week in vacation by restricting myself most of the time (2 real pounds, not water weight). If I didn't, yeah, I'd be one of those people who gain 5+ pounds easily. I really tried last time to find places that had good choices but it just ruins your vacations honestly... so I indulged on what I really wanted, and made the 'less worse' choices the rest of the time. Still gained 2 pounds. Oh well.

Sometimes I lose weight on vacation thanks to the extra activity. But I wouldn't focus on it too much, it's supposed to be fun. I'd say pick a few meals to truly indulge in, and then make healthier choices for the rest. You can order something nutritious such as grilled salmon with a side of vegetables, for example, and not blow your calorie allotment for the day. When my hubby and I travel we do one "big" meal out per day and eat lighter throughout the remainder of the day to balance everything out.

When I go on vacation I still log...but I know for certain that it won't be accurate. I like your idea of hiking and walking a lot to help burn off those extra tasty calories. The stinker about gaining weight on vacations is that it seems doubly hard to get them off once you return. I'm still working on the 6lbs I gained in May...it gets tiring. I AGREE

My daughter and I went on a 6 week European vacation which includes a cooking class in Tuscany, 24 day cruise and visiting with family. My daughter maintained and even lost on the cruise. I gained 3-4 pounds over the 6 weeks (still stayed within my 5 lbs maintenance range) and promptly lost those once I got home. The key for my daughter was to replace starchy things such as rice and potatoes with vegetables and to eat lots of fruit instead of desserts. She also stuck to 6 ounces of protein each day and no more. On the days that she indulged, she went to the gym or did extra sets of 13 flights of stairs on top of her regular activity which was a lot while on vacation. I, on the other hand, did indulge in desserts but upped my activity (did extra 13 flights of stairs) to account for it. I also stuck to small portions of everything. I was pretty happy with the results since my first cruise resulted in 12 lbs gained over 12 days. So if you put your mind to it, stick to wise choices and be sure to be super active, you can maintain and even lose on your vacation.

Came back from 12 weeks in Europe 7 1/2 pounds lighter. We did lots of walking... I made the best food choices I could, enjoyed my beer and other treats when I wanted them, and logged every last thing. It really wasn't a big deal, at all; and I was actually more relaxed, knowing I wasn't totally blowing all of my hard work to date.

beastmode2718 wrote: »

I here a lot of people say they gain ten pounds and this will undo all my progress and I still wanna loose 4 lbs. maybe this seems like a no brainier but I want some advice. I will be eating at restaurants most of the week probably but I will be doing a loooot of hiking/ walking in forests and parks. I'm getting pretty burned out on cutting honestly and keep binging but I don't wanna go ape poop while experiencing new foods in new places. Or sit there at a table all the time looking up calories. Maybe a break wouldn't kill me because I am in a plateau and I can't get those last 4 lbs off. Advice? I'm thinking about maybe just doing maintence for a bit because it is getting too much on my body to keep my current deficit

many people gain weight on vacation...but it's not usually fat...scale weight is comprised of many things, not just fat...people on vacation tend to eat out most of the time = high sodium intake = water retention = weight gain.

also, flying causes bloating = weight gain...I will generally put on 5 Lbs just flying alone.

do the math...to actually put on 10 Lbs of fat over the course of a week you would have to eat over your maintenance calories by 5,000 per day...you'd be hard pressed to do it even going all out.

I have been on maintenance for almost 5 years, including a hiatus from MFP of 6 months, and this year I took a 4 weeks road trip, and with the exception of one week visiting family and 4 additional days cooking breakfast, my husband and I ate out every meal. We spent a lot of time driving and honestly, not much time doing physical activity, except walking, because we were at a high altitud. I came back with and extra 1.5 lbs, and half of that was lost in two days (water), and the rest in a week. I didn't log much and everything was estimated.
I was very good estimating and choosing my meals and skipping deserts (not a problem for me), and limiting wine consumption. It can be done, you just need to want to do it.
I am now on vacation again but this time cooking breakfast and one meal in (condo), and one meal out. I like to add that I don't have a kitchen scale and I am not planning to get one either. This time physical activity will be more frequent but I am planning to use the same techniques because they have served me well.
In my opinion, vacations are not and excused to over indulge or binge or to fear. We can still have fun and enjoy local foods without going over board.
OP: If there is a will, you will find the way. Have fun!

beastmode2718 wrote: »

I'm thinking about maybe just doing maintenance for a bit because it is getting too much on my body to keep my current deficit

Honestly, it is up to you how you want to spend your vacation. I just eat when I vacation. I spent 7 days in Italy, Spain, and France this summer, then another week in San Diego, and I gained 5 pounds overall. It was a super happy, awesome 5 pounds of vacation goodness! That is just my take on it. I knocked it back off over the next 3 weeks and life continued.

You are on holiday.... That's a break from work and also a break from calorie counting.....have a great time !
Life is for living