How much weight can you gain in a week?

Don't be surprised if the scale shows a larger increase --a lot of water retention after sodium rich food and alcohol. After a few days I would expect the scale to come
Back down. I really doubt you'll eat enough to gain more than a pound.

You will probably see a larger gain then 2 lbs. However, most of the gain will most likely be water weight from the increased sodium and possibly even food weight from the increased amount of food in your digestive track. It should come back off within a couple days to a week (time it takes to get water weight off varies person to person).

Have fun and don't worry about it too much. Just plan to get back on track as soon as you get back.

Here's what we do while on a cruise or any vacation really, we walk everywhere. On the ship we never take the elevators. We only take the stairs. We walk around the ship while at sea. On a land trip, we walk to town (if one is near), we walk the property, we take the stairs. We travel a lot and while my husband gains at least 5-7 lbs each time (more from drinking), I only gain 2 at most and then they are gone in 3-4 days. Have a nice trip!

This is really variable- are you someone who historically has had a tendency towards blowout treat meals? Gone back for seconds at dessert? Eaten pizza and burgers and stirfry off the buffet? It's certainly *possible* to eat 3500 extra calories or more in a day given unlimited food and zero self-control. But you don't have to. You can think of the unlimited food as a great reason to thoughtfully pick the thing you like best- no pressure to finish a dish that sounded great but was a disappointment, no reason to pick something unhealthy because it's cheap.

I went on a 5 day cruise about a month ago. I couldn't weight/track (no scale or internet) and I let go of the idea of losing over that week, but I did not want to let go entirely and lose all the progress I've made. I did, however, want to enjoy myself.

So I focused on the food I knew I would really enjoy- the formal dining room meals that include beautiful presentations and dishes we rarely eat at home. For dinner, I had whatever sounded best. Those portions are actually very reasonably sized, and I usually ended up enjoying dinner without feeling overstuffed or regretful about eating something unhealthy and disappointing afterward.

For breakfast and lunch, I had light options. A buffet is a great opportunity to make some healthy choices, and if you're honest with yourself, the buffet food is rarely of a quality that makes it super-exciting, so a second plate is a waste of calories.

So for a typical day, I would have fruit and eggs for breakfast, a salad and half a sandwich for lunch, and then whatever decadent option on the dinner menu sounded good, including dessert.

I also skipped the unlimited alcohol package. Other than buying a glass of champagne one night, I didn't drink, which saved a lot of calories. I think many people overindulge to feel like they're getting their money's worth out of the "unlimited" food and drink, and it really doesn't help you- the money is spent, is there any reason to pack on extra weight or drink yourself in to a stupor to justify it?

I was also VERY active- we went swimming and snorkeling every day, hiked all over the hilly port towns we visited, and took the stairs everywhere. Fifty plus flights of stairs a day per my fitbit gave me some wiggle room.

By the time I got home, I was up 2.9 pounds on the scale, but likely most of that was water weight, as within a week I was back to my pre-cruise weight, and I'm not eating at the kind of deficit that would burn that much fat.

Have fun, just make thoughtful choices!

I was at an all inclusive resort and somewhat mindful, walked a lot and exercised a few times and gained 3.5 pounds in 7 days. It took me 3 weeks to lose them. I don't cruise but I know my mom, a life long weight watcher, has gained over 6 pounds on a cruise.

I just got back from a cruise, weighed 153.4 when I left, 155 the day I got home and two days after that I weighed 153.

And I ate everything with 0 regard for calories. Triple dessert, pizza, buttery rolls, large cuts of red meat, alcohol every night, large breakfast.... I paid for the food I made sure I enjoyed it.

Take the stairs, explore the ship, use the fitness center. HAVE FUN!

It's possible to eat a lot and gain a lot of weight. However every person is different.
If I eat whenever and whatever I could easily put away 5000 calories and obviously it all depends on what you are eating. That was me just eating junk food for a day so everything is much more calorie dense

Water weight fluctuations make it hard to ever know for certain. All I can tell you is I've never held on to any vacation 'gain' after I've been home & back to my regular routine the same number of days. So a long weekend spike pretty much disappears that following work week; a two or three week cruise would take that long again to wring out of my system. I enjoy the culinary aspect of travel greatly and focus on keeping my walking and activity levels up where I can spend most days comfortably at maintenance.

smnovosad1 wrote: »

I am 5'5", 125 lbs -- pretty happy with that. In 1 month we are going on a cruise, and I want to relax a bit. I just lost 8 lbs and have to eat 1240/day to keep losing 1 lb/week, so I guess 1740 would be maintenance.

If I just eat whatever I want on the cruise, what will likely happen? Any suggestions? I don't want to gain a ton of weight, but 2 lbs or so would be ok.

It's EASY to gain 5-10lbs on a cruise. All you have to do is help yourself to everything they have on the ship.
I've been on 3 Disney Cruises and went to the gym at 6:00 am as well as ran the deck daily. I still put on 5lbs on each cruise.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition