How to approach a holiday?

LukeEalden · June 2011

Hey guys.

I have today reached the 80 lbs lost mark, since starting on 1st Jan this year. My target was to lose 100 lbs so I'm getting there!

What my worry/dilemma is is that I'm off to Tenerife on Saturday with some friends as an early 30th birthday holiday. I am really stuck as to what I do with my food/exercise whilst I'm away, I have all the following thoughts:
- I must have earnt a rest.
- I don't want to dampen my momentum/motivation.
- I usually end up losing weight on holiday.
- I can't drink anywhere near as much as I used to and it's the drink that would be where I would load the calories.
- I must be borderline obsessed by now!
- the hotel has a gym!

So guys, my plan was to have a daily gym session, but then to forget it and enjoy myself, balancing this with making sensible food choices. What do you think?

ikeinmass · June 2011

Sounds like an excellent plan, enjoy!

cassiemanda · June 2011

Firstly congrats on the weight lose you can a long way

I have the same suitation I am going on holidays in 5 weeks, along with all my skinny friends that can eat like pigs and never put on anything ha, What i am going to do it go and work out early morning three times during the week and i do not mean the gym as such, maybe a few lenghts in the swimming pool, or a long walk around the island, keep it fun as it is to enjoy yourself, when i went on holidays last time i didnt put any thing on i do not know how i ate some bad stuff on a daily basis, but the main thing is enjpy yourself, but do not over induldge , as i do make little changes such as if they are having beef burger and chips i would have grilled chicken burger and salad, just enjoy yourself

xxxx

MissJoy18 · June 2011

Sounds good! Enjoy your birthday!

cowpacino · June 2011

early morning jogs on the beach, It looks like a beautiful place to see the sites

Pebble321 · June 2011

...So guys, my plan was to have a daily gym session, but then to forget it and enjoy myself, balancing this with making sensible food choices. What do you think?

Great idea, treat it as an experiment in maintaining.
But mostly, enjoy your holiday!

AshinAms · June 2011

Hi there,

I have the same issue! I am on holiday in Egypt this coming week and have decided to make sure that I work out and walk/run in the mornings then do lots of snorkelling etc and then just make healthy choices. There is no free wifi so I can't log my food, but I will definitely make sure that I make good choices and if I don't then I'll try exercise more to make up for it.

Have a great holiday!

kateq321 · June 2011

I'm in the same boat...I'm off alcohol for a few weeks to try and shift the last few lbs but I'm worried that when I go on hols and start drinking again I'll pile it all back on. We're renting a house so won't have access to a gym so I'm hoping if I bring my 30 day shred DVD & do 20 mins each morning before I head out for the day that might help to balance out any of the naughty things I eat and drink!!!

lesley1981 · June 2011

I find I eat a lot less when I'm on holidays, but what I do eat wouldn't be the healthiest choice... Last time I was away we went self catering and we cooked a few of the days we were away and ate breakfast in the apartment rather than going into town for something.

Also, I would do a lot of walking on hols and although I can't swim I would be in the pool messing around, therefore burning lots of calories without feeling as though I'm working out...

Try not to worry too much, as any damage done in a week or two can be undone fairly quickly, so long as you don't come home in the wrong mindset!

kateq321 · June 2011

lesley1981
I find I eat a lot less when I'm on holidays, but what I do eat wouldn't be the healthiest choice... Last time I was away we went self catering and we cooked a few of the days we were away and ate breakfast in the apartment rather than going into town for something.

That is exactly why my hubby and I decided to get a little house with proper cooking facilities this time round. Not only were we looking to cut down on cost but at least if I can cook us breakfast and lunch rather than going to the bars and restaurants we're not inclined to have a lot of naughty things. Then when we do go out for a meal we can treat ourselves and not worry too much.

kelda_shelton · June 2011

I'm just back from a 2 week holiday in Turkey - all inclusive so of course there was food and drink aplenty.

I ate a lot of salad options - which I like anyway (I'm vegetarian) and the salads are always so much tasty abroad but I did not starve myself and enjoyed the chips and the mayonnaise and the nice breakfasts and cakes too.

I was much more cautious of what i was drinking though. At having diet coke rather than fanta, and having a wine with sprakling water than a wine with lemonade. I had a shandy a few times at the pool but not as many as I would normally have had. And I tended to stick to vodka and diet coke at night. I also drank gallons and gallons of water! I normally drink about 6 cups /3 pints of water a day but on holiday my god I must have had at least 3 or 4 litres a day and i think that helped my weight.

To be honest it realy wasnt a hardship as I had programmed myself since january to be good.. so even though i thought I was being bad I was no where near as bad as I normally would be on holiday!

I went to the gym at the hotel a few days and did some walking on the treadmill - purely becasue it was too hot to walk outside.. but generally - I'd have a walk to the shops after my meal each night and a wander round the complex during the day and that made me feel like i was doing exercise roughy equivalent to what I'd do at home (I do 45 mins of walking a day)

i came home and I had put on weight... 5lbs .. but I was quite happy with that as I thought I would have put on double that.

But I've been home 5 days (getting back to my normal routines and calorie amount straight away) and weighing myself this morning it was showing I had lost the 5lbs so fingers crossed for my official weigh in on Monday. I'm wondering if all my water drinking on holiday helped me now I'm back home.

So, I'd say chill for a week or two. its not going to do a massive harm to you. You'll make more positive choices than you would have before about the food and drink you eat without even realising

runlaugheatpie · June 2011

when I go on holidays it's all about moderation. Holidays are meant to be enjoyed - not to say that you should throw all of your hard work away, but relax a little. Take your gym clothes/gear. and work out once or twice Choose healthy where you can, eat "special" stuff that is truly special (5x a day ice cream makes it no longer special *wink*). If you are going to drink alcohol, spread it out - a beer or cocktail and then a glass or two of Diet Soda or Sparkling Water. Tenerife is gorgeous - do something active so that you are still moving. Most importantly you HAvE earned it of course! Enjoy it! If you maintain or even if you gain 2 or 3 lbs... it's not the end of the world! It's not a setback. Our weight will always fluctuate a few pounds in cases of vacation, holidays, etc. So don't worry too much, just practice the new you while you are there

LukeEalden · July 2011

So I had my holiday. I worked out twice in the first two days there, but then my knee started to hurt and having had a long-standing knee injury, I decided to abandon the workouts for the rest of the week and to just enjoy myself.

End result, a 10lbs gain, which was more than I hoped for and left my feeling angry with myself.

I didn't dwell on it or beat myself up though, I had a great week and felt confident that I could quickly lose what I had put back on. As of Thursday (5 days since returning), I'd lost 7lbs of the 10lbs I'd put on.

My message therefore is that if you have a bad week or a period where you gain weight, forget about it and just focus on getting back the motivation you had that made you start losing the weight in the first place.

How to approach a holiday?

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