Vacation nervousness

emilycat214 · April 2016

So... I'm feeling both happy and nervous. My vacation starts today, and Sunday afternoon I'm leavin' on a jet plane for 10 days in Amsterdam.

I asked my doctor (I'm a T2 diabetic) how I should handle eating while I'm away. She said that while I'm in Europe I can eat what I like, because it isn't for that long and I will be doing a lot of walking. She does, however, want me to keep testing my blood sugar on the schedule she gave me.

I don't think I'll go crazy and eat pancakes by the heaping plateful, and I'm not that big a fan of fries, but I know I will want to enjoy many kinds of cheese, and sandwiches on crusty bread, and some apple pie.

Even before I started MFP, I was trying to learn to eat mindfully, because I'd suffered through so many years of binary thinking about food: it was either dieting/deprivation or overindulgence. And once I gave in to temptation, I'd figure that I could never eat perfectly, so I might as well stuff my face.

Now, I am trying to make this way of eating a lifestyle, so I budget for pizza and ice cream and jelly donuts. I try to remember that just because I can have something doesn't mean that I have to eat it every time I have a chance.

I won't try to log my food while on vacation. I will try to eat mindfully, and remember that I can have yogurt for breakfast or a salad for lunch sometimes, and that I don't have to eat past the point of fullness. At worst, I might gain a pound or two that I'll have to lose again. (I haven't weighed myself this week, and won't until I return. If I've lost any weight recently, I'd rather not know, so it will offset any gain. Yes, I know it's a silly mind game. I don't care.)

The nervousness comes from that old binary thinking. I haven't gone over my calories since starting on MFP. Part of me feels that eating more indulgently while on vacation (even though it's temporary and doctor-approved) is failure. And my history tells me that "failure" leads to binging and weight gain. I know that it doesn't have to be that way. I know (mostly) that I will come home and go back to weighing food and counting calories. But still, there's some nervousness.

chimaerandi · April 2016

No worries, friend, no worries.

I went to an all-inclusive resort recently, for my honeymoon. I did not log or track, and in fact gave myself carte blanche. I ate and drank everything. I drank alcohol all day every day for 8 days, ate jalapeno poppers, dessert every night.

I gained 9 pounds.

Only not really. Remember that a lot of weight you gain when flying and eating more than usual is water weight. A week later, I was down 7 pounds. So assuming that was my 'real' weight, I gained 2 pounds in 8 days of debauchery. Totally worth it, I never take these types of vacations. A week after that, I was down to the weight I was before I left. A week after that, I hit a new low.

Have a good time. Enjoy Amsterdam, and try some of that amazing cheese! It's going to be okay, I promise.

emilycat214 · April 2016

@chimaerandi: Thanks for the reassurance. I know these things in my head, but it helps to hear it from someone else.

emilycat214 · May 2016

Followup:

I had a great time. I ate, drank (not that much drinking, actually), and was merry. I walked a lot. I came home Thursday evening. Friday morning, I weighed myself and saw a 2.5 lb gain. Some of that was obviously water, because Saturday morning, I had "lost" 1.5 pounds overnight. So I've got a net gain of 1 pound, which will go away in a week or two.

My biggest fear was that I would have trouble getting back to eating carefully and counting calories, that the 10 days of indulgence would be part of a slippery slope. But that hasn't happened. If anything, I feel comforted and... safe being back on MFP.

CupcakesMom2 · May 2016

Thats wonderful and inspirational! I have a vacation coming up and have the same worries you did so this helps me alot!

emilycat214 · May 2016

@CupcakesMom2: You can do it! Have a great vacation!

Vacation nervousness

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