Vacation fears

Enjoy the cruise, eat in moderation and don't let it worry you. Most times on cruises you are moving around, walk the decks, hit the gym on board or the pools and you are worried. When you get home, get back to your normal routine

eat yourself stupid and fall of the wagon.

I posted this exact question back in May - and received a lot of good advice, much of what is similar to what is posted here. Basically I relaxed, had fun and didn't worry. What I also did was: kept moving - didn't sit by the pool all day and drink umbrella drinks. However, since I DO like my umbrella drinks, I stuck with mojitos and drank a large water between each one. I opted mostly for fish, veggies and fruit - which are plentiful on cruises - and didn't stress about occasional treats - especially ones I can't get a home.

Bottom line is: I got home and had actually lost a pound - LOL!!! Have fun!!

Meh, I went away for 3 weeks not too long ago to Fiji and New Zealand and ate everything in sight. I gained back about 5 pounds all said and done. But as someone already said, I know how to lose it, so I went back to my normal routine and lost it.

How often do you go on vacation in your life? Really, in the scheme of things is one week going to derail you that badly? Nope. Have fun while you can.

anferkneez wrote: »

Hi all. I've been trolling this fourm for a while and learned a lot from you all so thank you to all the posters. So far in my journey I'm down 20lbs (36m, 5'8,190lbs) and currently losing 2lbs a week with strength training 4x a week.

I currently have a week long cruise coming up in October and I am horrified of what will happen when I get back on the scale when I come home. I just don't know what to do. Do I take a vacation from my diet with fear of falling off the wagon when I get back or try to watch what I eat?
I love food and I love cruise vacations. I'm putting those 2 things together. Help MFP community. What do I do?

When you get to your goal weight, it'll be a range of weights, not one specific number. So your weight can go up and down at maintenance, and no-one will fret.

Same when you're losing. Don't be horrified - the chances are you'll come back heavier and roll your eyes because you'll be losing the same pounds over and again. It's all part of life - get on and enjoy your holiday!

I just got back from a vacation where we ate out at every meal- I even went to Long John silvers twice! I stayed within my calories except for one day. Just watch the amount of what you eat and make sure to keep eating your fruits and veggies!

I'm on vacation right now and started off in a food quandry with every mouthful!!

I have resigned to the fact I'll shoot for as close to maintenance as poss, but already this week I have had some of the nicest foods, drinks and deserts known to man

Heaviest day so far was a 4000 food and alcohol fest, but what a great day /night!

Strangest feeling so far? It doesn't feel 'right'. It feels like my body is already saying enough of this, time to get back to normal. I feel laden down with excess, and haven't been to the toilet as much as this in months!

But we are having a GREAT time

yirara wrote: »

Lets be realistic. It's one week, right? How much could you eat in one week above your maintenance calories without getting sick? 1000kcal per day (that would be more than 100 grams of butter, btw)? That would be a weight gain of 2lbs. 2000kcal per day? That would be a weight gain of 4lbs. It's not much, really. Apart from that, do you really need to stuff yourself to enjoy the trip or would you also be happy to try tiny amounts of different things, or not try everything each day but select a few things that look most appealing?

That puts it into perspective nicely

I am also going on a cruise in October and have the same fears as you but like other posters said. Life it too short. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy. Try not to eat till I can't move but eat the burger, and drink the pina colada and come back to salad, chicken, oatmeal, repeat : )

I went on a 7 day cruise with my mom to Bermuda at the end of June and then spent two more weeks on Cape Cod with my mom and the rest of my family ( They live there. I live in Oregon). I am 50, 5'6, and worked my butt off to get to my goal weight of 145 before I set sail (I started at 185 in January). I tried to be careful the first day, but we had paid for unlimited drinks and the food in the dining rooms was terrific, so I gave in and had a fabulous time! I gained a pound a day! ( I did exercise and never took the elevator. I would put my mom on and then run up or down the stairs trying to beat her) I thought I would be more careful during the next two weeks and tried to count calories, but finally gave up, as I had no control over the meals that were being prepared and the time we ate. The time was my biggest issue as I would be famished by the time dinner was served. I only see my family once a year, so ended up not worrying about the calories. I did run 3-4 miles every other day and a 5 mile road race on the 4th of July. I didn't gain anymore weight after the cruise, but didn't really lose, either.

I am now back at 145 pounds (7 weeks later). I must say that my weight gain was not noticeable in anyway. All my super cute cruise clothes still fit exactly the same way. I am back to teaching and all of my teaching friends say I look even smaller than I did in June. Even though I am exactly the same weight, I am way more fit!

My point? Don't miss out on a once in a lifetime experience. The weight will come off again and will probably be easier because it didn't take long to gain it.

My experience with vacations - trying to stick to healthy choices makes it a nightmare, so I have to let go somewhat for my peace of mind. But it's a problem for me and I just have a hard time enjoying higher calorie foods when I don't really want it - but there's so many tasteless side salads you can eat too... and you can't always drive an extra 10 miles to find the restaurant that has grilled chicken and veggies for less than $15. Breakfasts are usually the main issue for me because lots of places don't really have low calorie/filling breakfasts (unless you like cardboard oats, I guess) and breakfast is the most important meal of the day for me.

At least with buffets you usually get a wider selection! But yeah, I always gain 2 pounds per week of vacation while watching what I eat most of the time. It kinda sucks.

I put 10lb on on my two week holiday end of July, I couldn't care a less, dropped 5 of it so far and will get the rest off at 0.5lb a week.
Life is for living, as long as I am healthy most of the time I figure that I'm not doing too bad.