A vacation during my diet time!?!?

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Tomorrow I head out for a week long vacation. After years of talking about it I am taking my daughter to see the ocean for the first time ever. My issue is that I have recorded 15 straight weeks of weight loss, tomorrow morning will be my 16th official weigh in since I don't plan on weighing myself while I am gone.
I have every intention of keeping up with my food entries here on my iphone but I just don't know how I can do a vacation without gaining a few pounds!

I don't think I will go crazy with food. I won't drink since my daughter will be with me so that saves a bunch of calories! But, I know I will eat!

I'm really involved with herbalife and my diet coach says don't worry bout it. Gain a few pounds and then turn around and lose it again, but this really bothers me. Part of me is afraid of gaining some weight while I am gone and get discouraged. I often feel like if I stop dieting or exercising the way I do that I will gain weight and if that happens on my vacation it might just prove my point that no matter what I do, I will gain the weight back if I stop dieting!

Thoughts?

Replies

  • kwaz29
    kwaz29 Posts: 190 Member
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    i think that it really depends on what you do on vacation! i just got back from a week long trip in italy, and i ate a lot of pizza and pasta, and had quite a few drinks, but i walked for hours every day and so it balanced out and i lost a pound on the trip! if youre going to the beach you can go swimming every day and go for walks on the beach to keep your exercise up, and then just make smart food choices! also, remember to enjoy, this is your life, and its a lifestyle change! you can stay healthy and have fun at the same time!
  • maureendonahue
    maureendonahue Posts: 468 Member
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    We are going on a cruise in 3 weeks, so I am very nervous about the same things. My plan is to drink at least 8 glasses of water, make sure I walk every day and swim as much as possible. Being near the ocean, you should be able to do the same things.

    No matter what, enjoy your vacation and your time with your daughter. They grow up really fast!!
  • mageepilot
    mageepilot Posts: 289 Member
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    Perhaps go for maintaining while you are gone. I reset my goal to maintain while I was on vacation so I could see the calories I could eat. Then had a lot of activity. Drink lots of water. Don't worry if you show a little gain when you get home. Traveling seems to do that, but it comes right off in a couple days. Go and have fun! :glasses:
  • JennieD2
    JennieD2 Posts: 66
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    I agree completely. A vacation may mean more food but it is easy to exercise while having fun too. Walking, ball games on the beach, swimming, even digging in the sand to make sand castles will all burn calories. Have fun!:happy:
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    Don't stress out. You got 15 weeks of success behind you. That is excellent. You are going on what sounds like a lovely vacation now, with your daughter - the best thing you can do is enjoy yourself. This doesn't mean you need to fly off the handle and pig out every day, and from what you wrote, it doesn't sound like you're going to. Just eat intuitively. Decide upfront that even if you gain a few lbs, you won't beat yourself up over it. But there's a good chance you won't gain any.

    You didn't lose all your weight in the first week of your new lifestyle, and you're certainly not going to gain it all back in 1 week.
  • chrissym78
    chrissym78 Posts: 628 Member
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    I just got back from being gone all week and I logged (not too obsessively) and worked out every day. I did go over 2 or 3 days and I ate most of my exercise cals. I am up 4.5 lbs but we ate out all day yesterday and I had a ton of sodium. I am anxious to see how much of it is just fluid and comes down fast.

    Good luck! Enjoy your vacation :)
  • innerfashionista
    innerfashionista Posts: 451 Member
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    i think that it really depends on what you do on vacation! i just got back from a week long trip in italy, and i ate a lot of pizza and pasta, and had quite a few drinks, but i walked for hours every day and so it balanced out and i lost a pound on the trip! if youre going to the beach you can go swimming every day and go for walks on the beach to keep your exercise up, and then just make smart food choices! also, remember to enjoy, this is your life, and its a lifestyle change! you can stay healthy and have fun at the same time!

    I agree.

    Be careful when eating out. There's so much salt in everything that you eat out it's hard to not gain water weight. I put on 3 pounds during a week vacation and turned around and lost 5 in the few days I was back. That's the only time I've gained weight according to my trainer.

    It's unrealistic to think you'll never gain. While a 16 week run is awesome (and I'm totally jealous BTW) once you're in maintenance you'll fluctuate.

    Focus on what you're doing. Going to the beach for the first time is so exciting, and I'm happy you two get to experience that together! Is gaining a pound or two really enough to derail you? Would you gain a pound or two to have that experience with her? I would. Seems like an awesome trade off to me, considering vacation weight slides off.
  • wcasie
    wcasie Posts: 299 Member
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    Have a great time!!! Just be smart!! My suggestion is pick one meal a day or every other day that you plan to eat what you want. The rest of the meals be smart... just make sure you don't limit too much or you might splurge more. You can do it!! Swimming and playing on the beach will balance out some of those excess calories as well!
  • iAMaPhoenix
    iAMaPhoenix Posts: 1,038 Member
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    If it helps, I went on a cruise in July and ate everything in sight. Did not do much exercise either. I came back and had gained 3 pounds. A week later, I had lost that 3 and 5 more. My opinion about vacation now is that they are to be enjoyed and as you now have the tools to healthy living, take care of it when you get back. Your daughter will thank you for not logging everything you eat, and do not deprive her of sharing a slice of pizza with her daddy.
  • calimari
    calimari Posts: 202 Member
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    I just returned from a Fri-Sat vacation (8 days). I could not track while I was gone (no easy access to PC/ don't have a fancy phone). I made my goal to "stay the same" - so I would try to choose wisely, get a fair amount of activity in (horseback riding, hiking, swimming) and still allow myself some treats (couple desserts, fries, a drink).

    I came home Saturday night. Got right on track again Sunday. Weighed in Monday - 2 lbs down.

    You can do it! Even if you have a slight uptick, it will go back down when you get back into your routine.
  • saraii
    saraii Posts: 11 Member
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    Maybe also since your body has been use to eating a certain way that even with all the vacation food your body will give you clues on when you've had enough. Its fun to indulge, I believe you'll be ok and its true about the excercise you'll encounter being on vacation and all, it wont feel like excercie.
  • jersey0725
    jersey0725 Posts: 62 Member
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    I am leaving for a vacation tomorrow too. It a drive to Florida, and a 3-night cruise, a total of 7 days as well. I say don't worry about it. It's a vacation, just relax and enjoy it. And if you could squeeze some exercise in like walking, jogging, swimming, or hiking, it might not actually be that bad. Have a nice vacation.:smile:
  • K1Teacher
    K1Teacher Posts: 324 Member
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    I recently went on vacation for 2 weeks and ended up losing 4 lbs! I thought for sure I would gain but I didn't - I tried to stay as active as possible and kept my portions under control. Concentrate on savoring the moments with your daughter. Eat slow and stop when you're satisfied. It also helped to take along some healthy snacks and not eat out every meal. Make the focus of your trip about what you're DOING and not about where you're going to eat next. You may be pleasantly surprised by a loss when you get home! Good luck and have FUN!!!
  • glenbabe
    glenbabe Posts: 303 Member
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    i was really worried this year about my 2 week holiday.I did not even have an I phone.People on here gave me great advice best being to take a notebook first time i have lost weight ever on holiday.I would say enjoy your hols log in what you eat on your Iphone and as you are going to the sea lots of swimming and maybe beach walks ,stay as active as you can to compensate and you just might lose like I did enjoy your holiday you owe it to yourself and your daughter.
  • LauraKety
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    It is totally possible to maintain your diet while on vacation. I just got back from a three week road trip and was able to be at or under my calorie count the entire trip and I lost a few pounds!!!! This was mostly due to the fact I was active and tracked all of my exercise! Just make sensible choices on food… When you eat out, look for the low calorie option (if you like salmon, Ruby Tuesday’s has a killer salmon dish on their light and fit menu) and it’s all about moderation. 

    I have faith that you can enjoy your vacation and come back down a pound or two!!! Power of positive thinking!!!

    Laura

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
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    I've got the same situation coming up in a few weeks. My goal is to continue making smart choices with regard to food, my bigger concern is that I won't be able to do my usual workouts. That said, we'll be doing a lot of walking around theme parks so I'm hoping that will help. I've already set my mindset that if I can come out of vacation without gaining, I'll be happy. Afterall, once I go from losing to maintenance, I need to be able to maintain under all of life's situations, so this will be good practice. If I get back from Vacation and have still continued my losing ways, well then that's just icing on the cake.
  • Kate6868
    Kate6868 Posts: 159 Member
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    I think just tracking your food and not getting too stressed about going over or a slight gain is the way to go. If you keep tracking, you are keeping the habit up - makes it a bit easier to jump right back in when you return.
  • Buddhaboy
    Buddhaboy Posts: 60 Member
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    You may gain a bit...
    but for me...I've found out a couple of things that have helped

    1) I just can't eat the amount of food I use to
    so you'll find that you'll push away from the table before you can do too much damage

    2) You can fall off the diet wagon for ONE day...and life will go on
    Believe it or not, you can have:
    Beer
    Ice cream
    EVEN
    Fried Cheese Curds
    And bounce back the next day with almost no weight gain

    So enjoy your time off, kick back, and have fun
    It took you months to lose the weight you've lost so far, you're not going to see any big gains in a week
  • ♥Amy♥
    ♥Amy♥ Posts: 714 Member
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    We just got back from a 6 day vacation to Disney World (our first time there). I didn't log my food, since I really didn't know exactly what I was eating and I didn't want to spend too much time on my iPhone trying to figure it out I just made sensible choices for the most part and had some splurges (an ice cream cone one day, some chocolate cake another day, etc.). However, I guess due to all our walking (we were at the parks a minimum of 7 hours a day walking) and sweating, I ended up losing 3 lbs.....however, if I would have gained 3 lbs. instead, I'd be upset, but NOTHING could replace the happiness we shared while being there.

    I was nervous, too, but the excitement and joy you will experience with your daughter will so be worth any slight weight increase (if it happens). Enjoy your time together :)
  • Sweetcheeks278
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    I just got back Saturday from a week long vacation. I logged my food but didn't exercise(I am one that exercises 6 days a week). I went over by a little a couple of days too. I got back and had lost 3 lbs!! We went to the beach so I think it must have been all the swimming and walking. Don't stress too much about it. Induldge but don't go crazy and you will be fine. :)