Tracking on vacation

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Pacergal90
Pacergal90 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone, I'm very new here, this is my first post! I was just a bit curious; when you go on vacation do you track on My Fitness Pal or do you give yourself a break?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I always log. If I found logging unpleasant, I might decide to give myself a break sometimes.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    I log, but I aim to keep to maintenance
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I never did.

    ETA: I've never gained actual weight on vacation...just water, mostly from air travel. I often actually come back and have lost a couple pounds because when I'm on vacation, I'm way, way, way more active during the day than when I'm at home.

    I just got back from Carlsbad caverns and on the day we did the caverns I had over 30K steps and the equivalent of 100 flights of stairs.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    I'm leaving for vacation tonight, and my plan is to log if I can, but I am not putting pressure on myself to be perfect with it. I plan to make as many good choices as possible, and I know I will be doing a LOT of walking, but my main objective is to enjoy myself because it's vacation!!
  • Pacergal90
    Pacergal90 Posts: 3 Member
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    Hope you have a wonderful time garber6th!
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    I'm going to Costa Rica in 5 weeks for 12 days and won't be logging by weighing my food, but I will be logging the best I can and I'm going to be sensible about food choices. I know that's the best way to keep myself accountable once I get back and I can fall right back into routine. I am expecting the gallivanting through the rain forest and extra activity to help with logging errors.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
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    It depends on if it's a vacation where food is a focus. Like I just went on a beach vacation and I did track, because there was nothing spectacular about beach/resort type food. Was happy to live off salads with lots of fresh fish. I obviously couldn't weight and measure, though. A vacation in Napa? No tracking--the point of going there is to enjoy. But I don't go on many Napa trips....
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I do not track on vacations.
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Do what you are most comfortable with. There is no right or wrong way of accounting for your food while on holiday, just don't let worrying about it ruin a great time for you and those you are travelling with.

    You have years of holidays, and celebrations to come, now is a good time to learn how to fit them into your life.

    Great advice :)

  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    edited April 2018
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    malibu927 wrote: »
    I log, but I im to keep to maintenance

    Im going to,Sweden and Germany in May.
    Im planning on maintaining. Im active enough that maintaining shouldn't be an issue. Then i hit it again coming home. It will be like a diet break.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    I track on vacations but don't bring a food scale, so it's more of a guess. I up my calories during vacation and usual lunch just maintain.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    I visited home last summer and chose not to log but be thoughtful and allow myself to enjoy the social side of eating - I got a temp gym membership and used it, and I ran in a park that was nearby a couple times. I actually came back lighter. I did have almost no alcohol because jetlag put me off a bit so that actually created a calorie deficit for me before anything else. If I had to do it again I might log by writing in my diary.
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
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    I started to last time .. but gave up after 3 days as there was just too many unknowns eating out, no scale etc etc ..... I just tried to be sensible

    came back 2kg heavier .. guessing about 2.5lbs of fat and 1.5lbs of glycogen .. but I ate a LOT, so quite at home with that
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    I normally do, with best guesses but don’t stress about it. I recently (as in last night) got back from an All Inclusive in Mexico followed by a work sales meeting in Orlando. I chose to take a two week break from logging food during those two weeks - the first time in 5 years on MFP that I didn’t make an attempt to log - including holidays and other special events. It’s too soon to tell any impact on weight since I’m still impacted by water retention(long flights, lots of alcohol and carby salty meals) - but I don’t anticipate being outside of the top end of my 4 lb maintenance range. Next week I plan to get back in my normal routines which includes logging.
  • pageohana6
    pageohana6 Posts: 49 Member
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    I’m going on vacation next week and headed to Vegas. I’m mentally preparing myself for a gain when I get back. I’m not going to track but try to be mindful of my eating and choices. As far as alcohol goes, well that’s a diff story. I know I’ll come back to a higher number on the scale, but knowing that helps me to prepare to get back to my MFP routine without feeling defeated/ depressed on what the scale will tell me. It’s vacation...enjoy it.

    My only concern for me is I’m a daily weigher and not being able to weigh while on vacation to see the fluctuations from alcohol/ food might mess with me a little, bit it’s just a blip in the bigger picture.
  • susanpasq
    susanpasq Posts: 16 Member
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    I'm going to Folly Beach, SC, for a week the end of the month, staying at a house right on the ocean. My plan is to bump up my calorie count to the maintenance number, eat out 1 meal a day so the other two I can track fairly accurately , log my food the best I can, and
    enjoy myself. No plans to lose that week but am going to try not to gain, but won't obsess if I put on a pound or two. Many advantages in staying in a house with a kitchen.
  • OncologyChick
    OncologyChick Posts: 236 Member
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    I'm on a week long all-inclusive holiday in a resort in Tenerife, Spain. I do log, without a scale but with best guesses. I make as many good choices as possible and walk more then at home (my room is far away from the swimmingpool, diningroom and coffeebar) and I take the stairs whenever I can (3 floors).
    I did bring my own snacks from home so I won't be too tempted to eat all the bad stuff that's available everywhere.... But a treat once in a while ain't too bad as well. It is a well earned holiday!!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    We usually go camping, so I don't have access to a computer for days at a time. I don't log.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    I log with guesses when I eat out. If you can find a listing of the restaurant or a a similar meal, then it is an educated guess (those are never exact). I worry about getting into the habit of justifying not logging more than I worry about being dead on. I log on my phone, but if I were unable to for a while, I would write it down and enter it later.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,141 Member
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    I don't log unless I am doing some of the cooking and I am familiar with the ingredients; very is seldom when I am on vacation. I am going to be out of the country in few weeks and I know that logging will not be an option for me. Too many unknowns to worry about and I don't want to crowd my food list with items that I am not going to eat again. It is also a diet, logging, and MFP break for me :)

    My technique before going on vacation is to eat at a deficit (I am in maintenance) for a month and try to lose one or two lbs before I start the holiday, to compensate for any weight gained. I weigh myself before leaving and again when I return to determine any gains. With this approach I can watch how long it takes me to shed water weight, and assume that the rest, if any, is fat weight.

    I am not a foodie or a drinker and I move a lot when on vacation; mainly walking and sometimes doing some calisthenics in what ever place I am, and most of the time my weight gain is nothing to worry about.

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