Can’t count calories on holiday- help
anb3600
Posts: 46 Member
I’m going to Santa Fe in a couple of weeks and I’m dreading it rather than enjoying knowing I won’t be able to track my calories or my progress. I know it’s a holiday, but I’m going for two weeks and not tracking calories for two weeks can make a big difference- I will be devastated if I arrive home to find I’ve put on weight (which will probably happen if I’m surrounded by new food on holiday). Please don’t say ‘eat it, enjoy and move on’, that’s not helpful for someone tracking their calories to lose weight. I will be eating meals on a plane, I will be staying with distant relatives who will cook for me and I will be going out to restaurants- I won’t have any idea how many calories I’ll be eating. It’s making me freak out and I don’t want to ruin the holiday for my family by complaining about it. How do I cope/count calories? There’s no way I can estimate
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Replies
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Since you're overly stressed about it, do your best to make good choices. I would also keep notes in my phone with a list of what I ate daily. Does your family own a scale so you can weigh yourself?
Do what you must to retain your sanity.1 -
Well, you've painted yourself into quite a corner there haven't you?
I've logged food long enough to be able to guesstimate fairly closely as to portion sizes. If you've been logging food, you can too. If you've been logging food, you know which foods that you eat have the most calories. Your knowledge isn't going to get left behind - just use your common sense.
And yeah, don't be the complainer. Worst case scenario you come back up a couple pounds. So? So you start there and keep going. We all have vacations and restaurants and other people fixing meals for us. Make it work.
You'll be fine.
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Santa Fe is beautiful. A lot of opportunity for outdoor activities there. Hiking, biking, golfing....if it were me, I would eat sensibly and really, really UP my outdoor activity level
Who knows?? Might come back lighter!!! 4 -
cmriverside wrote: »Well, you've painted yourself into quite a corner there haven't you?
This. You've talked yourself into all sorts of problems and ruled out all the solutions or suggestions, and you're not even there yet.
It is perfectly normal for someone counting calories to lose weight to have days or weeks where they can't be as accurate as they usually are. It's called real life.
You can either not log, try to make smart choices, don't stuff yourself or eat mindlessly, and limit treats
Or you can continue to log and estimate as best you can.
Try to get in as much activity as you can, like walking.
If you eat 1000 cals more than you should per day, you'll gain 4 lbs over the two weeks. More likely, you'll find that while you might overeat or estimate poorly, you'll take in far less extra cals than that.
Do to the air travel and unusual foods, you will probably have gained several lbs of water weight over the 2 weeks, and will take a week or two to lose it
The thing is, this is real life. We all have times where we can't follow our plan perfectly, and will continue to have these times for the rest of our lives. You do the best you can, you will possibly have a few lbs of consequences to deal with, you lose them like you lose all the other lbs, and you keep going. If you insist on perfection being the only option, you are setting yourself up to fail. Don't do that!3 -
cmriverside wrote: »Well, you've painted yourself into quite a corner there haven't you?
I've logged food long enough to be able to guesstimate fairly closely as to portion sizes. If you've been logging food, you can too. If you've been logging food, you know which foods that you eat have the most calories. Your knowledge isn't going to get left behind - just use your common sense.
And yeah, don't be the complainer. Worst case scenario you come back up a couple pounds. So? So you start there and keep going. We all have vacations and restaurants and other people fixing meals for us. Make it work.
You'll be fine.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think that I’ve ‘painted myself into a corner’- I think society’s unrealistic standards did that for me. And there’s no way I can use my ‘common sense’ because sure, an apple might be easy to guess, but what about something like a curry? That could have lord knows how much of which ingredients (especially ones that hide- like oil!) and I would not be able to eyeball my meals. It just really frustrates me when my family can’t understand why this stresses me out- I spend hours of my day logging my food, weighing it out, meal prepping for the next day EVERY day- its exhausting. To have them tell me to ‘just eat’ when I get there- how will it be any different? I will still have the same mind set as I do now towards food- and what I’m asking for is advice on how to deal with it, not to hear what my family has already said when they tell me to ‘make it work’. ☹️
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cmriverside wrote: »Well, you've painted yourself into quite a corner there haven't you?
I've logged food long enough to be able to guesstimate fairly closely as to portion sizes. If you've been logging food, you can too. If you've been logging food, you know which foods that you eat have the most calories. Your knowledge isn't going to get left behind - just use your common sense.
And yeah, don't be the complainer. Worst case scenario you come back up a couple pounds. So? So you start there and keep going. We all have vacations and restaurants and other people fixing meals for us. Make it work.
You'll be fine.
I’m sorry, but I don’t think that I’ve ‘painted myself into a corner’- I think society’s unrealistic standards did that for me. /
. And there’s no way I can use my ‘common sense’ because sure, an apple might be easy to guess, but what about something like a curry? That could have lord knows how much of which ingredients (especially ones that hide- like oil!) and I would not be able to eyeball my meals. It just really frustrates me when my family can’t understand why this stresses me out- I spend hours of my day logging my food, weighing it out, meal prepping for the next day EVERY day- its exhausting. To have them tell me to ‘just eat’ when I get there- how will it be any different? I will still have the same mind set as I do now towards food- and what I’m asking for is advice on how to deal with it, not to hear what my family has already said when they tell me to ‘make it work’. ☹️
What are society’s unrealistic standards and how do they impact your estimation of your food intake on vacation?
As far as using common sense - in your curry example... go to the MFP database, enter a basic description of the curry, see what comes up, choose one that seems middle of the road or on the high side, estimate the portion size you consumed, log it and move on.
How long have you been using MFP? Have you not encountered social events, restaurant meals, holiday celebrations get? What kind of results have you had?
Take it from those of us who have been using MFP for several years - you really do have to learn how to relax and go with these sorts of situations. 2 weeks of holiday in a beautiful city with friends and relatives is something to cherish, not stress about. As others have said, perspective is important. Even if you eat 500-1000 cals above maintenance you may gain 2-4 lbs of actual fat during this time but even that is unlikely.
For what it’s with I had a week long business trip followed by a week of vacation - didn’t log, just used good judgement, came back from both about 1.5 lbs higher than when I left and I still anticipate that dropping in the next day or so.5 -
Given your circumstances, I'd suggest eating out only once a day if you can manage it, then eat things you know for your other meals (and where you can, go for healthy choices, naturally). With the food you do eat in restaurants, only eat half the meal as along with containing more butter and oil than you realise, the portion sizes are ridiculous. Don't snack. Don't eat desserts. Limit your drinks. Get lots of exercise (walking everywhere is a good idea). Don't panic, it's only two weeks. Enjoy your holiday.0
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What they're trying to say is that you came in here with a defeatist attitude. If you reread your initial post, it's full of negativity.
If you can't go away for two weeks without freaking out about your food intake, you might have an unhealthy relationship with food. Do you think that's true?
What's your current weight and your goal weight?2 -
If you spend hours every day logging and meal prepping you are doing something wrong. I'm sorry to be so blunt but that isn't normal. It takes longer to navigate the logging system when you first start but that time should decrease rapidly.
If you explain exactly what you are doing during that time we can probably give you some tips.3 -
....or: if going on vacation causes you this much agitation and anxiety - between society's standards, your family's lack of understanding, and all the other reasons you state - just don't go! I don't think I would choose to do something that caused me so much angst...self-inflicted or not.3
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I just got back from a 3 week vacation in another country where I ate curry everyday, multiple times a day. I always ate until I was stuffed. Never had dessert or many snacks (it's not a country that's big on those) and only had lime sodas, tea, or water as drinks. I waited about 9 days before weighing myself after I got back home. The first day I weighed myself I had "gained" 3 pounds. On day two, the scale read 2 pounds. On day 3 I was only 0.4 pounds up from the weight I had been the day before getting on the plane. So, in total, during my 3 week gorgefest of a vacation - or at least that's what it felt like, I gained 0.4 pounds. That's it.
Before I left for the trip I was panicked that I wouldn't be able to log. I planned to put myself in maintenance and try anyway. For the first two days I tried to log, but it was pointless. There was no way to tell what I was eating. I gave up. I focused on eating until I felt full and making sure I stayed active. Almost every day that I could, I stayed active - mostly walking tours of the towns and cities I was staying in, hiking in scenic places, or walking on the beach to get steps in.
Listen, from one ball of anxiety to another: breathe. It is JUST two weeks of your entire life. That's it. So what if you gain 1 or 2 pounds?! When you get back, start logging again. For me, the diet break was well timed and I think it actually jumpstarted my weightloss again.
Diet breaks are important and everyone should take them with some regularity to stay sane. Perhaps this trip is the time for you to try a diet break.
It helped me to know that a structured break with a planned ending could be part of my weight loss plan. And I knew that when I got back from my trip, I'd be back at my routine. In retrospect, I can't believe I wasted so much time stressing about what amounted to 0.4 pounds of weight gain. I'm glad I decided to take the advice of folks on this forum and just enjoy myself because it was the trip of a lifetime and the food was the best I'd ever had.6 -
Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with cbstewart88. Don't go.
But while they're all having fun, maybe get a little therapy for your anxiety. Life is not this difficult and a two week vacation is totally manageable.
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I’m going to Santa Fe in a couple of weeks and I’m dreading it rather than enjoying knowing I won’t be able to track my calories or my progress. I know it’s a holiday, but I’m going for two weeks and not tracking calories for two weeks can make a big difference- I will be devastated if I arrive home to find I’ve put on weight (which will probably happen if I’m surrounded by new food on holiday). Please don’t say ‘eat it, enjoy and move on’, that’s not helpful for someone tracking their calories to lose weight. I will be eating meals on a plane, I will be staying with distant relatives who will cook for me and I will be going out to restaurants- I won’t have any idea how many calories I’ll be eating. It’s making me freak out and I don’t want to ruin the holiday for my family by complaining about it. How do I cope/count calories? There’s no way I can estimate
Hmm...I tracked calories to lose weight and that is exactly what helped me. In the big picture 2 weeks is nothing. You don't have to go off the rails, but you should enjoy yourself on holiday...especially in Santa Fe.
Try to look at the bigger picture which is the rest of your life...how relevant is 2 weeks?1 -
Just be sensible with your choices and be active. loosely guesstimate if you need to. Look at it this way: to gain a pound you need to be over your maintenance by 3500 calories, so to gain 2 pounds of fat in 2 weeks you would need to be 500 calories over your maintenance every single day. If you load up on vegetables (but don't deprive yourself of what you want, because that's a recipe for a binge) you're less likely to go over maintenance by much. Being active makes going over maintenance even less likely. Walk places, take a walk in the morning, go sightseeing or hiking...etc.
Panicking about this is a red flag that the changes you are trying to implement may not last long. Part of successful weight loss and long term maintenance is knowing how to deal with real-life outside of your regimented diet bubble without it feeling like an ordeal. The flexibility of accepting that you can't be perfect all the time is a very important skill to learn for long term maintenance. Accepting that you can't always be in control of what happens around you is another important skill. You may lose, maintain, or gain weight during this trip, and it's all fine, even if you gain. People who successfully lose and maintain weight have short periods where they gain back a few pounds, the only difference between successful maintainers and yoyo dieters is that successful maintainers catch themselves early. It's all part of the process of weight management, and the sooner you get used to it the better. If you don't, you're setting yourself up for stressful maintenance and eventually burning out. You aren't going to gain any significant amount of weight in two weeks if any, so yes, ‘eat it, enjoy and move on’.3 -
This is usually how I eat on vacation:
1. All Inclusive - Buffet for breakfast and lunch w a sit down dinner
One plate only w my favourites + a small dessert for the Buffets. Dinner is usually a small appetizer, balanced main and a small dessert.
2. If I’m not at an all inclusive; I have one main meal, either Brunch or Dinner; I don’t over do this either; appetizer, main and a dessert. I snack on fruit for the rest of the day.
3. I’ll have 9 ounces of wine max with dinner.
This is my to go plan; if I want to limit the pounds I gain to < 5lbs.
When I visit my family; I eat what they prepare but I exercise portion control, while enjoying all the delicious dishes I don’t know how to prepare.
But despite all the above; don’t let food and anxiety over food prevent you from enjoying your life. This is a journey; any weight you gain on a two week vacation will be mostly water and should be gone after a week.-1 -
You have a very unhealthy and unrealistic mentality toward weight loss and diet. Spending hours every day on calorie counting and journaling is NOT normal. Your options for this trip are to accept that you cannot control everything or don’t go. Either way, look into a support group or therapy, as you’re demonstarting early signs of eating disorder.2
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Given everything you’ve said here I’d suggest you do your family a favor and cancel your trip. For some, that’s just necessary in order to stay in full control of their intake, no judgement there. But what a way to isolate yourself. And nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to spend their trip trying to appease that one person totally consumed with their weight loss. Fine balance between self-discipline and misery. Find it.3
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Prepare yourself to be on Maintenance while on vacation. Use this time as a practice for when you truly are maintaining and not weighing everything.
Make sensible choices and keep an eye on portion sizes. Meat = the size of your palm. Vegetables = half your plate. Starches/Carbs = no more than 1/4 of your plate. Keep sauces & gravies to a minimum. Avoid desserts if possible and take only small pieces if not avoidable. Drink no more than 2 glasses of wine (approx. 250 cals). Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Following sensible choices will help you navigate in the future, too. Use this vacation as a test for Maintenance.
Don't expect to lose for these 2 weeks but do expect to Maintain. When you get home, don't step on the scales for a few days but drink plenty of water and get back to your regime. This will allow any residual salts & water retension due to travelling to be flushed out of your system. Only then should you weigh yourself.
And remember to have fun. Being diligent will assure that you only gain the minimal amount, if at all. These are easy pounds to remove when you return. A few pounds won't hinder your progress or your determination to reach your final goal.0
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