Camping?
zaknjakesmum
Posts: 73 Member
This summer we've planned several trips in our RV. Does anyone have any tips on keeping on weightloss goals while camping? We camped a long weekend in May, and I gained 3 pounds in 3 days. 
Things I have thought of:
1. take my blender, crockpot, kettle and teapot- for smoothies, soups and tea
2. plan, plan, plan
3. make flat freezer meals that can go easily in the crockpot www.thefamilyfreezer.com is where i get my inspiration for these
4. don't take anything I might overeat, like protein bars
5. no need to bring ice cream treats (my big downfall), frozen cool-whip is tasty and lower in calories
6. let myself have a couple of treats so I don't feel deprive
7. Give myself a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, if I only gain say 5 pounds over 2 months
Thankfully, we are going to Jasper and Banff in the Rockies and Alberta has some pretty strict rules in place. So we can avoid going into the townsites and eating out.
Any other suggestions?
Things I have thought of:
1. take my blender, crockpot, kettle and teapot- for smoothies, soups and tea
2. plan, plan, plan
3. make flat freezer meals that can go easily in the crockpot www.thefamilyfreezer.com is where i get my inspiration for these
4. don't take anything I might overeat, like protein bars
5. no need to bring ice cream treats (my big downfall), frozen cool-whip is tasty and lower in calories
6. let myself have a couple of treats so I don't feel deprive
7. Give myself a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, if I only gain say 5 pounds over 2 months
Thankfully, we are going to Jasper and Banff in the Rockies and Alberta has some pretty strict rules in place. So we can avoid going into the townsites and eating out.
Any other suggestions?
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Replies
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zaknjakesmum wrote: »This summer we've planned several trips in our RV. Does anyone have any tips on keeping on weightloss goals while camping? We camped a long weekend in May, and I gained 3 pounds in 3 days.
Things I have thought of:
1. take my blender, crockpot, kettle and teapot- for smoothies, soups and tea
2. plan, plan, plan
3. make flat freezer meals that can go easily in the crockpot www.thefamilyfreezer.com is where i get my inspiration for these
4. don't take anything I might overeat, like protein bars
5. no need to bring ice cream treats (my big downfall), frozen cool-whip is tasty and lower in calories
6. let myself have a couple of treats so I don't feel deprive
7. Give myself a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, if I only gain say 5 pounds over 2 months
Thankfully, we are going to Jasper and Banff in the Rockies and Alberta has some pretty strict rules in place. So we can avoid going into the townsites and eating out.
Any other suggestions?
I wonder: if a pound is 3500 calories, you would have had to eat 10,500 calories OVER your maintenance calories over the course of those three days to genuinely gain that much fat. If you weighed in on your return home and your weight went up 3 lbs, I'm inclined to think it was more likely water weight (perhaps due to higher sodium intake - a lot of prepackaged easy to travel foods use salt as a preservative.) Did it settle back down to normal over the next couple of weeks?
I'm not a super experienced camper, but to me, bringing a bunch of extra equipment (even with an RV) sounds like a pain, though maybe I would do it if I use those appliances regularly at home and was planning an extended trip of more than a few days at a time.
I think it makes sense to plan. Your number 7 confuses me a little bit - are you maintaining right now or trying to lose weight? If you are doing a lot of hiking/walking or other physical activity I think it shouldn't be too difficult to stick to maintenance calories only, if you're logging your food accurately. But maybe I'm missing some context.
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Hike in new and beautiful places!7
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Yes, the 3lbs were likely water weight. Sodium, unfamiliar temperatures, moving more, sitting in a car/van for longer tomes or generally moving less, sleeping less well, excitement, etc...3
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Adding to the 'water weight' chorus.
That said, I'm going camping this coming weekend. The only plan I have is to eat s'mores. I will be hiking at least 5 miles a day + swimming. Extra activity goes with the camping territory for me, and while I can't accurately judge the calories out portion of those things, I ALSO cannot track my calories via MFP at the time, either.
So the plan is 'eat food, have fun, return to normal eating and life when we get home'.
If I had internet access (sounds like you will) I might loosely track both exercise and food and try to stay close to maintenance, especially since it's a couple of months (I think)
For me though my activity level goes up so much even when eating at my worst I'd drop weight on this sort of trip.6 -
zaknjakesmum wrote: »This summer we've planned several trips in our RV. Does anyone have any tips on keeping on weightloss goals while camping? We camped a long weekend in May, and I gained 3 pounds in 3 days.
Things I have thought of:
1. take my blender, crockpot, kettle and teapot- for smoothies, soups and tea
2. plan, plan, plan
3. make flat freezer meals that can go easily in the crockpot www.thefamilyfreezer.com is where i get my inspiration for these
4. don't take anything I might overeat, like protein bars
5. no need to bring ice cream treats (my big downfall), frozen cool-whip is tasty and lower in calories
6. let myself have a couple of treats so I don't feel deprive
7. Give myself a non-food treat, like makeup or clothes, if I only gain say 5 pounds over 2 months
Thankfully, we are going to Jasper and Banff in the Rockies and Alberta has some pretty strict rules in place. So we can avoid going into the townsites and eating out.
Any other suggestions?
You should be more active when camping.
IMO, don't plan to fail.4 -
Thank you for the suggestions. It's only the 2 of us going, and we have a 32 foot RV, so lots of room and hidey-holes for my appliances- consistancy really seems to work for me. Hiking and other activities would be great and maybe I could do something slow, but I have had MS for 21 years and I do things in slow-mo, not a great help in weight loss. I should have mentioned that in the first post, sorry.
We won't have wifi in the mountains. but I'm going to take some paper copies...tracking is a very useful tool for me! I should have done a #8- drink lots of water!
Jen, 49
234 /184/ 150?4 -
Last time I went camping, I did all my prep work ahead of time and threw meals into ziploc bags. When it was time to eat, I just dumped them into a foil pack and threw them in the fire. I'm sure you could do these recipes in a crockpot as well.
- Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and broccoli with olive oil and ranch powder
- Cubed Chicken, Asparagus, Lemon Wedges and Butter
- Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and Cajun Seasonings
I also had cut up fruit, veggies, summer sausage, and cheese to snack on. I made egg muffins ahead of time for breakfast items.
Drink water or iced tea. Make sure to stay hydrated.
If you're not being super active while camping, maybe make it a point to take a walk at least once a day. Geocaching is also a fun hobby while camping. You use an app to follow GPS coordinates to hidden caches. Some have cool little items in them and some are just logbooks that you sign to show that you found it.
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Last time I went camping, I did all my prep work ahead of time and threw meals into ziploc bags. When it was time to eat, I just dumped them into a foil pack and threw them in the fire. I'm sure you could do these recipes in a crockpot as well.
- Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and broccoli with olive oil and ranch powder
- Cubed Chicken, Asparagus, Lemon Wedges and Butter
- Cubed Chicken, potatoes, and Cajun Seasonings
I also had cut up fruit, veggies, summer sausage, and cheese to snack on. I made egg muffins ahead of time for breakfast items.
Thank you for the great suggestions! Prepping beforehand makes a lot of sense!
Jen, 49
234/ 183.6/ 150
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Seconding (and thirding!) the water weight, and also the meal prep.
I've been in the Appalachian backwoods for 4 days armed with measured and seasoned veggie "pucks" (frozen and turned out of a silicon muffin pan, then wrapped in foil for quick cooking in the fire), and a goodly quantity of fresh blueberries and apples.
And I measured out my rations of Nutter Butter cookies and marshmallows for Nutty S'mores as well :-)0 -
What is the purpose of your trip? Usually people go camping go connect with nature, and you said you're going to Jasper and Banff, places with world class mountains, some of the best nature has to offer.
Usually people like to connect with nature by being outdoors, seeing the sights. Notice how much everything changes with each step, if you've visited the cathedrals in Europe you've seen how they were carefully engineered to have their own internal consistency, also amazing, the mountains though are exactly the opposite.
You said you're slow, and that's ok. What I'm getting at is that there's so much to see, you'll probably be more active than usual for you. Such that your TDEE is higher than you're used to and this becomes less of an issue. Maybe you can stroll down a trail, rent a canoe, go for a midnight walk to stargaze by the lake, go look at the wildlife, see some waterfalls, tame a sabertooth tiger and ride it home...4 -
Yeah, the idea that you have to be VERY ACTIVE, get your heartbeat up and be out of breath to burn calories is false. If you're moving more than usual, no matter the speed, you're burning more calories than usual.5
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Camping used to be my excuse to eat a bunch of crap. Oatmeal Creme Pies, Pop Tarts, cookies, chips were must have food items. Recently I've cut that back significantly. I still choose a few treats but now instead of chex mix I'll get Poppables. Instead of Oreos I'll get animal crackers. Treats but not treats I'll overdo.
I bring a griddle or electric skillet to start each day with a big, mostly healthy breakfast like eggs, hash browns, bacon (ok, not so healthy). Pack some snacks like string cheese, pre-cut raw veggies and a bag of grapes. A dinner staple is a shrimp boil in a foil pan over the fire. Pre-boil the potatoes and corn and it's a quick meal that gets rave reviews every time!1 -
I've just come back from camping and I definitely did not stick to my calorie goals, neither was I more active. I wasn't able to do my workouts or evening walks. My kids can't walk more than 5km without getting bored/tired, and it's less than 5km if it's really hot so my step count was actually down compared to normal days.
The things I've learned for next time though - My meals were actually ok, they were planned and sensible - I knew roughly what I was consuming. It was the snacks and evening beers that let me down! I need to have some healthier options to hand which is basically more fruit I think. Things that don't need to be kept chilled. I refuse to ditch my evening beer though! (I'm on holiday for just a few days at a time and I'm already at a healthy weight!)1 -
I guess people approach camping differently.
My version is hiking 5 to 10 miles with everything you need in your backpack, sleeping on the dirt wearing all your clothes, pouring boiling water into a bag of gruel if you want to be fancy, and pooping in a hole in the ground.6 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I guess people approach camping differently.
My version is hiking 5 to 10 miles with everything you need in your backpack, sleeping on the dirt wearing all your clothes, pouring boiling water into a bag of gruel if you want to be fancy, and pooping in a hole in the ground.
I want to get back into that once my kids are just a bit older. My wife and I used to do quite a bit of packing in our before kids days. I was actually cleaning up a bit in the garage last weekend and came across a bunch of our gear...we'll definitely need new gear. Pretty old and dated...my pack is an external frame.
We have a small hybrid travel trailer right now and usually go to a NFS campground or boondock off a forest/fire road. When I camp, it's usually only for 2-3 nights...occasionally 4. I don't eat drastically different than I do at home...but I don't really worry about a couple days either and I do quite a bit of hiking and/or mountain biking when I'm up there.1 -
I do something between with activity and dirt sleeping.
But my food has never, ever, involved much gruel :P1 -
Just another camping variation: I used to do a lot of canoe-camping with portages, week or 10 days at a time away from car/roads/stores, and took a lot of hippie-esque food that was *heavy* (think bulgar wheat with seasonings & protein, and that sort of thing). No refrigeration, no conveniences, but if you only have to carry it for a couple of miles or so at a time, it works. 😉 Burns plenty calories paddling/portaging for hours, too.
To me, a lot of the point of camping was getting to be places where one couldn't be in any other mode. If I'm gonna stay in civilization rather than backwoods, hotels are fine. But, I may be biased by having grown up in the country, where we didn't have to camp because the house was in nicer woods than most campgrounds . . . and I still live in a "more trees than people" setting these days, too.1 -
We camp in a 31' trailer and we just stick pretty closely to our normal routine. All meals are planned ahead of time with good snacks available. We utilize the crockpot for arrival days and have pre-frozen meals like chili or homemade sloppy joes. Grilled meat and veggies most nights with salad and leftover meat often for lunch. Also add in lots more walking, hiking, swimming and exploring. We have our trailer stocked with a food scale and everything we need to stay on track.1
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NorthCascades wrote: »What is the purpose of your trip? Usually people go camping go connect with nature, and you said you're going to Jasper and Banff, places with world class mountains, some of the best nature has to offer.
Usually people like to connect with nature by being outdoors, seeing the sights. Notice how much everything changes with each step, if you've visited the cathedrals in Europe you've seen how they were carefully engineered to have their own internal consistency, also amazing, the mountains though are exactly the opposite.
You said you're slow, and that's ok. What I'm getting at is that there's so much to see, you'll probably be more active than usual for you. Such that your TDEE is higher than you're used to and this becomes less of an issue. Maybe you can stroll down a trail, rent a canoe, go for a midnight walk to stargaze by the lake, go look at the wildlife, see some waterfalls, tame a sabertooth tiger and ride it home...
Or tame a buffalo 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ4T9CQA0UM 1 -
Fellow camper here...teardrop trailer (enough room for only the bed, and a kitchen galley when you open the back hatch)...we boondock on our own property in the Rockies, no water, electricity or internet reception. We do what others have mentioned: plan, precook, and freeze (all critical). Frozen food helps with the coolers, too. I eat a protein bar every morning when camping; you bring the exact number you need. You don’t dare eat more or you’ll go hungry later! Although I work to intuitively eat when camping, a food scale could readily be used. Also, I able to hike/other, which helps. I have turned into my mother (boondocked in northern Ontario during part of childhood summers); her lists and planning would rival any military strategist! You can do this!1
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An aside to the discussion: Occasionally, we used to car-camp at more standard sort of campgrounds, with showers and coolers & stuff, just to cheap out vs. hotels. First, I learned that blocks of ice work better in coolers (last longer, keeping things cool vs. cubes) . . . then it occurred to me that I could advance-freeze cleaned plastic milk jugs full of something like herb tea, use them to keep the coolers cool, and have a tasty cold drink as they melted.4
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An aside to the discussion: Occasionally, we used to car-camp at more standard sort of campgrounds, with showers and coolers & stuff, just to cheap out vs. hotels. First, I learned that blocks of ice work better in coolers (last longer, keeping things cool vs. cubes) . . . then it occurred to me that I could advance-freeze cleaned plastic milk jugs full of something like herb tea, use them to keep the coolers cool, and have a tasty cold drink as they melted.
Yep, and if it's REALLY stinking hot you take a fan (they come battery powered as well as electric, for cheap) and blow those across the frozen jugs. Though for me that's less camping hack and more the AC or electricity is out hack.1 -
wunderkindking wrote: »An aside to the discussion: Occasionally, we used to car-camp at more standard sort of campgrounds, with showers and coolers & stuff, just to cheap out vs. hotels. First, I learned that blocks of ice work better in coolers (last longer, keeping things cool vs. cubes) . . . then it occurred to me that I could advance-freeze cleaned plastic milk jugs full of something like herb tea, use them to keep the coolers cool, and have a tasty cold drink as they melted.
Yep, and if it's REALLY stinking hot you take a fan (they come battery powered as well as electric, for cheap) and blow those across the frozen jugs. Though for me that's less camping hack and more the AC or electricity is out hack.
Yuppers. My *house*, before AC.
(And my then 17 y/o cat licking the ice jug.)2 -
I'm camping as I type this. I pre-planned meals and brought snacks like popcorn, rice crackers with melted cheese (kind of a lo-cal take on nachos), cut up veggies, etc. I don't get as many steps as I do when I'm at home but I still manage around 13,000. I've done some yoga, gone for walks with the dog, and ran.
Two years ago we did a three-month RV trip across Canada and at the end of it I had only gained 4 pounds. I was pretty pleased with that because I sampled wines and ciders from coast to coast, plus I was on a search for the best cinnamon bun (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan and Alma, New Brunswick tied, if anyone is interested). I took resistance bands and tubes instead of my dumbells, I had my yoga mat, and I walked and/or ran every day. I ate pretty much the same type of meals as I did at home and the only time we ate out was on the east coast (scallops, lobster, and mussels!)
I see two options for camping: either eat the same way you do at home, but with a couple of camping type treats in the mix. Or view it like a holiday and accept that you'll gain a couple of pounds that will drop off when you get back to your regular routine. That last strategy might not work if you have several trips planned though. To me, the worst scenario would be to have a free- for-all for the entire summer, but it doesn't sound like that's your intention, so that's good news
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You’re in for a real treat! Banff and Jasper are beautiful. I did an RV trip there a few years ago with my mum and brother. I remember good coffee every morning but don’t really recall what we did for food! I think we just bought food at grocery stores when we came across them and stocked our fridge and cooked a lot so pretty healthy simple food.0
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I am posting this here because this thread is why I did it.
i actually - loosely (no weighing just package serving sizes) - tracked my calories today and fairly accurately tracked my exercise for the day.
I *ate* about 2200 calories, the bulk of it in carbs and with high sodium. That's about 400 my usual maintenance. But I BURNED about 900. Leaving me with a bog standard 500 cal deficit in spite of the lack of concern/focus on things.
weird.
Cool! but weird.
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NorthCascades wrote: »I guess people approach camping differently.
My version is hiking 5 to 10 miles with everything you need in your backpack, sleeping on the dirt wearing all your clothes, pouring boiling water into a bag of gruel if you want to be fancy, and pooping in a hole in the ground.
My mom had one of these types of camping trips planned in 2012. (There was a tent involved though.) She was 74 at the time. It was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy and not rescheduled. Last fall we cleaned out her attic and got rid of her camping stuff. I think I was sadder than she was.
I backpacked as a kid but was never drawn to it as an adult. I did sleep in a tent for most of two years in upstate New York 2002-2004, including most of the winters. Winter tenting = best sleep of my life!2 -
Just another camping variation: I used to do a lot of canoe-camping with portages, week or 10 days at a time away from car/roads/stores, and took a lot of hippie-esque food that was *heavy* (think bulgar wheat with seasonings & protein, and that sort of thing). No refrigeration, no conveniences, but if you only have to carry it for a couple of miles or so at a time, it works. 😉 Burns plenty calories paddling/portaging for hours, too.
To me, a lot of the point of camping was getting to be places where one couldn't be in any other mode. If I'm gonna stay in civilization rather than backwoods, hotels are fine. But, I may be biased by having grown up in the country, where we didn't have to camp because the house was in nicer woods than most campgrounds . . . and I still live in a "more trees than people" setting these days, too.
I did the canoeing/portaging/camping thing for two weeks in Quebec the summer I was 14. It was amazing!
Calorie dense food was a priority. All I specifically remember was peanut butter and chocolate.4 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Just another camping variation: I used to do a lot of canoe-camping with portages, week or 10 days at a time away from car/roads/stores, and took a lot of hippie-esque food that was *heavy* (think bulgar wheat with seasonings & protein, and that sort of thing). No refrigeration, no conveniences, but if you only have to carry it for a couple of miles or so at a time, it works. 😉 Burns plenty calories paddling/portaging for hours, too.
To me, a lot of the point of camping was getting to be places where one couldn't be in any other mode. If I'm gonna stay in civilization rather than backwoods, hotels are fine. But, I may be biased by having grown up in the country, where we didn't have to camp because the house was in nicer woods than most campgrounds . . . and I still live in a "more trees than people" setting these days, too.
I did the canoeing/portaging/camping thing for two weeks in Quebec the summer I was 14. It was amazing!
Calorie dense food was a priority. All I specifically remember was peanut butter and chocolate.
I wish that I had the skills/confidence to solo, or had a compatible (platonic) canoe camping partner. I really miss these trips, especially come Fall. Late spouse was a much, much better canoeist than I, plus much stronger generally. I trusted him in the backwoods implicitly, as a partner. These trips always strengthened our bond, our appreciation for each other.
I have a suitable solo tripping/expedition canoe, around 40 pounds, that I can carry by myself . . . not so sure about big, hilly portage distance, or leaping from boulder to boulder with the boat as a funny hat? That's not even thinking about the risk of broken bones falling off a slippery split-log "bridge" through a bog, or something like that, which I've had close calls with in the past. Maybe I should be braver, but atm solo scares me too much, appealing though it is.
Still, if I could sit one more time at the Big Thunder Lake campsite, feeling like I was perched in the woodsy semi-silence at the top of the watershed . . . !2 -
We have an RV. I find I have the same problem. There is something about camping and overeating that go together.
Last summer I was determined to not gain weight over the summer and I was successful for the first time ever.
What I did:
- stuck with my normal ‘at home’ breakfast. Which for me is 1 tbsp each of chia, hemp, flax 30 grams of Dorset cereal and 170 grams of Greek yoghurt
- Ate garden salad everyday at dinner
- Had veggies or fruit for evening snack
- Drinking water, water, water — no alcohol
- Reduce sugary snacks — I couldn’t (didn’t want to) eliminate all sugary snacks, but I did intentionally pack less than previous years.
Good luck0
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