Vacation = Fear of Impending Doom

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yep I agree with other poster... stick to lots of water and walk wherever you can. It doesn't have to spell doom if you plan for what you'll eat and then get some activity in. Swim or run on the beach and walk to local restaurants when you can. Have a great vacay! I leave tomorrow for a fun long weekend of zip-lining and white water rafting (which burns a ton of calories) so I'll be eating well after that.

I am going on vacation next month. My plan is to eat maitenance (track foods the best I can) and lots of walking.

last year for the summer I went to San Diego to visit friends and go to Comic-con. I ate bad but still dropped 7 lbs. during my 12 days there. what did I do?
1) tracked what I ate but I upped my calories to maintence.
2) drank mostly water for almost all my meals
3) walked everywhere.

This - walk everywhere! We did three weeks in Australia, ate all kinds of meals, from super healthy to super greasy. The key for us was 90% of what we drank was water, and we walked anywhere we could. Came home, same weight as when we left, which considering we ate our way through Sydney, was a major accomplishment!

Reach for a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar, a salad with that Big Mac instead of the fries, water instead of Coke. All adds up, and you'll come out ahead.

Oh, and enjoy your vacation! A big key in weight loss and maintenance is getting a good night's sleep. Rack up some rack time!

This summer I am headed to the beach for a week and am already worried about "falling off the wagon" so to speak. I will be away from my routine, my gym, etc. There will be lots of restaurants and many chances to say "aww heck, I'm on vacation". How do you all deal with this temptation? What is the best way to not be so far (physically & weight) from where I left off that when I get back that I don't even want to start again?

When I go on holiday, plenty of walking, running and swimming burns the calories and I also keep in mind that I worked hard enough to lose the weight, it would be a shame to spoil it.

I also drink what I wish when on holiday, eat three meals per day but I do NOT have dessert. I also rarely have "seconds".

Other than the above, there is not much more I can do when on holiday. The last time I went I did all the above and came back and had only put on two and a half pounds over the two weeks holiday. That two and a half pounds and more came off within the first week back when I reverted back to my diet.

I always take the holiday as a challenge to see what is the least I can gain lol

If you are staying in a hotel with a fitness room, use that. I have had good luck on my past several trips to stay in places (through Hotwire) with treadmills, elliptical machines, etc. Or walk, run, etc. Keep tracking the food and make the best possible choices you can. Good luck and have a good trip!

Set your goals to 'maintenance' and carry on logging You'll probably be pleasantly surprised at how much you can indulge, without blowing it...which, in turn, helps keep you positive and on track :)x

last year for the summer I went to San Diego to visit friends and go to Comic-con. I ate bad but still dropped 7 lbs. during my 12 days there. what did I do?
1) tracked what I ate but I upped my calories to maintence.
2) drank mostly water for almost all my meals
3) walked everywhere.

Great response. I went to Disney world and tracked my calories on iPhone. I wasn't obsessed with tracking as I usually am. But did as stated above and maintained. For me that's incredible because I'm hypothyroid and will gain 5 lbs easily. Enjoy your vacation and see it as an opportunity for your new self.

Please give us an update on this thread when you get back no matter what. Knowing what worked and did not work for you can help us all

Enjoy your vacation!!! Just if opportunities arise to walk instead of driving than do that to help burn some calories from the dining out. If you are going by a beach, that is great exercise to walk along the water. Take the steps at the hotel versus the elevator.

I always lose on vacation pretty much no matter what I eat because I think I'm much more physically active during the day. We generally walk everywhere, if it's a warm or sunny location we're swimming, snorkeling, playing in the water, sometimes we hike, etc.

Good luck!

I'd say, make the best of what you have and be ready to compromise.

It's to expect that you won't be able to stick to your gym routine most of the time, so compensate with loads of walking, swimming since you're going to be on a beach, run outside if that's your thing and if it isn't too hot... Do body weight exercises such as push-ups, burpees... I'm new at the workout thing, so I can't suggest many, but I'm sure you can think of some others.

Same goes for food. Since you won't be able to cook at least most of the time, pick the best option you have available. Drink mostly water, go for grilled meat or fish, fresh salad with dressing on the side, pick whole-grain if it's there, enjoy the high-calorie goodness but always order the "small", fresh fruit is always there. Fill up on whatever healthy you can find and enjoy a small treat of whatever you feel like. Have an ice-cream or an iced tea if you want it, just don't have both in the same day.

And most important of all, don't forget to have fun!

I went on a Caribbean vacation last week for 6 days. I think I look better AFTER the vacation although I did eat way more than usual and drank way more alcohol than usual.
I stuck to eating fish, eggs and other seafood, lots of coconut water, lots of fresh veggies and fruits, about 8-10 mangoes per day (I love love love mangoes) no cheese/bread/potato/milk/milk products/added sugar.
Coconut water is amazing! It fills you up like solid food, not like water. My hunger doesn't go away after lots of water.
The choice of food was amazing! Hardly any processed foods and an amazing number of fruits and veggies. I also swam for 1-2 hours every morning and evening, went hiking, ziplining, street partying and long walks on the beach. We also walked everywhere since taxis were too expensive. So that helped.
The best part is, I'm craving fresh fruits and fish since I got back. Not once since I got back have I had a craving for chips, cheese, noodles, and the other unhealthy stuff I'm always craving for 24/7!

Today I'm back to calorie counting and gymming

We went to Spain and Czech Republic last summer, and I knew I would eat and drink my way to bliss every day. Since beer is one of the main products in C.R., the government supports its price, and it is cheaper than water at restaurants! However, we walked everywhere. By my husbands pedometer, we averaged 10 miles per day. We rented an apartment in the downtown area of each city we stayed in, and walked to almost all of the sights. If you walk a lot, you can even walk off delicious Czech beer! :drinker: