Ok, so I am very new to LAWL. So new I havent lost any weight yet. I am going on a 2 day mini-vacation this weekend and I dont want to screw it up! We are visiting Dollywood (amusement park) where we are attending a company picnic. I am not sure of the menu, but if it compares to the past, its all greasy chicken, red meat and starchy veggies. I cant take any food into the park with me, and I want to attend the actual picnic with my family because they often have fun entertainment. Any suggestions??

Do the best you can. Try to peel the skin off the chicken and not eat the breading. Also, try to drink water, water, water. Another thing..greenbeans are a better option. I'm sure that there will be salads or something good...just do your best and try to walk and be active as much as possible. If you can have a lite instead of sugar.you have one small victory. And remember 1 or 2 days of not being perfect is not going to completely sabotage you..chalk it up as lesson learned and move on. Another thing..maybe you can try the whole "sample a bite of this and a bite of that (for all the bad stuff) and load up on the good. You can do it! And think of how motivated you will feel after this. Speaking from experience..if you limit yourself when you're just starting out to nearly op as you can- then it gets easier. Good luck

Thanks so much for the encouragement (I think I needed that more than the advice)!

You might also ask if they have a vegetarian option.. I guess at an amusement park that might be a laughable question, but it's worth a shot.

The other suggestion is to make sure you don't over eat.. It's SOOOO easy to do that while on vacation and at a company function to boot.. You're literally surrounded by food..

You are in the midst of the hardest part of any diet.. The first few days SUCK.. It's so easy to fall off the wagon. But imagine this...

You come home from the weekend and bask in the glory of knowing that YOU stuck to your guns and stayed on plan.. You overcame the temptation and made the best of what food you were offered.. Those are what we call non-scale-victories (NSV's) and they feel great.. They are a total mind/mood boost.. Even if the scale doesn't move much because of your actions, you reaffirm to yourself that YOU CAN DO IT!!

While you're out and about with your family during the vacation, they need to know that you have no intention of screwing up this diet you're paying a lot of cash to participate in and as such, they need to make good food choices too in support of your efforts..

Now go forth and have fun!!!!

Ditto what Dan said.

I actually lost weight over both Thanksgiving and X-mas, the tricks I followed was eating the turkey without skin and loading up on the veggies. I was not POP, but I avoided the starches and stuck with my gut eating. You're still learning portion sizes, but you'll get them downpacked in no time.

Anyway, a challenge is a good start for your mind and body.

and