Strategies for weekend-long celebrations
 

Do you have useful tips, tricks, or plans to help you stay on track with dieting goals during a weekend-long event? I'm talking full weekend events that include drinking alcohol, lots of opportunity to eat, and eating out such as weekend getaways, weddings, festivles, road trips, etc. Friday through Sunday events are so much fun and tomorrow I'm kicking off my friend's birthday weekend party.

I'm trying to be thoughtful and strategize how I can stay within a calorie budget and thought it would be fun and helpful to open it up for discussion among the group!

Stick with protein and non-starchy vegetables and don't drink.

Bring your own healthy snacks if you can. Otherwise stick with high protein and low carb. If you have to drink limit it to wine, or find recipes for low sugar vodka drinks. Drink lots of water to keep full to reduce temptation.

Success
 

Sorry for the late reply!
So this weekend went pretty well and I think I honed in on some good strategies.
First, I simply told the group, "hey I'm trying to watch my diet this weekend!" Everyone was great about not pressuring me to indulge. I think I'll keep this one in mind!
Second, I just decided I wouldn't drink or splurge Friday or Sunday. So they were normal days. I kept it within budget calorie-wise because I consumed my usual diet, didn't drink alcohol, and didn't get pressured to jump on deserts or drinks with everyone else.

Saturday I allowed myself to enjoy food and drink and not concern myself with a caloric budget. Maybe this method isn't for everyone but it worked for me. I stuck to wine, I enjoyed eating out, and I ate way over my normal calories. But it was a single day and I jumped back with my calorie budget the following day.

Oh and third, I did not allow myself to skip weighing in each morning. It worked great! And I didn't gain weight.

So this week I'm back to my norm, practicing cutting a few calories and sticking to a budget, and it's going well!

Sabine that is great! Glad the weekend went well and you enjoyed yourself. I'm heading up on a 5 day kinda last minute vacation this week, and I need a plan for eating so I don't gain - I think I'll follow your strategy. Plus I think I'll try to focus by meals- kinda focus and think of the specific meals I want to enjoy during the week, and that therefore I should keep the other meals that day lighter. Hopefully it goes well!!

How did it go?
 

Kinda a late reply, but how did it go, Marie? Since committing to loosing weight I have not yet enjoyed a vacation longer than a three day weekend. 5 days or a week long vacation almost needs its own strategy. I'm anticipating an 8 day vacation on the beach and need to start strategizing!
I'm curious how your 5 days went and if you were able to stay on track pre and post. Give us an update!

I love this thread. I am new here and looking for support. I have a week long vacation at the cottage coming up next week and a 3 day girls weekend end of summer. My trainer suggested (for the vacation at least) to treat I like any day at work (i.e. "pack my lunch") so I can keep track. I have also spent the last 2 days batch cooking so that I have meals to take up and more importantly meals for when I am back.

I like the idea about low sugar vodka drinks and wine.

As for the girls weekend we are planning a menu now so I guess I just need to try and convince everyone to stay on the healthy side!

Beach vacation
 

When it was time for my 8 day beach vacation I decided I would stick to a bare bones strategy. I've been focusing on making my goals incredibly realistic and achievable because for me that's been successful, however slow. So I kept it simple: 1. Pack a scale and weigh in every morning 2. Keep an honest record of what I eat.

I stuck to my plan and allowed myself to eat and enjoy whatever I wanted. My main initiative was to hold myself accountable so that after vacation I could continue my responsibilities toward weight loss. I ate desert daily and did enjoy a glass or two of wine every night and I generally loosened up and enjoyed myself. But I kept myself accountable to my choices which is really a huge step for me. In the past I would just enjoy a week of denial that generally morphed into weeks until I felt like I was "back on track". So I was happy that I, without judgment for myself, owned up to my intake even if it was above 2,000 calories (well above what's needed for me to lose weight).

After vacation I immediately went back into my non-vacation eating patterns which was awesome. The downside is that I gained 4 pounds and it's stuck... I've been home 2 weeks now and I'm still weighing in at an additional 4 pounds. I'm pretty bummed about that. It has been such a slow and steady loss. To think I could gain most if it back in a week- ah! But I'm going to keep trucking away. And it's left me with a lasting impression as to how easily I can gain back after weeks of trying to lose. So maybe next time I'll give myself more parameters going into vacation.