Yessssssssssssssssssss, sign me up. I have vacations this month AND next month and I'm just DETERMINED not to allow them to stop me from getting below 140. Or at the very least not gain anything, as I did when I went to Italy!

I have to give up the tequila and dark chocolate on the weekends, gah.

Kitty, I think that the thing is that when men comment on weight, they do so as a fact, not as a moral judgment. Women (at least some women!) can take such comments personally sometimes and men just mean them as a fact.

Welcome Dag & Counting Down (yes we need all the we can get!)

Jo, YOU didn't gain in Italy either? Clearly France has more delicious food. It couldn't be that I did anything differently than you and Allison....

Well, I weighed this morning. 159. Could've been way way worse!

Are you kidding? I *DID* gain in Italy. I ate gobs of bruschetta and drank barrels of wine. Literally.

What I meant was that I want to avoid that kind of gain happening with the next 2 vacations!

Ah, okay, I misread......good luck with the tequila & dark chocolate!

LOL. We're doing Paris and Greece. The French food isn't going to be as much an issue for me (it's always too rich and makes me sort of ill feeling, at least when I've had it in good restaurants here), and while I may have a pastry (because you can't NOT have one croissant in France) I intend to do a lot of walking and we're not going to be there long. Greece, though, is going to be trouble...I LOVE greek food. I hope to stay with the lighter/healthier/delicious stuff instead of relying mostly on heavier dishes. And to walk.

Scale liked my commitment! Even though I'm up an hour and a half earlier than usual, it was down!

Amanda~I'm so jealous! We're thinking of our next vacation and Greece is where I'd like to go.

The way not to gain on vacation is to walk everywhere, all day long!!! That's what we did (and trust me, we ate and drank TONS!). But as soon as we got to whatever town we were visiting, we'd leave the car at the hotel and walk. It seems like we walked at least 6 hours a day. It really made all the difference.

YAY!

Do you have room for a late joiner? I definitely need to re-commit, my scale keeps creeping up!

I think the main culprit in my gain has been lack of consistent exercise. Doing a couple flights of stairs several times a day is great, but it can't count as my only exercise!

I agree with Allison on the vacation trick - I was in Europe after I graduated high school and I ate LOTS but I walked everywhere and I actually lost about 10 lbs in 5 weeks. Come to think of it.... a European vacation would be a great method of weight loss, if only I could work it in!

I have a cop out too. Can't even think about starting up C25K right now, as there is ash floating around in my air! But that's no excuse for not getting up early to do my yoga

Amanda - can I stow away in your suitcase? I'll pay the extra luggage fee! Sounds like a DREAM vacation for me

I walked and ran like an absolute mad woman for the 3 weeks I was in Italy and I still gained weight. Because I can eat ALOT and I can drink even more. *Sigh*

Jo, I'm pretty sure we were separated at birth. My gain was total food/wine related even though I walked a ton. When we were in London, we walked for 8+ hrs straight.

Greece sounds amazing!! I'm very jealous!

POP today with some gum and water helping with the munchies. How'd everyone else do? (Mud & Julie, you start when you can!). Iris, it is never too late to join!

It has been my dream vacation for some time. Last July, my wife's grandpa died and left some money to the family. Her dad had gone to Italy about 9 months beforehand, and brought Papa back a bottle of really good wine. He kept saving it for a special occasion, and he never drank it before he died. So when he passed, we opened it, toasted him, and promised that we would always "drink the good wine" so to speak, which translated into using a portion of the money for this trip. So it has been a year in the making.

I've never been overseas (only Mexico and Canada) so I'm pretty flipping thrilled.

The scale is still liking my commitment and my being POP, which is where I'm headed today as well.

Does anyone else tend to overeat or eat less healthy things when you're feeling a cold coming on? That eensy bit on throat irritation always leads me the wrong direction... tonight i had some ice cream, which at least came in a single-serving cup so it was portion controlled, but is NOT going to help me get back down to 125!

To those who gained in Europe - I ate a lot but I didn't drink THAT much... maybe that's why I still managed to lose.

Mandalinn, your wife's grandpa sounds like my dad - he's still alive, but big on saving things for "special occasions" which actually means they just collect dust. Enjoy the vacation - sounds great!

For me hot teas (all kinds) and sugar free throat lozenges really keep me from that hand-to-mouth habit when the throat gets scratchy.
Of course, with all that tea, I need to place myself strategically near a restroom