Hi Ladies! I was hoping you guys could maybe give me a little advice. Tomorrow night, the hubs and I are heading down to Disneyland for a long weekend. However, I just started phase one this week. (I know, terrible timing) I know that I could have waited until after vacation to start.. but I know myself well enough to know that I would spend the whole week gorging on carbs in anticipation, and that in the end I’d be mad that I missed out on a week of weightloss. With that said, I know I’m not going to stay 100% on plan (this is a special occasion, and one I think is worth a few splurges here and there) but I don’t want to dive face first into fat fest either. I plan on adding an extra week to my phase 1 to make up for this weekend, but I’m looking for what else I can do to keep this weekend from totally tanking my weightloss efforts.
What kind of snacks would be good to bring with me? We’ll have a refrigerator at our hotel, but we won’t have a cooler at the park. Normally I’m a veggie and a little dip kind of gal, and some egg salad or yogurt, but I’m not sure that any of those things will keep well all day in a backpack. I like nuts, but I know we’re only allowed to have one serving a day so… any ideas? What kind of veggies keep well outside of the fridge all day? (I hate celery, unfortunately)

How should I handle breakfasts? Our hotel has breakfast- but it’s the dreaded continental donut fest. We have a refrigerator, but no microwave. What can I bring with me to eat in the morning that will leave me fairly satisfied but is good eaten cold? I thought about yogurt and some nuts- but I was planning on snacking on nuts in the park during the day and yogurt alone seems a little sad. Or should I just consider a double servings of nuts to be a lesser of two evils type thing?

I’ve already looked at the menus online and picked out restaurants that I can cater to meet my needs (though I’ll probably have 2 off plan meals. A girl cant live on nothing but salads for four days). I’ve already planned out what “splurges” I think are worth it, and sticking to one per day (most of them split with hubs… except my Dole whip. I love those things and only get them in Disneyland) And, as always, we'll be doing TONS of walking.

What else can I do to keep this weekend under control? Any snack or breakfast (or meal) suggestions? Or should I not worry about keeping the weekend SB friendly and just eat in moderation? TIA!

Hi SouthLake and

We have a great thread about staying on plan when travelling, but as I read further I took a moment to rethink things. For sure it is possible to go on vacation and stay on plan (Yes! Even during P1) however if you are planning splurges (one per day), I would conclude it's not the time to be starting Phase 1.

It is super important to do a clean Phase 1, and I think that it's actually much better when you're able to plan and cook from home. Since the purpose of P1 is to get rid of cravings, you won't really be doing that by eating off plan.

I DO believe, however, that it is possible to keep your weekend under control. I would consider eating in moderation and even??eating healthy whenever possible. It doesn't hurt to work on those new habits. Any chance of going out to breakfast? Do they have oatmeal? Continental breakfasts can have a few positive attributes.

I'd say have a great vacation and come home and do a stick to the book Phase 1. Best wishes! Make sure to come back and visit upon your return. SBD (or any plan) is much easier with great company! I can say from experience, the Beachers are great here!

Welcome Southlake! You have quite a challenge ahead of you and I am very impressed that you started and didn't wait. I think you may struggle to keep on PH1 but can come close. It sure can't hurt you to try! If you don't manage to keep on the plan, you can start fresh when you get home.

On my last trip, and the one tomorrow, I brought roasted chick peas. I also dehydrated veggies, zucchini and cucumbers and tomatoes. I am planning to slice peppers and bring those tomorrow and think they can probably hold up awhile outside. Also I am bringing cherry tomatoes.

I have not figured out my own breakfast yet but just baked the coffee cake on here, PH2 friendly, to see if that might work for me. I really want to find a way to keep up with fiber and protein.

I actually surprised myself and lost weight on my last vacation. I ate salads for most lunches, with chicken or taco meat on top for protein. I did not worry about sugar in the dressing but had very little on the side. For dinners I chose as well as I could and always asked for double veggies instead of potatoes. I also find I snack less on an active vacation... and Disney is active!

Have a great trip!

I misunderstood that you had already started P1...my suggestion to wait doesn't make much sense. Oops!

Hi! I looked to see if there was a sticky about foods to bring on vacation, but I didn't see it. But here are a few threads that might help: 1 2 3

Sounds like you have a lot of the basics. I bring red pepper strips when I do a crudite thing. They keep for maybe a day cut up, but if you bring it whole and slice it as needed, that would be better. (I keep a small cutting board, knife and cheese slicer in the outside pocket of my cooler...) Same for cucumbers. Also, if you like raw broccoli and cauliflower, they keep well.

A favorite of mine to bring is cabbage salad. Sounds weird but I love it - just shredded cabbage (no carrots for Phase 1) with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. It keeps for days cold and gets better after a day or so. I often have with with grilled/baked tofu, which if you like, you can make ahead and keep cold or buy pre-packaged marinated, baked tofu to cut in strips. But probably you don't need any more salad ideas...

Here are some non-egg breakfast ideas that might work in a room with no microwave. Many involve cottage cheese. There are some smoothies, which is a great idea for you if you can bring a small blender.

On the go, I often have a hard-boiled egg or two with sliced tomatoes or V-8 juice. I bring the little cans when I travel so they are easy to bring one at a time. I like the Morningstar Farms sausage patties at room temperature, so you might try that (although I haven't tried them without microwaving them first - I think they're fully cooked already but it might have a strange texture if you just thaw/let come to room temp overnight).

I usually travel with cups of instant soup that I find in natural food stores - black bean in particular is my favorite but also split pea, lentil, etc. - all you need is hot water. Also tuna pouches - easy to eat straight out of them and no draining required.

That's all I can think of for now. If you plan to delve into Phase 2, there are lots more options - oatmeal, whole wheat bread/pita sandwiches, etc. etc.

Wow - have a great time. Please report back with your success. I always welcome new ways to be even more prepared for time away from home! [ETA: like the roasted chickpeas, great idea!!]

You guys are awesome- thanks!

Had a bit of a wavering "maybe I should just froget about this whole thing and just have fun on vacation".... which turned into a very off plan dinner (and the scale was not happy) But I'm back to center and I know I can do this.

I've got a nice nut blend, some roasted chickpeas (yummmmm) and sunflower seeds. Hopefully I'll grab some cut up cauliflower and broccoli too.

I'm going to try just having yogurt for breakfast (plain sugar free stuff + lemon extract + packet of splenda= heaven) and let myself have one splurge meal and 2 splurge snacks for the trip. I'm going to stick to the amount of veggies per day I need, and make a conscious effort to increase how much walking I do (maybe do a couple laps around the park in addition to the normal walking).

While I'd love to lose weight (or at the very least drop the pound of water weight I magically gained this morning)- my goal is just not to gain. Wish me luck!

This is great that you've posted this! I am going to Disneyworld this weekend and started Phase 1 on Monday. How did you do on your vacation to Disneyland?

Thanks everyone for the tips! Roasted chickpeas, here I come!!

I did well on my trip- but didn't actually stick to South Beach. I split all my meals with DH, we made good choices about what we ate, and came home without gaining any weight. I actually lost a little.

But, I did learn a lot about the options they have there, and I know Disnyworld has more. The roasted chickpeas were great, and so was having a bag of mixed nuts. It really helped keep me from going crazy. Also, tons and tons of water. Bring a camelback or big water bottle if you can.

Most places have a salad option, which is good, though I didn't really see any lowfat dressings so accept that, to some extent, you're not going to be able to follow everything perfectly. Though, in typical Disney customer service fashion, just about every resturant will let you double up on veggies or make a sub somewhere to get your side dishes in order.

I think the best thing you can do is to be realistic and honest with yourself and set the best goals you can. You don't want to go in there with higher than attainable goals and be frustrated, fail, and jumpoff the wagon. Then again, you don't want to play the "oh I guess I can't do it so might as well dip my churro in my icecream and top it with a pretzel and cover it all in chocolate syrup". Is it possible to stick to a clean phase 1 while you're there? Yes, but it is admittedly quite difficult, and was more effort than I was willing to put up. But, I made good goals for myself and left happy with the decisions I made. And, most importantly, Monday went right back to a by the book phase 1.

You can absolutely do this- just make sure you know it!

And have fun at Disneyworld- hubs and I are dying to head out there some time!

Thanks for the tips SouthLake! I am definitively going to bring nuts and chickpeas and eat salads at the restaurants. Not being able to drink beer is going to be a challenge but I am glad I love sparkling water and I can substitute with that.

Have a good week!