I know a lot of people have trouble with staying on plan over the weekend. Normally, since my husband works weekends, I stay pretty close to the same schedule. We have four children (ages 12 - 1), so they like to eat at the same times, and stay active.

Well, this weekend, we are going out of town for DH's folks' 50th Anniversary. Talk about STRESS. All six of us are staying in a tiny hotel room in a small town, I'm NOT the favorite of his sisters (I like his Mom for 1, they don't), and the food...Buffet on Saturday night, luncheon on Sunday, reception with cake...AAAHHH!!!

I also won't get my workout in on Sunday which sorta gripes me. DH wants to stay until 6pm or so...we have a 2.5hr drive home...and the next day is Monday with my babysitting clients coming at 7am.

Between my SIL's not liking me, managing 4 children through the drive & hotel & events, and the food, I'm very worked up about this trip.

I'm going to bring some protein bars and stay away from food that I can't eat (even if it means not eating anything but the protein bars). I'm going to bring plenty of activities for the kids - maybe I'll even buy a couple new coloring books or a new DVD. And I am planning on SMILING even though this is a total nightmare for me. I love my in-laws, they are really beautiful people, and I'm happy to celebrate with them.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Any other suggestions would be well received!!

Are you bringing a laptop or a portable DVD player? You might think about bringing Jillian along to your hotel room! The Shred is quick, intense, and will probably kill the 'no workout Sunday' gloom! I know it will be gravy since you are doing P90X, but at least your muscles won't atrophy over the weekend! LOL!


As far as snacking and cake-- I would just stay as busy as possible, and try to stay away from the dessert table. If you MUST have cake-- they may have a diabetic option that could possibly not kill your calories. This is a 50th anniversary--so we're talking late 60's early 70's right? At least SOME of those guests should be diabetic...

No advice on the hateful relatives-- well, I have some- but the censors won't like it! Just shake them off!

Will be facing this myself in about a month! The tiny hotel room...makes me shudder! Children and hotel rooms are just large torture chambers.

BUT, there's probably a pool! I'd made big use of that. You could even swim laps or tread water.

As for food, make it a plan to fill up on all healthy stuff first and allow yourself a little treat to end the meal. That's what I would do, anyway. There are generally healthy options too.

weekends are my hardest! Push through and plan im sure you will be fine

thanks gals! I knew I could count on you!!

you could bring some healthy foods for in the car and hotel room. carrots, carb/calorie friendly foods. find out if they will have a microwave/fridge available. you could eat something healthy before you go to the buffet and such. if you think veggies, low cal. options will be scarce. i know it would be with my family. everything is covered in butter,mayo.

maybe you could bring a yoga dvd with you too. the one with p90x, borrow from library, or buy one. if yoga relaxes you. you could even do some kinds of yoga with the kids, not so relaxing, but you might not have alone time.

also, you could try to think of the food with something wrong with it. like if it has lots of fat, picture the fat it would add to your hips/tummy. picture bugs on it. people not washing their hands when they prepared it. whatever works for you.

i went apple picking with family recently. turned out to be a really long day. with my only choices of food all unappealing. dirty apples, calorie/fat loaded food, and sky high prices.
so i thought about it, and i decided (1 decision at a time) to wait until later. maybe we would go to eat somewhere. i ended up just eating at home. it just wasn't worth it to me. Of course, i wasn't stressed out or being pressured. But it can be done. Try to choose carefully. maybe you could make a quick trip to a local grocery store by the hotel. pick up something healthy.

i hope you find a plan that works for you. and i'm enjoying following your blog. keep it up!

I know this won't work for everybody but if I have some special event like a work trip or family visit, I don't worry to much about keeping up with my diet/exercise. I figure one week or one weekend isn't going to make a huge difference. If it's already going to be a stressful time, don't be too hard on yourself with the dieting. Pack some healthy snacks and enjoy the other meals!

Good luck!

Thanks for all the ideas!

I took apples/bananas/protein bars/jerky with me. I had NOTHING that I shouldn't have. I was actually hungry most of the time. There was NO room in the hotel room for exercise. It was so small that we had to put our oldest on an air mattress blocking the door and the baby in the porta-crib blocking the bathroom! Though I did get plenty of exercise chasing our kids around at a church service, luncheon, reception, wow.

Though, just my luck, I got on the scale this morning to a .4lb GAIN. W. T. H. ???

Oh well...I know I did right, so that's okay.

I'm sure you'll see a loss next week if you did all that exercise and ate right!

Jojo - I LOVE the quote on your signature. I can be a little...intense...driven...stubborn, and your quote sums up my thoughts on things! WE CAN DO IT!!