I've been on plan since January (a small slip up here and there, but no major gains). However, I'm about to be faced with my first real challenge. I'm heading to NYC on vacation for 8 nights and I'm already panicking. 8 nights of dinners out, busy schedule and out of my comfort zone. In the past, vacations have been the catalyst to a diet failing and I think a lot of my success this time around is due to my routine.

Does anyone have any tips for trying to stay on plan even when on vacation? I know what I should do (eat healthy and still exercise), but not sure how I'm going to make sure I do it haha.

For me, taking a scale along would help. I find it empowering to stay on plan when I know exactly what my weight is every morning.

Look up restaurant menus on line. Go in with a game plan. Are you going to allow yourself 1 "special item" per meal or are you going to eat 100% on plan with 1 "special meal", or are you somewhere in between? Will you be with active people who you can get some exercise in with, or are you going to need to plan a time before/after?

Plan, plan, plan!

Good luck!

Chris

I went to Turkey for two weeks for work. I managed to lose 7 pounds during that time. Here are some tips:

1) look into buying a digital travel scale ($20 on Amazon) so you can weigh daily

2) if there is a gym at your hotel, find it and use it.

3) go light for breakfast. Everywhere will offer a boiled egg which you can marry with a fruit salad or ordinary salad.

4) pick the heathy options for lunch and dinner. Salads are widely available. Avoid bread and skip dessert.

5) avoid the food on the plane.

6) allow yourself to have one or two off-plan meals.

Good luck. It's not easy but doable.

You can do this!
Plan your menus as much as possible ahead of time. Don't drink your calories and only eat half of your plate at restaurants.

Good luck!

Thanks for the great advice everyone! The scale idea is something I didn't even think of and it's a great idea. I'll try to find a travel one or have my sister pick one up in New York before I get there. It will be good to know where I stand everyday as opposed to just hoping for the best.

My hotel has a gym and a mini fridge which I plan on stocking with healthy breakfast items so that I can start the day strong. The biggest thing will be the food choices, but as long as I make the better choice 95% of the time, I should make it through ok. Hopefully this will be my first "healthy me" vacation

You will do a ton of walking in NYC. That will help. Eat 1/2 of your dinners....you'll be full anyway. Also, enjoying a special vacation is ok...don't binge...And pass right by White Castle....it's terrible!

You already said this, yes, eat as many meals as you can from your hotel fridge! Bring bars of some sort, stock up a bit when you get there. Nuts make a great snack. I just went away for the weekend, and brought a whole bunch of food and bought a little bit when I got there and I managed to stay on my plan. Also, don't freak out if you see a gain when you get back. If you haven't eaten thousands of extra calories, it is probably water and will come off. Good luck, have a great trip. NY is great this time of year, not too hot yet