I'm going to be going on a family vacation soon. I'll admit right up front that I'm torn.
One part of me says that this is something that happens once a year. Enjoy it and get back to it when I return. Another part of me says that isn't wise. To be honest, I'm not even certain I have the willpower or committment to stay on plan while I'm gone. That's why I'm thinking about it now. I'm trying to plan. Trying to decide what is best and how to make it happen.
Any opinions? My guess most people will say be good during vacation. If so, would you mind giving me any hints on how to stay successful when everyone else is indulging? (my husband and son can eat all they want and are lean and muscular)
Being good is hard nowadays with restaurant portions being out of control. I remember spending almost two weeks on a cruise and coming home a few pounds lighter. It only worked because the courses were small (and I didn't have every course at every meal).
You may not be doing a low carb plan, but I sometimes find that aiming for lower carb eating when eating out helps.
ie. Breakfast - egg/egg white omelet, fruit (skip the toast)
Lunch - grilled meat with a lot of salad (light on the dressing)
Dinner - simply prepared meat with veggies (drop the rice and/or potato)
Pick a certain number of times you'll have a dessert and stick to it. Say two or three times at the most. And make sure that it's something you really want, not just because it's there. If your vacation is active you can likely be less restrictive than you usually are.
Oh, and when you're home - stay off the scale for one week.
I know darn well that even making best choices, restaraunt servings and ingredients are going to mean more calories than I would normally eat so I double my exercise.
I do not diet on vacation. But, I don't eat as many meals either, because I am eating out. Usually just twice a day. My last vacation I didn't gain a pound, and I think it is because of how active I was. Take that into consideration too.
If you'll be doing restaurants daily, consider asking for a "doggy bag" up front, then bag half your order before eating. That and making sure you're active should go a long way!
Either way, I agree that you shouldn't weigh yourself for a week after you've been home again... so if you're going to indulge I'd say vacation time is the time to do it
My advice is to pick one day and do not diet and just enjoy eating (say thanksgiving) but do not go overboard as that one day can make you gain weight. Just take smaller portions of anything you wish to eat for that one day! After that get right back on plan the rest of the trip.
I do not diet on vacation. But, I don't eat as many meals either, because I am eating out. Usually just twice a day. My last vacation I didn't gain a pound, and I think it is because of how active I was. Take that into consideration too.
I agree with this. Part of vacation is doing things that you normally don't get to do and to me that includes food. Although I don't suggest OVEReating I do suggest you enjoy yourself. Then as soon as you get home get right back on track. (this is ususally the hard part for me)
Since I use calorie counting as my weight loss/maintenance method, I've become very choosey of what I eat since there are only so many calories to use up during the day and I can't afford to use it up on something that's not good. This isn't to say that I didn't relax a bit during vacations. Instead of eating to lose, I would eat to maintain during my vacations.
But best strategy is that I try not to make food a big focal point of my vacation. I am willing to try new foods and explore, but I don't use a vacation as an excuse to go all out crazy. Focus on all the fun activities and if you are exercising, make sure you continue to do some form of it, even if it's just some push ups, crunches and stretching in the hotel room.
Our vacations are usually cruises and on our last cruise, I actually lost weight. I eat what I want but I never eat past being satisfied. Sometimes it's only a bite I want and that's what I eat. I also use the vacation as an opportunity to eat new foods. Also, many nights instead of dessert I would have a fruit plate. I would take a bite of dh's if it looked good but I was so satisfied from eating what I wanted that I didn't really want a gooey or rich dessert.
Also, I always had salad first to take the edge off my hunger. At breakfast, I'd eat a grapefruit half before I even looked at the breakfast menu.
Last edited by cassieroll; 11-27-2009 at 12:40 PM.
I've started coming up with a daily food plan, just like a normal week, while understanding that my weekly count will be higher than usual. Then when I'm gone, I try to stick to what I've planned. However, I don't try to update everything each day or when I return. I figure that some of the things I plan on having I don't have, and some I have more of, so as long as I follow the sketched-out guidelines, I should be good
How do you handle dieting during vacation?
