I gotta be honest, I don't even try to stay on my diet while I'm on vacation. It takes just as many calories to put on a pound as it does to take off a pound (that's 3,500 calories), so I'd have to eat 500 calories above my maintainence level (not the level I'm eating at to lose weight) for 7 days to gain a pound. And while it's conceivable that I could do this, it's unlikely that I'm going to gain more than a few pounds and I figure I'll just lose them again once I'm back on my program. I figure, it's a vacation--part of enjoying it is relaxing about my food. My guess is that at least part of the weight you are seeing from your vacation is just water and it will come back off again pretty quickly. I've taken several vacations/business trips (one of which was a 7-day trip to Mexico that involved A LOT of margaritas--very high in calories, way higher than the wine you were drinking) since I started counting calories and while I didn't continue to lose on any of them, I didn't gain either.
I do have some strategies for keeping thinks under control while I'm on vacation, though:
1. Exercise. Whatever it takes--getting up early to use the hotel gym, finding a local gym with a day rate--I try to get at least half an hour of cardio in every day. That helps me relax about my food choices. I actually get up earlier when I'm on vacation than I do at home so that I can get my exercise out of the way before we start our day. At first it was just desperation but now I find it's a nice start to the day. I feel awake and refreshed by the time we get to breakfast, rather than sluggish, and I can feel smug about it all day.
2. No beverages with calories unless they also have alcohol. It's so easy to find a satisfying alternative to soda and other caloric beverages, why bother with them, even on vacation. Also, drinking lots of water will help reduce dehydration and water retention, always a problem when traveling. But if I were on a tour of wine country, you can be sure I'd be drinking the wine!
3. Make healthy choices when it doesn't really impact my overall enjoyment of the trip. If given the choice of a side of fries or fruit, I choose the fruit. I hold the mayo and often the cheese on sandwiches. If I have a choice between and hamburger and a garden burger, I choose the gardenburger.
4. Go easy on baked goods and desserts. I avoid breakfast pastries and I don't usually order dessert. Most restaurant entries are plenty filling without dessert. I also don't order appetizers unless something looks really good. If I want an appetizer, I'll have a green salad.
5. Bring healthy snacks that pack well. I always bring a few low calorie nutrition bars and some nuts. Sometimes I also bring apples. That way, if I need a snack, I've got something that is a little healthier than what is typically available in kiosks, stores, hotels, snack shops, fast food restaurants, etc. Also, if you are flying, you never know when you'll be trapped on a plane without food due to weather/equipment delays, etc. Sometimes I will substitute a nutrition bar for either lunch or dinner. If I bring a big bag of nuts, I also bring a 1/4 cup measure, so I know how much I'm eating.
- Barbara
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