As some of you may remember, I was going on a vacation to see my parents and was worried about my eating while I was there. I decided to enjoy myself while I was there and not worry about what I ate. Well, I am back and I now have to face the consequences of my decision. As a nasty souvenir, I brought back 6.5 lbs of added weight!!! I am soooo regretting my decision to eat badly. I was doing so good, I had lost 8 lbs and now I am almost at my starting weight. I had no idea that I could gain that much weight in 2 weeks. I knew I would have gained weight, but I didn't think I would gain that much weight. I did eat a big bowl of chili before weighing myself, though, so I will weigh myself again tomorrow morning before I eat and hope that it is less. I have to get back on track now. I feel absolutely horrible and mad at myself. Grrrh!

Don't panic!

First off, most of it is probably water weight. To gain 6.5 lbs in two weeks, you'd have to eat an average of 1625 calories a day more than you burned! So most of it will probably fall off if you push water for the next few days.

Second, eating a bowl of chili before will also definitely push the scale up. Think about what that chili weighed - a pound, maybe a bit more? So that got added onto your scale weight.

Push water, wait a couple days, and relax. The amount left after a few days of diligent water intake will be much less than 6.5 lbs.

I agree, some of that is probably water weight. Drink lots of water and that will help shed some of that.

I've been on travel since last Thursday and I think I've pretty much stayed the same weight. I've written down everything I've had, and only had one "off" day where I couldnt resist the brownie in the Starbucks window. I've learned through experience that it is just not worth it to say "who cares, I'm travelling" or "who cares, i'm on vacation" because once I get back, I definitely care!

I'm going on vacation next week. I am also afraid I'll bring back an unexpected unwanted souvenir. I'm already planning on exercising at the hotel I'm staying at. However, Im afraid I won't stick to my diet and exercise, after all I am going to Sin City. Temptation will be all around. I think it will be a true test to my will power.

I have to agree that it probably isn't all fat weight. I agree with pushing lots and lots of water to flush out the salt and what-not that your body may be holding onto. I Know that can be depressing to see but don't lose faith. Just drink lots of water and get back on plan.

I have to agree with the fact of saying no to the "i'm on vacation...i'm going to enjoy myself". I believe in enjoying a treat every now and again, but mostly we need to try to stay on plan as much as possible...or we will be re-losing what we've worked so hard to achieve.

Try not to be so hard on yourself. Once you drink lots of water, you'll start to see your weight come back down.

I'm quite familiar with this one. I went on vacation at the beginning of the month, and spent 11 days in Florida. When I came back, I waited until the next morning to get on the scale, and found out that I'd somehow gained 17 FREAKING POUNDS. I just about had a heart attack right then.

However, during the next week I lost 15 lbs, just about all of it water weight, so my real gain for the 11 days was most likely about 2-3 lbs tops. It's amazing how quickly and how badly eating the wrong foods will effect us!

Look at this as practice for life after weight loss. Your life is going to include vacations, temptations, parties, birthday cake, holiday meals, fancy dinners to celebrate promotions, etc. Instead of weight loss, focus on weight maintenance - make healthy decisions as often as you can.

For example - breakfast. Most hotel rooms have a microwave or a coffee pot. I bring my own oatmeal/dried blueberries, bowl, measuring cup and spoon - voila healthy breakfast everyday.

Some fruit travels very well (oranges, apples, pears) so you can have healthy snacks on hand.

For buffets, think of rules you will follow before you are faced with the decadent temptation - 1 plate, no refills, take tiny bits of things you want to try, make sure you get some vegetables.

Stay away from bread baskets and watch your alcohol intake. Split desserts. Order the smallest sizes possible.

And...do plan to indulge yourself at least once. You are on vacation, have one great dinner!

Act like you are at your goal weight and want to stay there, this is EXCELLENT practice!

Oh bummer for you. But it could be water weight from indulging yourself. I have noticed now that whenever I eat something that's not so great for my body and I really feel bloated the next day since I have quit all fast foods and eating sweets and junk on a daily basis. There is some really good advice up above.

Deep breath. This isn't the end of the world. First of all, weighing yourself shortly after eating, at least in my experience, always adds a pound or two. So wait til morning and see what it says...that's usually a more true reading.

You have taken the first step: realized what happened. You can't beat yourself up, because that isn't going to remove any pounds you may have gained. All you can do is get back on track, and go from there. We all slip, we all make poor decisions; we're all human. Just jump back on the wagon and keep moving forward.

Thank you everyone. I never thought about some of it being water weight, but it's probably true. I ate out a lot, which you know has lots of sodium. Also, I haven't been drinking water at ALL. Yesterday, I had 1 cup of coffee and about 15 oz of Lipton White Raspberry tea. I will hold out hope for water weight! The bright side: it has made me panic and want to exercise...my hubby and I are going to look into buying bikes to go riding on the weekends.

You know, I think I would have done better if I would have entered my food in Fitday while I was gone or at least written it down.

And I MAY have eaten that much over what I burned...I ate pretty badly. I am crossing my fingers for water weight!

Take it as an opportunity to learn. Plan out how you should have handled things. Write it down. Next time you go on vacation, pull out that paper and remind yourself!

Glory 87,

Thanx for the advice. Everything you said makes perfect sense.

I was on vacation last week. I wasn't even particularly "bad". I was eating what I kind of thought was maintenance, although I'll admit that I wasn't c. However, when I got home, after 5 days, I had gained 14 lbs!!!! That was 6 days ago, and I was back down to ticker this morning.

Wow...14 lbs...that's crazy! After weighing myself this morning, I got back on track in a hurry today. I am tracking my food again in Fitday. I'm glad to hear of your experience, it gives me hope!