How do you handle vacations or holidays as us brits call it!
 

As some of you may already know (god knows im excited enough!) i'm going to Egypt for two weeks on 23rd June... thats less than 6 weeks away and i cannot wait.

Its a 5 star all inclusive resort and all food and drink is included...

Obviously i cannot eat the salads there as they are washed in local water and the cause of pharoahs revenge (BAAAD stomach upset) im picky enough that i dont have ice, and brush my teeth in bottled water... no salads allowed!

The hotel specialty is stone baked pizzas and fresh pasta on the beach which is just my idea of heaven...

im concerned i may blow all the weight i lose whilst there as i gain very fast... im also aware that i dont want to worry all holiday about what im eating as it will spoil it!

i plan on doing some serious swimming and snorkelling whilst there and plenty of walking... i'll also be drinking gallons of water and trying not to drink the beer too much ;)

any other tips.. easy ways to keep my cals lower but still enjoy my holiday?

Enjoy your vaction!
I think the biggest thing is to watch your portion sizes. Go ahead and eat pizza, but don't eat enough for 3 people. Have a beer, but not 6. And do a lot of walking!
Have fun!

The only advice I can think of to try to keep from gaining back the weight while traveling is to keep a close eye on portions. Restaurants serve portions that are way too large for what we need and it's hard to keep from "cleaning the plate!" If you have the option of a refrigerator in your room, it's easy to take leftovers to save as mini-meals instead of raiding a candy machine (do they have those in Egypt?) Not having salads would be very hard for me, but I also would not want to get sick. We're getting ready for a trip also-to Idaho to see our newest granddaughter! The most difficulty I have is choosing the best options when we stop at fast-food places, which we do for the whole trip, since we have to go cheap (we do take along healthy snacks for in the car), but it takes 3 days to get there and we do some sight-seeing on the way, so fast food is just so much easier than making sandwiches every night in the hotel, and trying to keep them fresh in the cooler! I do skip the colas and look for the healthiest item, but chicken sandwiches only go so far and then I want a Big Mac! But, just watch the portions, not toooo much beer (not into that myself), but enjoy your trip! It really sounds like a great adventure!:)

I agree about portions. Since you don't want to be "watching" all the time, the best way is probably to have what sounds good, but limit how much you eat of it. For example, you know what a serving of pasta looks like, right? (If not, go cook some and measure 1/2 cup.) So, do it that way, and don't give in to the temptation to eat "the whole thing" that they serve you.

You can do this with any food--meat, desserts, beverages. In this way you may be able to minimize the damage but still have a good time!

How exciting for you! :woohoo:

Jay

thanks guys!

i agree on the portions... im hoping it is so hot i wont be hungry anyway

right now it is 42 degrees celsius where we are going... and it gets hotter when we are gonna be there... usually my appetite drops during hot weather...

doubt there are candy machines there? although ive seen pictures of some of the food and it looks out of this world:

http://1.2.3.10/bmi/media-cdn.tripad...7/6b/yummy.jpg

http://1.2.3.12/bmi/media-cdn.tripad...carte-dish.jpg

Maybe I'm lucky but I usually don't worry too much about food on vacations and I tend to get lots of exercise. I usually end up losing weight on vacations due to the amount of walking/what not. One reason I love vacations :)

Same advice here - watch your portions. Ask for half portions from the start (or split with someone else). As a last resort, split the portion on your plate and overly salt the portion you do not intend to eat.

Lots of veggies and fruits if possible - control the carbs and desserts and alcohol.

Exercise as much as you can. I take a stretchie (resistance band) with me in my suitcase and stretch every morning.

Walk wherever you can. Get off the bus a stop early, get dropped off a few blocks away, take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.

My main strategies while on vacation are:

1. Exercise. Not just walking or other vacation activities but in addition to those activities. I'm in the fitness center for 1/2 hour of cardio every day, no matter what else is on the agenda. Not only does it help in terms of burning off calories, but now eating foods that are significantly higher in fat and sugar than what I usually eat and drinking more alcohol than normal causes me to have heartburn. 1/2 hour of cardio a day is like a miracle cure; it is amazing how much better I feel when I do it.
2. Don't drink beverages with calories unless they also have alcohol. No alcohol during the day, only at night. My tolerance is way to low to be drinking alcohol during the day anyway. ;)
3. Skip dessert.
4. Portion control. Only eat when I'm hungry and only until I'm not hungry anymore.

Other than that, I usually just enjoy myself and eat whatever I want. I usually start out trying to make healthy choices (egg-white omelets for breakfast, salads with dressing on the side) but that usually stops pretty quickly. My motto is, whatever I gain, I lost it once, I can lose it again!

Paula

I spent two weeks in Egypt over Easter and was also all inclusive. I came back the same weight I went out there and lost 3lb only two days later. I think if you are staying in a 5* hotel you will have no problems with the salad items as they will be washed in bottled water. Its good advice if eating at local restaurants but at the large internationally owned hotels they will follow high standards of hygiene. BTW, no Pharoah's revenge in our party.

You will probably mainly eat buffet style where there is plenty of choice. I found it not too bad eating with the exception of meats where they were often cooked in sauces that I was uncertain of what was in them and chicken was nearly alway boned portions with the skin still on. I only ever went to the main course buffet once for each meal and avoided the dessert buffet. I had some lovely vegetable soups but my biggest challenge was limiting the quantities of the lovely fresh baked breads available at every meal.

What you really need to be careful of over indulging on IMHO is alcoholic drinks. Its easy when all inclusive to try all the lovely cocktails available or have wine and beer with every meal. I limited my intake to only one alcoholic drink a day and drank mainly water or the hibiscus tea that they serve (hot or cold).

My advice is that you can still have a lovely time without overdoing it.

BTW where are you going?

Kitty

sharm el sheikh... tropicana grand azure hotel. i cant wait...!

im a bit wary of the salads still as i went to turkey last year all inc and ate the salads and i got sick!

maybe i should ask the chefs?

Wow, sounds like a dream vacation!! I've always had vacations myself that are very active and never gained and even sometimes lost weight. One good thing about a lot of tourist destinations is that you CAN walk everywhere if you can stand the heat!! :-) If you choose to walk then just have lots of bottled water with you on hand. I'd recommend bringing a backpack to do that. I'd also ask about the salads being washed in regular water or with bottled water too! Doesn't hurt to ask. Have fun!

I can relate -- our family with to Club Med last year for a week. All you can eat and all you can drink, yikes! I was able to survive the week with minimal weight gain by keeping crazy-active and watching portions. I love all of the sports activities, so I was literally on the go all day long, happily burning calories. My strategy for the buffets was to take tiny little portions of everything I wanted, keeping space between each portion on the plate. That way I could have anything and everything, but only in small spoonfuls, and it limited the amount of food I could get at any one time. (No piling or stacking!) It also forced me to slow down my consumption because I would have to get back up and make another round at the buffet to get more food. I also really like the veggies, salad, and broiled meats, so I ate more of those anyway. I still felt like I got all I wanted, but I'm sure it was less than it could have been. Just another strategy to think about!

You can check about the food at your hotel -- I've traveled all over the place including Mexico, China, etc, and never had any problems with food at the major hotels, although I've had to watch the drinking water. I can understand about wanting to be safe rather than sorry though, but hopefully you can get steamed or grilled cooked veggies instead.

Enjoy the trip!!

Maybe I'm lucky because when I went to China for 2 weeks, I ate like a pig and came back 6 lbs lighter. When I went to Antarctica there was less walking, I came back the same weight (although I gained weight AFTER).

My next vacation will probably be with these people:
http://www.walkingvacations.com/

With walks from 5-9 miles per day.

I would "spoil" myself with one meal a day. The 2 other meals of the day, I'd be watching the calories. But definitely one "I'm on vacation" meal a day! Enjoy!!! By the way...it is absolutely true that your appetite will decrease in the hot weather. I myself live in Mexico and the weather is also in the 40s. But watch out for those alcoholic beverages!!! Enjoy! Can't wait to see how you did when you get back.