I do not want to go crazy with being super strict while we are on a mini vacation, but I also want to make sensible decisions. Like, have nice low carb dinners/meals, but if we stop to have a highly recommended dessert, then I will have dessert. Trouble times are breakfasts (as hotels have crap for breakfast offerings) and FINDING quality foods with reasonable calorie counts. Since I don't know exactly where we will be eating, it's hard to check menus beforehand and we always opt for local, hole in the wall, highly recommended places over chain restaurants. Restaurant food will be half of the trip. The other half will be staying with family. Well, we will be staying in a hotel, but eating with family. Now how do you handle that? Now, i can honestly say I'm having issues with my blood sugar unless I stay away from simple carbs and it should be easy enough for them to understand no bread, rice, pasta (I hope), but I also have to find enough food to fill me. I can't fill my stomach on green peppers and carrots!

Do people take snacks/food with you? Like, should I bring my protein shakes or protein bars for supplement? Maybe cheese sticks or hummus? We will be driving, so I could bring a cooler to keep things cool. or is that going overboard?

Just what do you do? And no, I will not be bringing a scale with me - no way! But it is during my "whoosh" time of the month, so I don't want to lose all my downward movement on the scale, because I only lose for 7-10 days a month. otherwise I stall out. That would depress the crap out of me if I just get off a stall, gain during my normal weight loss period just to face another stall for another 2.5-3 weeks. Two months of no movement on the scale would be really hard to deal with mentally.

I do not think planning ahead as best you are able is "going overboard". If keeping a small cooler with snacks helps you make healthier choices, then all the more power to you! In fact, doing that and bringing along your usual protein bars/shakes sounds like a great idea to keep your food as normal and balanced as you do at home.

Definitely bring a cooler! We pretty much always bring one when we drive for a holiday--especially for breakfasts (and even when we're not trying to lose weight!). Yogurt, string cheese, hummus, boiled eggs, carrots, water, etc etc.

I also have a high functioning autistic son with pretty limited foods so I will bring his favorites. That cooler will be full! But I can refill as needed to (especially kiddy food).

I'm hoping all the walking and movement during the trip will keep any weight gain to a minimum. My history in the past is that I don't gain during vacations, but I don't lose either. I would realllllly like to lose a bit. I just got to under 200 and then stalled. (I lose extremely cyclically with my menstrual cycle. I don't lose during TTOM or after and then gain around ovulation and then have a huge whoosh about 4-5 days after ovulation until TTOM starts. So every month I will bounce around the same 1-2 pounds for 2-3 weeks and then lose 8-12 pounds in 7-10 days. My vacation just ties in with the WHOOSH time of the month. it would be very depressing to miss that weight loss until the last bit of August!

I don't think a cooler is overboard at all for a roadtrip. Makes perfect sense to me. We usually do this even for simple day trips. We hike a good bit, in fairly remote areas where we 1) might not find a restaurant and 2) we often have the dog with us, which makes restaurant eating difficult, so we're in a habit of packing whatever meals or snacks were likely to want. I don't carb count, so it's often just sandwiches, fruit, trail mix, etc.

There's always a way with restaurants, although you sometimes have to think outside the box. Consider appetizers or splitting, since taking home leftovers won't be as easy as usual. On my most recent vacation, I just dealt with restaurants by trying not to go too overboard. Have fun! By this point, you have a sense of what's reasonable and what's not. Don't stress about it, but don't throw everything you know out the window either.

While you're with family, eat whatever parts of their meals your comfortable eating, and suplement with your own food. If they're super sensitive about it, just don't tell them that's what you're doing.

I'd definitely pack a cooler...and I'd mention watching my carb intake/blood sugar concerns in advance so they can come up with ideas in advance instead of last minute. I wouldn't be shy about stopping by a grocery store and bringing salad fixings for a meal either.

I went on a cruise at the end of May, and I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. I stuck to my low-carb stuff most of the time. I did have desserts. I would take a cooler with you. It will be better to have your old standbys when you are faced with an off-plan decision. I will say this, while I did not lose, I did not gain, either. And, yes, it did stall me out. The scale is just now starting to move again. I know how discouraging it is, but you can do this! I think in my case, my vacation kind-of got me off track for a bit. I was eating more carby stuff when I came back. Not a lot, but enough to stall things out. Having a Fitday account has helped me see where I've detoured, and get me back on track. I don't like tracking food, per se, but it does help me focus when things get out of control.

Have fun on your vacation! I know how hard it can be, but you can get through it.

I try to simplify as much as possible. For me, bringing a cooler of food would stress me out more (although since you have to bring your son's food anyway, maybe it wouldn't be a big deal for you). When I vacation, I try to just cut way down on portions and/or eat just two meals a day rather than three. I don't waste my calories on foods that I know I can eat any time, and I do not feel guilty for eating those "once-in-a-blue-moon" treats. I do try to get in activity throughout the day (my sister and mother are big exercise fans, and even though I'm not, it's not so bad if I have them to keep me company). Finally, if you think you may have gained a pound or two, just don't bother weighing yourself when you get home. Wait until you've been back on plan for a week.

Have a great time!

I've started calling my cooler my BFF. My plan (Dukan Diet) is a bit more restrictive than calorie counting, even with a focus on low carbs, so having my on plan foods with me means I can relax and enjoy whatever activity I'm doing without having to think about whether or not I can find the foods I want to eat and enjoy.

I struggle with this too, mostly because eating at restaurants has always been the highlight of vacations for me. As a child/teen, I loved going to Florida for a week each year with the family because we got to eat out for almost every meal. (Parents would occasionally cook in the condo kitchen but usually only for breakfast and 2-3 lunches during the entire week.) So when I go on vacation as an adult, one of the best parts for me is eating out.

But my parents did bring a cooler of snacks/food for our 14+ hour drive down to Florida and back. My girlfriend and I are making an 8+ hour trip to Sandusky, Ohio, (Cedar Point, baby!) at the end of August, and we'll definitely be packing a cooler of healthy snacks and drinks to avoid the temptation to stock up on Little Debbie snack cakes along the way.

I just wanted to add something. A part of your concern stems from the fact that the vacation occurs during your whoosh. Your whoosh will happen. I just don't see any way that it won't. You know that the weight lost during the whoosh is won throughout the month. The other side of that coin is that you can't possibly ruin it by eating a little differently during the time that it normally happens. You might hold onto that extra water for a couple days, but it's still going to have to go eventually. I really doubt your body would hold onto the extra salt/carb water, plus your normal TOM water. See what I mean? It's not a number on the scale that your body holds onto, it's water (incidentally expressed as a number on the scale), and there's only so much of it it can hold. Maybe I'm not making any sense, but I know what I mean.

I think figuring out how to eat on plan on vacation is a reasonable thing to be concerned about. Missing a month of whoosh just won't happen.

I guess we'll see huh? I guess what I meant with no whoosh is that I'll gain from vacation and therefore wipe out the whoosh, but really, wiping out 5-10 pounds of whoosh by a 6 days active vacation? Probably won't happen. Yes, sure, OK, I may hold some water from a different diet, but that will come off, of course.

I just really want to get to 60 pounds lost. I am tired of of this standstill!