Hi all! I just wanted to get a feel for how everyone handles vacation time. This coming monday I leave for a 2 week vacation/wedding/honeymoon trip which I had planned to eat sensibly but not too strict on since I began this wol in May. Well, now the trip is practically here and I am half a pound away from losing an incredible 50 lbs and well... now I don't want to blow it....


SO, my question to all of my lo-carb family is... how do you handle eating while on vacation???

Thanks!!!!


Patty

Well I chose to eat what I wanted for my vacation. The plan was to keep my calories down so that I would only gain water weight with the extra carbs. We also walked miles every day so that helped too.

It pretty much worked. I gained 5lbs and in TOM a week later am only 3lbs up still so I am back on track.

Issues you may want to think about:
I felt gassy and bloated most of my time
I had a bad, sugary unhealthy taste in my mouth
I had a resurgence of my insomnia that I hadn't had in almost a year

So you may want to think about how you want to feel on your wonderful upcoming trip.

Either way hope you have the most amazing time!

Get a small, spiral notebook and a pocket carb counter to keep with you. Write down what you eat and at least an approximation of the carb intake. Often, the visual reminder is enough to keep you on track.

When I am going on vacation, I pack a ziploc bag for each day with acceptable snacks such pork rinds, small beef sticks or jerkey are good, non-perishable items. Ask your hotel if there is a small refrigerator available to put in your room. Many hotels have these available (for diabetic guests who need to refrigerate insulin) and will put one in your room. Take (or find a grocery store there) cheese and veggies. Take some LC candy that you can turn to in case the cravings for a dessert get to much

Eating in restaurants is really not hard. Most places have salads these days. If you are going to a fancier restaurant, call 24 hours ahead and see if they can accommodate special dietary needs (I know that the Disney theme parks and hotels will do this with 24 hours notice, and can often accommodate at the last minute). LCing isnt that far off from a diabetic diet, and most restaurants should already be familiar with diabetic requirements.

The best thing is to keep focused on your goal. You've done amazing so far, just think to yourself "is this (insert food here) worth gaining 5 pounds."

And most of all, if you do "cheat," don't beat yourself up about it too hard. A lapse is not a relapse, so get back on your plan as quickly as possible.

Vacations can be tough. We had stayed pretty much true with the exception of a couple drinks every day and some grilled oysters (love 'em) a couple times. We walked a lot and didn't eat a whole lot for breakfast or lunch. I was amazed to come back only gaining 1 pound. But I doubt whether I went over 50 carbs in any one day...

I guess if you're eating at a special place, yes, allow
yourself a few extra carbs. If it's McD's or Denny's, I'd low carb it and not waste any carbs. As Lisa said, you probably will feel kind of uckey if you over do.

Enjoy a special time in your life!

Cheers!

BrewWa

We travel all the time and I pretty much eat what I want, without going overboard on stuff like bread, pasta and potato. Usually it only results in a 3-4 pound temporary water weight gain. The only time I gained any serious weight (8 pounds) was when I was in Japan. Their food didn't appeal to me at all, I spent 18 days eating noodles and croissants.

seems like you could order a steak and a salad at a restaurant easily enough and fit right in.... right?!

also a cheeseburger just dont eat the bun...

I would pack some atkins bars for inbetween though so that you wont bing on bread or junk food because it would be terrible if you got all bloated and sick on your honeymoon!!!!

I hope you have a blast. Congrats on both the 50 lbs! and the marriage!