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**Alexa** · May 8, 2007, 06:45 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

Hi Summer-Caitlin,

I think that the answers would vary around here. I have (when on holiday) gone toally off-plan and gained about 6lbs in a week, though once back it was pretty easily lost - BUT I was disappointed in myself and felt bloated quite a bit - which I imagine is not ideal for a honeymoon.

Personally I think it may be worth working up the rungs faster than you may have done in order to have more variety for your holiday. Still do your 2 week induction and keep the carbs fairly low but try and work through the first 3 or 4 rungs to give you a bit more variety which helps when you don't know what will be available to eat.

As for being on maintenance by then - I'm reading your signature that that means you need to lose 60lbs by then? This seems a bit of a tall order - so don't be disappointed if this doesn't happen. You can certainly lose a great deal by then, but I imagine you'd still be on OWL.

It may be worth trying to maintain your weight and not lose further when on holiday (as DANDR 2002 advises for some occasions).

Good luck

**Erin80** · May 8, 2007, 07:08 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

I'm actually pretty much doing Atkins for the same reason, my wedding is in October and I want to lose 10-15 pounds....and eat healthier in general. I'm 5'9 and 155 right now (which is apparently ideal of my height!) but I'd like to be 140 or 145 for the wedding. When I go on my honeymoon, I plan to eat whatever I want....I won't go nuts obviously, and I'm not much of a drinker so I won't be getting probably barely any carbs from alcohol....but I will eat pasta and bread some nights. It's a time to relax after the stress of the wedding!!! I know I'll eat things I'm probably not supposed to, but that's just me!

**SandyL2002** · May 8, 2007, 07:13 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

Originally posted by Summer-Caitlin

It looks like I will be coming back again to rejoin you all. I was hoping to start Atkins again in March, but things came up and I never got around to it. Now with my wedding just over 3 months away, I have no choice. I am starting now on Monday so I can get in all the foods I require. My problem is my honeymoon. I am vacationing for 3 weeks in Orlando and cruising for 3 nights to the Caribbean in Aug/Sept. To be honest I don't want to have to watch everything I eat. I am hoping to be on maintenence by then, I'm sure it's possible. But, my question is, does anyone stray from the diet when on holiday? I'm not talking about total disregard for it, but allowing some other carbs in? Just really wondering what others do?

My advice right now is to NOT plan on going off plan on your honeymoon.. Just focus on the now.. Hopefully by the time your wedding gets here you will feel so great that you will be able to stick to the program.

**julirama723** · May 8, 2007, 07:45 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

I agree with Baarb and Sandy. Stick with the plan, move up the rungs. If you want to eat legal carbs anyway, why not just move on to OWL once induction is finished? That way you'll know which good carbs you can eat and which ones you CAN NOT eat. I never, ever, ever recommend cheating or going off plan because it's a "special occasion". Most people who do that end up feeling like crap because of the foods they ate, and really don't enjoy themselves. And then there are those who go off on an all-out binge, only to return with more weight to lose than originally planned.

Start induction, after 2 weeks, move on to OWL and follow the plan to the letter. If you go up a rung every 2 weeks, by the time you go on your honeymoon, you will be at Rung 5, alcohol, and will have also introduced more veggies, dairy, nuts, berries as well.

**not2late** · May 8, 2007, 08:52 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

I agree with Julirama. Too many people make the mistake of staying on Induction to lose all their weight. It's unnecessary and for the vast majority of us, staying on Induction doesn't guarantee 'faster' weight loss at all. If you go to the OWL forum, you'll see people who stayed on Induction for a while, hit a long stall, then finally began losing weight when they moved to OWL phase.

**apple** · May 8, 2007, 09:05 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

Congratulations on your upcoming neptuals! How exciting! Do you have room in your suitcase for a few 1,000 folks who would love to come with you? LOL

I just have to chime in and agree: Don't go off plan. Period.

However, can I add just a word of caution while going through the rungs? If you choose to go up the OWL rungs (and I highly recommend it) after Induction, take the time to listen to your body for allergic reactions that you may not have noticed before. Dairy, nuts, etc are just a few major issues that I've seen as a common issue among folks having intolerance issues (me included).

I wish you all the success and excitement during these wonderful times!

Have a great day!

**WindCriesMary** · May 8, 2007, 09:39 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

my question is, does anyone stray from the diet when on holiday?

I finished up a squeaky clean induction while on vacation. It wasn't hard because my head was in the right place. I feel like I'm in this for life, including holidays.

**Summer-Caitlin** · May 12, 2007, 11:57 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

Thanks everyone for your responses. Baarb, I actually have 40 pounds to lose, I've already lost 24 pounds from The GI Diet. I don't intend to go way off the diet and I already know my limitations on carbs from doing The GI Diet, i.e which carbs I can handle without gaining weight. I was just curious as to what other people chose to do on holiday.

**skinnymom!** · May 12, 2007, 05:02 PM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

I am facing the same dilemma. Congrats on the upcoming wedding!! Dh and I are going on a cruise for our tenth wedding anniversary in Sept and I'm wondering what to do as well. Right now my plan is to eat as I wish, BUT not stuff myself. I am going to stick to eating when I'm hungry and not just because there is food everywhere. I will probably avoid the unnecessary (like dinner rolls and baked potato, I find I do not miss those at all, so why eat them?) and I am going to bring my running shoes and run on the track on the deck.

We have two other vacations coming up before then and I plan to stick to the plan completely during both. A cruise is hard, because a big draw is the FOOD lol....but my mind may change as it gets closer....I'm thinking I'll be too nervous to go off plan too much because the one time I cheated it made me sick, sick, sick

**julirama723** · May 12, 2007, 06:17 PM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

I'm going on a 2-week vacation in July, and I have no intention of eating anything off-plan. And really, and this point, it would just be so stupid of me to do so. There are only a few foods I can't have (white flour, white sugar, white rice, etc.) and a few foods I can't tolerate (cucumbers, jicama, potatoes). Because I've followed Atkins properly and worked my way through the rungs, there are only a handful of foods I won't touch, and anyway, I don't want them. I know how badly I feel if I eat a legal food I can't tolerate--I can just imagine the pain and suffering from eating something illegal.

It shouldn't be hard at all to stay on-plan. We're going to Las Vegas for a few days, and LA for a few days, and then north to N. CA and Oregon. So we'll either be in a big city, or camping in the wilderness with our cooler full of goodies.

That's why I'm such a huge proponent of moving on to OWL and following the plan as intended. Atkins just becomes "what you do" rather than something you have to think about and consider.

**Elizellen** · May 13, 2007, 01:06 AM

Re: Back again, holiday question?

Originally posted by julirama723

That's why I'm such a huge proponent of moving on to OWL and following the plan as intended. Atkins just becomes "what you do" rather than something you have to think about and consider.

Well said, Julie!
My niece is a confirmed long-time vegetarian and she doesnt think about 'shall I have a steak when I am on holiday' - she just doesnt eat meat, as that is the way she has decided to eat.

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