Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

[robor]

I went through the initial induciton without too much trouble and have been doing extended induction for the past 5-6 months now. I've gone from 240lbs to about 190 with a goal of 170 - 175. I'm not really tempted by sweets and while I miss eating breads and pastas I really don't crave them and don't have any problem turning them down. The problem is I'm going on a cruise at the end of January and if you've ever been on a cruise you know how they are regarding foods.

My quesiton is, what should I do on the cruise? I supposed I could stick to the diet and avoid a lot of the foods that are going to be there but I'm paying a lot of $$$ to go on vacation. There's a part of me that wants to just enjoy myself and eat whatever I want (no diet) for the 4 days then go back on induction after I get back. If I do that, what can I expect as far as weight gain and difficulty getting back into induction?

[Moochiecat]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

I don't think any of us can predict what would happen if you went off the diet. I'm not sure what would happen to me if I went off of it for those 4 days!!

My best advice to you is to look your level of committment to your new way of eating for life.
You are always going to have holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and so on thrown at you with all the special foods that are associated. In time, you'll be able to have a bite of this or that, but right now, that's not the case.

What you may want to do (and actually since you've been on extended for like, six months, so it's time to move on) is ...well...move on!
Start yourself up the rungs of OWL so that when you do go on the cruise, your menu is expanded and you have even more options than you do right now.
I would think that other than avoiding the 'whites' (sugar, flour, spuds, rice,pasta) you'll still have a plethora of foods to choose from on the cruise. Remember, they do have to cater to diabetics, so it's not like every food you see will be illegal.
I know that every time I've been to a buffet I've found tons of things that I can have. Why not find out what sorts of foods will be offered so you feel more in control of things before you go?

I've been on this board for almost 2 years and if I had a nickel for every time I saw a post about "I figured I could just enjoy myself for a few days then go right back on the wagon and now here I am, six months and XX pounds heavier!" then I'd have a good sized bag of nickels.

Personally I would not want to put myself back on that blood sugar roller coaster for anything in the world.

[robor]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

Well, I'm not at all concerned about 'falling off the wagon' after the cruise. If nothing else I have good will power and wouldn't have a problem going back on the diet in strict form to get back into induction and sticking with it until I get to where I want to be. Then after that add back some carbs slowly until I'm maintaining. One thing for sure, I'll never go back to drinking 'regular' soda or eating loads of pasta/potatos/breads.

Holidays and special events don't bother me as far as temptaton. For instance, Christmas Eve dinner I had chicken, shrimp, and fish from the grill and it was great. Today's get together I had roast beef and a dozen or so black olives with some cheese cubes. Dinner was left over grilled chicken.

I guess I've gotten used to the idea of eating this way because it doesn't bother me anymore. Sure I would've liked to have had some bread and potatos with my roast beef this afternoon but it wasn't worth it so I didn't and it wasn't hard to pass up. Also passed up chocolates and other deserts but that's never been a problem for me.

My weakness is fried seafood and rice. Fried shrimp, scallops, and clams. Spicy chicken or pork in yellow rice. And Chik-Fil-A nuggets. All so yummy but so bad.

[Desertthorn]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

One of the problems that SOME folks have when they introduce carbs back into their diet is that they suddenly don't feel very well, and I would hate to have you sick on your trip. Personally, I would stick to the diet, but maybe go up a step on the OWL ladder so it feels like your cheating.
I'll bet that there will be tons of great low carb foods to tempt you without feeling that your dieting.

[Jasmain]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

Oh wow, lucky you, a CRUISE!
First of all, I don't think you will have any trouble with it, my Mother has been on one, and from what she was telling me, you'll have so many good things to eat to choose from, you will definitely find a LOT of choices, maybe even some things that you hadn't tried before! She said the cruise was about three things, fun, fun and eating. They are bound to have a TON of things you can choose from to eat!


Have a wonderful time, and relax!

[ttdriver]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

My quesiton is, what should I do on the cruise? I supposed I could stick to the diet and avoid a lot of the foods that are going to be there but I'm paying a lot of $$ to go on vacation. There's a part of me that wants to just enjoy myself and eat whatever I want (no diet) for the 4 days then go back on induction after I get back.

I just got back from a Caribbean cruise for my 50th birthday. Talk about reasons to eat off plan, right? WRONG. Having cruised before, I was well aware that ALL cruise lines offer Atkins-friendly foods and its SIMPLE to stay on plan, while enjoying the cruise to the max!! I had NO PROBLEM staying on plan, while enjoying myself immensely .. I worked out everyday onboard the ship .. ran 13 miles on the treadmill, used the stairs everyday instead of the elevators, etc. The beauty of it was that I had a terrific time, never gained any weight and came home feeling awesome!

Conversely, if you choose to go OFF PLAN to enjoy yourself, prepare to feel like a bloated pig after eating high carb foods. Enjoyable? HARDLY!

Betty

[not2late]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

Move onto OWL and start moving up the OWL Ladder. I stayed on Induction for 4 months and moved to OWL because I had a 1 week seminar. I knew it would be difficult to stick to Induction so I moved into OWL and had no problem finding foods during that time.

Since moving through OWL, I find eating out to be of minimal concern...heck, I've even had dinners at pasta houses without a great deal of problem.

Anyhow, you are moving closer to your goal weight, so you should be thinking about moving to OWL. Remember the last 5-10 pounds must be spent in Pre-Maintenance according to Dr. Atkins.


Good Luck to you whatever you decide.

[Mary-chan]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

I went on a week long alaska cruise in September and did pretty well, and never once felt deprived!! I wasn't as strict with the extended induction part, as I did have a few small pieces of fruit here and there, and a sugar free dessert once or twice, but I was so active with our excursions and walking around the cruise that I still managed to lose a little weight while there!!

I had gone on a cruise about a year ago, before starting atkins, and tried to eat so much food, since it was so readily available, that I felt AWFUL. I actually had a much better time staying ON atkins while cruising then I did when it was a free-for-all. Goodluck!!

[Mary-chan]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

I went through the initial induciton without too much trouble and have been doing extended induction for the past 5-6 months now. I've gone from 240lbs to about 190 with a goal of 170 - 175. I'm not really tempted by sweets and while I miss eating breads and pastas I really don't crave them and don't have any problem turning them down. The problem is I'm going on a cruise at the end of January and if you've ever been on a cruise you know how they are regarding foods.

By the way, congratulations on your great success so far!!

[robor]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

Hmmm... So it sounds as though I should move into OWL a couple of weeks before going on the cruise so my body gets used to eating a little bit differently than I am now? I guess that makes sense. Thanks everyone for the advice and congrats on my progress so far!

[Elizellen]

Re: Extended induciton but going on a cruise - what to do?

Hmmm... So it sounds as though I should move into OWL a couple of weeks before going on the cruise so my body gets used to eating a little bit differently than I am now? I guess that makes sense. Thanks everyone for the advice and congrats on my progress so far!

I would move on to OWL now to allow you to get a few rungs up the OWL ladder!!
Remember, the first rung is more of the same veggies you are already eating, the second is dairy and the third is berries. As we are supposed to take 2 weeks on each rung it would mean you might get as far as being allowed to eat those on your cruise and maybe move on to the nuts/seeds rung on your cruise, depending on how you are afected by adding the different foods.