Handling Vacations???

[gonnabskinny]

Suggestions on how to stay on track during vacations???

I was off for vacation for two weeks and even though I still managed to lose a couple of pounds while I was gone, I am concerned about not being consistant with the WOE and do not want to let a vacation lead me into a setback. I still wrote down everything, and I even took my food scale with me to measure the stuff that I ate in the room. However, for the most part, I had to just guesstimate what I was doing based on experience. Yesterday, I finally went back on logged everything in on the computer and was astounded at the variation. Currently I am on rung 9 on OWL and taking in 60 net carbs per day. I am also averaging just a hair over 2000 calories per day and ideally, with my workout schedule would be taking in about 150 grams of protein, which would keep me at about 30% of my caloric intake.

For the two weeks I was gone, I still averaged 60 net grams per day, but the swings were ridiculous. I had a low of 44 net carbs on one day and a couple days I hit a high of 82. Likewise my caloric swing was out of whack by ranging from 1972 as a low to a whopping 3121 as a high and was way above my normal intake. My protein grams were just as bad, ranging from a low of 96 to a high of 218 and I found that my protein only accounted for a 24% avg. of my calories.

Any suggestions on how to control things while on vacation, or am I just worrying too much?

[apple]

Re: Handling Vacations???

Not so much worrying, but just planning ahead is totally alright in my book. It sounds like you did a great job keeping track of things while on your vacation!

When we went on vacation this past summer I was determined to stay on track, and I did.

Just stay focused, keeping goals in mind, and remind yourself daily that being on vacation is not a license to eat anything and everything in sight. My cooler was my friend, plan ahead, drinking water, and exercising. Oh, and be demanding when you go to the resturants for fun Okay, maybe that was the highlight of my vacation this past summer to see which resturant would be willing to make accomodations and substitutes.

[Alexa]

Re: Handling Vacations???

Hi Don,

It sounds like you have done really well with this - I wouldn't let it worry you too much. Sometimes the situation demands a guestimate and things won't be perfect but if you are always trying your best like it sounds like you were, then you can't say fairer than that.

As for me I was determined not to cheat or stop exercising on holiday - but I did, and I kind of surprised myself! I was as well prepared as I could but it still got out of control - then I thought what the heck, and cheated with gusto. It sounds like you're doing really well in comparison, well done

Just a thought - if you were writing things down why not work out a daily running total for carbs when you can with a carb counter like the one at the back of DANDR (or a more comprehensive one)? That way you don't have to put it through a computer and see your totals later.

[julirama723]

Re: Handling Vacations???

Don, there's no shame in planning! Just don't worry about the small stuff.

When I went on vacation, I took my DANDR with me. I ate only legal foods, kept a food log, tracking everything I ate. I wrote down every food item and serving size, but only kept track of carbs. I realized that on vacation, it would be impossible to eat the same number of carbs each day, so I just made sure I stayed under my known limit. I ate when I was hungry. I did not worry about percentages. I did not worry about calories, either--I just responded to my body. If it was hungry, I fed it with no guilt. Hunger means your body needs fuel, and some days, your body needs more than others.

Since I use fitday religiously, I knew the carb counts for 90% of my foods right off the top of my head. The few that I didn't know about, I checked DANDR first, and then counted them accordingly. I lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks just listening to my body, with no numbers to confound me or give me paranoia.

I also exercised almost every day on vacation. I only had 2 days with no "real" exercise, although I got plenty of movement (like lifting heavy suitcases, walking many miles, etc.) and stayed active.

The percentages are important, but not of the UTMOST importance. The key is eating unprocessed foods and listening to your body's signals. Don't overanalyze this one. Unless you had the opportunity to pre-measure every single food you ate, you had to estimate to the best of your abilities.

Be content in the fact that you stayed on-plan, ate good foods, and managed to lose a couple pounds while on vacation! Many people can't even stay legal...let alone LOSE WEIGHT. I'd say your trip was a success, and don't sweat the small stuff.

[not2late]

Re: Handling Vacations???

During my OWL, there were days when I ate at my CCLL and there were days when I ate below my CCLL. I never kept track of my calories, because I'm a "eat until you are satisfied" person. But I know there were days when I ate a higher amount of calories to match my activity level.

[PinkBikini]

Re: Handling Vacations???

We're going away for 4 days this week. I'm feeling a light panic about the "travel" portion. We work Friday night til 8 am and travel Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. I don't want to pay for exorbitant restaurant prices at the airports... hoping to get in a quick "pre-made" breakfast of some chicken strips and dip before we leave. Then take some snacks on the plane. We're travelling jetblue which has yummy, but not low carb, snacks. So its going to be very tempting. I will enjoy coffee while on board but I'm hoping to have munchies to fit my under 20 carb menu in a lunch pack:

-celery sticks and dip, tomatoes...

any other induction/owl-1 friendly snacks I could have on the plane to compete with chips and biscotti that they'll be serving?

pinkb