How much did you gain on your cruise?
- Thread starter Heard02
- Start date
Footnotegirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2004
First off, congratulations on your weight loss! I know how hard it can be. I've lost 50 lbs since September.
I haven't taken a cruise since starting my weight loss, but I have gone on cruises before and I've been on a couple of vacations (Vegas, Baby!) since starting and lost weight while on them, so here's my hints and tips.
1) First off, remember that it's a vacation, and that you can let yourself enjoy things. Don't feel guilty or over-restrict, just remember to keep things in moderation. Don't forget the lessons that you've learned that have helped you take the weight off.
2) Luckily, the serving sizes on the Disney ship, in my experience, are actual serving sizes and not enough food for two people. That's a huge help. With portion sizes small, you can make sure not to overeat or feel bad about leaving food behind, etc.
3) Avoid the buffets. They are just extra food above and beyond what you're already eating at regular meal times.
4) If you do want to hit the buffets, stick by the one plate rule. Only go up one time, fill only one plate. (Though I have been known to use a saucer from a tea cup or coffee mug to go up for dessert)
5) Pretend the elevators don't exist. Take the stairs at every opportunity rather than taking the elevators. Not only will this get you more exercise, but it will often save you time. (This does not apply when you are wearing heels or if you have a stroller)
6) Shore Excursions: Choose Kayaking over being taken out on a boat, snorkelling over beach bathing, and walking tour over being driven around. Choose activity whenever and wherever possible.
7) The biggest thing that will hurt your weightloss is feeling like you've failed or getting discouraged or frustrated. A week off and a pound gained is not a failure as long as you get back on track.
8) Be aware ahead of time that you might put on some weight on the cruise due not to overeating, but water retention. I found that I kind of swelled up as soon as we got down to Florida, within a day my rings were fitting very tightly. So don't assume weight gain experienced on the trip is fat gain. It may just be water retention, which goes away swiftly.
I haven't taken a cruise since starting my weight loss, but I have gone on cruises before and I've been on a couple of vacations (Vegas, Baby!) since starting and lost weight while on them, so here's my hints and tips.
1) First off, remember that it's a vacation, and that you can let yourself enjoy things. Don't feel guilty or over-restrict, just remember to keep things in moderation. Don't forget the lessons that you've learned that have helped you take the weight off.
2) Luckily, the serving sizes on the Disney ship, in my experience, are actual serving sizes and not enough food for two people. That's a huge help. With portion sizes small, you can make sure not to overeat or feel bad about leaving food behind, etc.
3) Avoid the buffets. They are just extra food above and beyond what you're already eating at regular meal times.
4) If you do want to hit the buffets, stick by the one plate rule. Only go up one time, fill only one plate. (Though I have been known to use a saucer from a tea cup or coffee mug to go up for dessert)
5) Pretend the elevators don't exist. Take the stairs at every opportunity rather than taking the elevators. Not only will this get you more exercise, but it will often save you time. (This does not apply when you are wearing heels or if you have a stroller)
6) Shore Excursions: Choose Kayaking over being taken out on a boat, snorkelling over beach bathing, and walking tour over being driven around. Choose activity whenever and wherever possible.
7) The biggest thing that will hurt your weightloss is feeling like you've failed or getting discouraged or frustrated. A week off and a pound gained is not a failure as long as you get back on track.
8) Be aware ahead of time that you might put on some weight on the cruise due not to overeating, but water retention. I found that I kind of swelled up as soon as we got down to Florida, within a day my rings were fitting very tightly. So don't assume weight gain experienced on the trip is fat gain. It may just be water retention, which goes away swiftly.
DH and I just finished a 7 night Western on the Magic. We both ended up coming home with 5lbs more than we left home with. DH has lost almost 40lbs in the last 6 months. Not only did we both get rid of that 5lbs within a week of being home, he's even lost a few more pounds since then, and it's only been 2 weeks!
He made a point of making healthy choices at meals and portion control at the buffet in the morning.
We never made it to the health club, but we did choose to walk down ALL flights of stairs,and walk up any that were going to be 3 floors or less. (I have bad knees, and 3 flights up were all that I could take)
Go and have fun, enjoy the food, just make good choices and you'll be fine!
He made a point of making healthy choices at meals and portion control at the buffet in the morning.
We never made it to the health club, but we did choose to walk down ALL flights of stairs,and walk up any that were going to be 3 floors or less. (I have bad knees, and 3 flights up were all that I could take)
Go and have fun, enjoy the food, just make good choices and you'll be fine!
lmhall2000
May the road rise to meet you....May God hold you
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2002
CONGRATS!!!! YAHOO!!!
Well, somehow I managed to lose a pound on our cruise 3 weeks ago!! I had just lost 30 pounds and was worried as you were....I ate EVERYTHING! I'll be specific b/c I know it's hard to visualize when you've been in losing mode!
Breakfast: Omelet with cheese/onions, a few bites of some fruit and one sausage. Water or juice to drink, but the juice glasses are hilarious, they might just hold 3 ounces!
Lunch: Cheeseburger/fries or buffet with a meat, two veggies and a roll
Dinner: All three courses, typically ate all my main course, appetizer and 2-3 rolls..sorry, I love bread! and over the course of the cruise 1/2 my desserts. Always unsweet tea to drink.
Snacks: One time I had a mickey bar, and one time I had chocolate chip cookie...I may have had 6 cokes from the self-serve bar the whole time...otherwise I had diet coke or water (I did buy the bottled water deal they offered when we boarded, we drank it all)
I worked out 4 times on the cruise (2-3 miles on the treadmill), but honestly, as much walking as we did throughout the day and I took the stairs 90% of the time (I had a ridiculously busted muscle from all the stairs, it felt like a knot had formed in my hip the size of a tennis ball..not fun!) The key is to lead off with different legs everytime you climb those stairs, I always led off with my right leg and I just had a stress injury from it. I really thought I had busted a hip, but my farrier (knows the musculature of every walking thing) told me that I had overused a small muscle the length of about 4-5 inches that normally does not get used unless you climb a lot of stairs, 8 straight days of climbing 500 steps or more (believe me, I walked up to the 9th deck many times each day) just made it go nuts.
If you keep moving throughout the day, you should not have any problems!!
Tara
scrapbookmomma74
We love DCL!!!
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2011
Congrats on your loss!
So, I have found that it is easier to eat healthier on a cruise. I love fresh fruit, and with it being so convenient at the buffets, I would fill half of my plate with the fruit and then take my other food.
The ships have great sugar free or no sugar added desserts...I actually prefer them.
Also, like another poster said, the portions are not super huge, which is nice.
My husband and I always use the stairs, no matter where we're going. (My only exception is formal night, when I'm in a full length ball gown and 4 inch heels...just a little TOO precarious!)
Also, its actually fun to walk around the deck to get some exercise. You'll be lapped by the runners, but its nice.
Just make good choices...if you indulge at a meal, don't do it at the next! Pick the foods that are WORTH IT!
And, keep up the good work!
So, I have found that it is easier to eat healthier on a cruise. I love fresh fruit, and with it being so convenient at the buffets, I would fill half of my plate with the fruit and then take my other food.
The ships have great sugar free or no sugar added desserts...I actually prefer them.
Also, like another poster said, the portions are not super huge, which is nice.
My husband and I always use the stairs, no matter where we're going. (My only exception is formal night, when I'm in a full length ball gown and 4 inch heels...just a little TOO precarious!)
Also, its actually fun to walk around the deck to get some exercise. You'll be lapped by the runners, but its nice.
Just make good choices...if you indulge at a meal, don't do it at the next! Pick the foods that are WORTH IT!
And, keep up the good work!
luvndizny
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2009
Congrats on 50 lbs!!!
I try my darndest not to weigh myself...I judge by how I feel and how my clothes fit. Everything fit the same before/after cruise. You can actually eat quite healthily on the cruises. They had delicious salads, fresh fish, fruits, etc. (And at the bottom of every dinner menu, it mentions that you can ask for baked chicken or salmon on request.)
We also were moderately active on our cruise as well. Every sea day, we walked a good bit and took the stairs for anything we were going to that was only 3 or so flights difference. We also swam at the beach a lot and/or snorkeled (with fins) on the port days as well as walked a lot as well. (I made a point to do some hard/fast swimming every time too.) Hence, I'm pretty sure I didn't gain any and probably stayed steady the whole trip...even with all the yummy desserts- I just made sure I drank a lot of water for various reasons, rarely had sodas (although I did quite enjoy their coffees, but not too much at one time) and I think I only had one fried thing the whole trip. Everything else was baked or grilled and lots of salads and fruits.
I try my darndest not to weigh myself...I judge by how I feel and how my clothes fit. Everything fit the same before/after cruise. You can actually eat quite healthily on the cruises. They had delicious salads, fresh fish, fruits, etc. (And at the bottom of every dinner menu, it mentions that you can ask for baked chicken or salmon on request.)
We also were moderately active on our cruise as well. Every sea day, we walked a good bit and took the stairs for anything we were going to that was only 3 or so flights difference. We also swam at the beach a lot and/or snorkeled (with fins) on the port days as well as walked a lot as well. (I made a point to do some hard/fast swimming every time too.) Hence, I'm pretty sure I didn't gain any and probably stayed steady the whole trip...even with all the yummy desserts- I just made sure I drank a lot of water for various reasons, rarely had sodas (although I did quite enjoy their coffees, but not too much at one time) and I think I only had one fried thing the whole trip. Everything else was baked or grilled and lots of salads and fruits.
Wow! That's awesome!
I think I lost about 12 in preparation for the cruise, and then gained 3-4 back. It's hard to tell because my weight really varies from one part of the month to the other.
I personally LOVE to eat and don't believe in exercising while on vacation, but that's just me.
What you really have to do is find a way to convince your servers to not bring you tons of food! They want to make you happy, so if you just order an appetizer, they think you don't like the menu so the bring three other things for you to sample. I am someone who was raised with the "kids are starving in ___ country, so eat your dinner" and in this case, people from said country are standing there serving you. So, I ate most of what was brought.
So, maybe at the first dinner, explain you are careful about your diet, and that everything looks wonderful, but you prefer to eat lightly.
I think I lost about 12 in preparation for the cruise, and then gained 3-4 back. It's hard to tell because my weight really varies from one part of the month to the other.
I personally LOVE to eat and don't believe in exercising while on vacation, but that's just me.
What you really have to do is find a way to convince your servers to not bring you tons of food! They want to make you happy, so if you just order an appetizer, they think you don't like the menu so the bring three other things for you to sample. I am someone who was raised with the "kids are starving in ___ country, so eat your dinner" and in this case, people from said country are standing there serving you. So, I ate most of what was brought.
So, maybe at the first dinner, explain you are careful about your diet, and that everything looks wonderful, but you prefer to eat lightly.
MinnesotaMouseketeers
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 1999
My DW and I did the Wonder 15 night PC cruise. I gained three and she gained five. We only used the elevator once, when we boarded with our luggage. And we tried walking two to three miles a day on the promenade deck. We did miss a couple of days. And we usually filled our plates up with fruit each meal.
Wow! Congratulations on your hard work and what a great question to post.
I lost almost 15 pounds before our 4 night Dream cruise and still wanted to lose 10 more to reach my goal. I wish I could say that I was worried about gaining on the cruise or that I went with a specific plan-but I didn't. I just didn't think about and enjoyed myself. I ended up gaining about 1/2 a pound and two days after we were home, I weighed 2 pounds less than before we left. (I'm sure I was holding onto some water. Something about humidity causes me to do that.)
I ate a large breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, a muffin, and some fruit. I did stick to one plate, but it was a full plate. We usually ate at the buffet for lunch too and, again, I would eat one full plate. I tended to avoid the fried foods and french fries, but those generally aren't my preference. I ate a full dinner with desert every night.
I didn't do a lot of snacking, but I know I had an ice cream cone or two during the trip and at least one piece of pizza. Alcohol killed me - I don't drink at home but had at least two drinks a night on this trip.
We were on deck 2 (which I loved) and frequently took the stairs to 3 or 5, but tended to use the elevators most of the time. I only did one 4 mile run (was supposed to do more because I have a half marathon coming up) and never visited the fitness center. I think we were just moving around a lot. We spend a lot of time just walking around the ship.
I gain weight very easily and find it very difficult to lose. I'm sure I would need to be more careful on a longer cruise, but apparently 4 nights isn't enough to do a significant amount of damage!
I lost almost 15 pounds before our 4 night Dream cruise and still wanted to lose 10 more to reach my goal. I wish I could say that I was worried about gaining on the cruise or that I went with a specific plan-but I didn't. I just didn't think about and enjoyed myself. I ended up gaining about 1/2 a pound and two days after we were home, I weighed 2 pounds less than before we left. (I'm sure I was holding onto some water. Something about humidity causes me to do that.)
I ate a large breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, a muffin, and some fruit. I did stick to one plate, but it was a full plate. We usually ate at the buffet for lunch too and, again, I would eat one full plate. I tended to avoid the fried foods and french fries, but those generally aren't my preference. I ate a full dinner with desert every night.
I didn't do a lot of snacking, but I know I had an ice cream cone or two during the trip and at least one piece of pizza. Alcohol killed me - I don't drink at home but had at least two drinks a night on this trip.
We were on deck 2 (which I loved) and frequently took the stairs to 3 or 5, but tended to use the elevators most of the time. I only did one 4 mile run (was supposed to do more because I have a half marathon coming up) and never visited the fitness center. I think we were just moving around a lot. We spend a lot of time just walking around the ship.
I gain weight very easily and find it very difficult to lose. I'm sure I would need to be more careful on a longer cruise, but apparently 4 nights isn't enough to do a significant amount of damage!
CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss!! That is AWESOME!! We got back two weeks ago from the Mexican Riviera (Wonder). During those 7 days I did not hold myself in terms of eating. I did not exercise while on board. I gained 4 pounds. However, it was that time of the month for me, ugh! Some of the weight gain was related to that. The first week after we got back I loss 2 pounds right away. Gaining a net of 2 pound on the cruise... TOTALLY worth it! 
helenk
I wish I was in Disney World
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2000
This is my first Disney Cruise coming up, but my husband and I have been on other cruises. I joined weight watchers a few years ago, and I've lost a total of 85 pounds, I still enjoy my time on our cruises.
I eat at the buffets for both breakfast and lunch but basically eat how I eat at home. Small portions are the key, filling up with veggies at lunch time is a good idea. I eat what I want for dinner, I just take my time and enjoy, and when I am full I stop.
I make sure that walk at least 2 miles in the morning and in the evening on the ship. I take the stairs as much as possible, and while on land I walk during excursions and if I go to the beach I swim.
When I stick to my plan I have not gained weight, or if I do gain it's only been a pound or two that comes off quickly once I get home and return to "normal" eating.
I eat at the buffets for both breakfast and lunch but basically eat how I eat at home. Small portions are the key, filling up with veggies at lunch time is a good idea. I eat what I want for dinner, I just take my time and enjoy, and when I am full I stop.
I make sure that walk at least 2 miles in the morning and in the evening on the ship. I take the stairs as much as possible, and while on land I walk during excursions and if I go to the beach I swim.
When I stick to my plan I have not gained weight, or if I do gain it's only been a pound or two that comes off quickly once I get home and return to "normal" eating.
friends with mickey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2010
Good job on the weight loss. I am sure that it a lifestyle change in what and the way you eat that helped you shed those pounds. Just keep up the smart food choices on the cruise and you will be fine. Do take advantage of the fitness club on board and the showers you can use at no charge in the spa. You will find walking around the ship a fun way to explore and exercise at the same time. I have lost over ninety pounds and have kept it off without sacrificing a good time on vacation. Just keep doing the things that have gotten you this far and remember cheat days are important to any continued weight loss success. We enjoyed the cheese plate from room service with a glass of wine on our veranda for happy hour each day. After the chocolate souffle at Palo I walked an extra mile on deck that night and would gladly do it again, it was that good.
stargazertechie
Toy Story Midway Maniac
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2009
I normally lose 3-5 pounds on every cruise. I just make it a rule when I go to the buffets that I have to eat a plate of green things before I can eat any junk.
Kirbo
Runs with Scissors
- Joined
- May 28, 2010
Congratulations! 
I lost 35 pounds and was really worried about gaining some of it back. Like others, we only took the stairs and I also ran two miles a few mornings around deck 4. I ate plenty, but never went overboard. I think the main thing I ate too much of was dessert, but even that wasn't too bad. My husband wasn't as mindful as I was (he ate two desserts each night, sometimes two meals at dinner, and too many burgers and fries for lunch) and he put on 8 pounds. He did exercise in the workout room, but not quite enough. I put on some water weight, but dropped it right after getting home.
Neither of us drinks soda or alcohol, so that's helpful. We tried to move our bodies and I really did watch what I ate, but not so much that I felt deprived.
Whatever happens, good luck! And enjoy
I lost 35 pounds and was really worried about gaining some of it back. Like others, we only took the stairs and I also ran two miles a few mornings around deck 4. I ate plenty, but never went overboard. I think the main thing I ate too much of was dessert, but even that wasn't too bad. My husband wasn't as mindful as I was (he ate two desserts each night, sometimes two meals at dinner, and too many burgers and fries for lunch) and he put on 8 pounds. He did exercise in the workout room, but not quite enough. I put on some water weight, but dropped it right after getting home.
Neither of us drinks soda or alcohol, so that's helpful. We tried to move our bodies and I really did watch what I ate, but not so much that I felt deprived.
Whatever happens, good luck! And enjoy
Eat as much fresh fruit as you can. It's cut up nice and fresh--indulge in that first, then have pizza if you're still hungry.
Stairs, stairs, stairs. Always going down and even if it's just two flights going up, it's better than waiting for the darn elevator anyway.
We usually break even on our cruises.
There's not much along the lines of midnight buffets so I wouldn't worry about that too much.
Stairs, stairs, stairs. Always going down and even if it's just two flights going up, it's better than waiting for the darn elevator anyway.
We usually break even on our cruises.
There's not much along the lines of midnight buffets so I wouldn't worry about that too much.
congrats on your weight loss!!!
I have never been on a Disney cruise 1st one 2/2012
anyway I have been on 2 other cruises the first time the pants I wore the first night were actually too tight the last night
so the 2nd cruise I took I still ate what wanted and drank
but I made it a point to work out in the gym or at least walk the track everyday! second cruise I dint gain a thing!!!
I have never been on a Disney cruise 1st one 2/2012
anyway I have been on 2 other cruises the first time the pants I wore the first night were actually too tight the last night
so the 2nd cruise I took I still ate what wanted and drank but I made it a point to work out in the gym or at least walk the track everyday! second cruise I dint gain a thing!!!
hopemax
Note to Self:
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2000
When we took the Magic to the Med in 2007, I was scared of the weight gain. The two main things I did were 1. Take the stairs, 2. Drink water or iced tea from the drink station, not soda. I tried to walk a mile on Deck 4, but didn't do this everyday. I also tried to choose more fish, less pasta. And I ate every dessert I wanted to try. 
I ended up losing 2 lbs, so I was happy.
Edit: I also remembered we did A LOT of walking in port (Barcelona, Gibraltar, Cadiz, Tenerife), so that helped too.
I ended up losing 2 lbs, so I was happy.Edit: I also remembered we did A LOT of walking in port (Barcelona, Gibraltar, Cadiz, Tenerife), so that helped too.
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