Diet & Cruise

[BigAl]

I've done really well the last few months with an aggressive diet and exercise program, but I am worried about gaining all my hard lost pounds back in one week. Who has successfully cruised and stayed on their diet and exercise programs? What are your secrets?

 

[Heathercat]

I wouldnt want to stay on my diet with all the wonderful foods.....
Cruise and diet? Just doesnt go well together...

 

[alexandrew]

moderation and common sense is key....

I plan on splurging on cruise , but not going crazy....one dessert at dinner, not three.....

I'm sure if you exercise, you can have a very nice cruise food-wise and not gain more than 1 or so Lb.....

 

[mickeyboat]

My tips are to make time to exercise - walking around Deck 4 is great! Take the stairs when you can. As far as eating, order what you like, but don't feel like you have to eat it all. Make sure you pay attention to when you are full. If oyu over-eat, you will feel terrible.

Have a great time. And congratulations on all your hard work!

Denae

 

[traceycooper]

Hi i was in a similier situation & i'm sorry to say i was real BAD, but hey its a hoiday!!!
My sister in law is on the wonder now as i speak, they only boarded at lunch time & shes told me shes already had 3 desserts!!! & this is from a woman who always eats healthy!!!

 

[allears]

At the time of one of our 7 day cruises, my DW was on a low carb diet, where she gets one reward meal with carbs each day. She found that if she stuck to proteins at breakfast and lunch, she could eat pretty much what she wanted at dinner. This worked out great, especially since there were plenty of great selections at the breakfast buffet and lunches. She very much enjoyed the food, never felt deprived and was always satisfied. So it is possible.

Me on the other hand, just stand a side and let the consumption begin!

 

[mog]

Our first cruise I actually lost weight because of all the walking, swimming and exercise!
Since then, I don't worry about eating - just try to be reasonable. We very rarely take the elevators (not worth the wait anyway) - we use the stairs and be sure to do lots of active stuff (swimming, snorkeling, walking around ports, etc.)
Good Luck!

 

[Jen in MA]

I'm worried about the same thing... I've been on the Nutrisystem diet for almost 3 months and have lost 14 lbs. We leave for the cruise in 3 weeks. I won't be too upset if I gain a few pounds... but I'd hate to gain like 10lbs back... I wonder if it's even possible to gain 10 lbs in a week?!?! Probably not. I wonder what is the most weight anyone has gained on a week cruise... that may be an interesting (or scary) thread!

 

[Rence]

Our servers assured us that there are absolutely no calories, fat or carbs in any food served on DCL ships. So you have nothing to worry about.

 

[suesings]

Big Al:
I'm with you. I've been doing the South Beach Diet and have lost 44 lbs in the last 14 months. I DO NOT want to put on a bunch of weight on the cruise or blow all my new habits. I know how easy it is (at least for me) to go crazy with food and I will be very disappointed if I let that happen. Over the years I've found that I don't seem to do well in the "moderation" catagory So I am planning to try to stay with my Egg omelet in the morning, Tuna salad, egg salad, nuts, shrimp caesar, Boca burger with cheese (no bun) or salmon for lunch and fish?shellfish and vegetables for dinner (if possible!) I know how horrible I feel when I am stuffed, it is just staying with my program that is critical

Good luck to you. There was a thread on this a month or so ago with many people saying they gained no weight at all, so that is hopeful!!

 

[jillane88]

Before our last cruise (not DCL), I purposely was very agressive in diet and excercise and lost an "extra" 5 lbs just in case. On the cruise the food was fabulous and there was lots of healthy food to choose from - plus lots of wonderful desserts and lovely things like that. I just ate my fill and more and chose to take the stairs, do tons of walking, swimming, snorkeling and those types of activities. I did end up using up that "extra" 5 - but not all in that one cruise week. It was me ordering 3 desserts! LOL Probably not a good choice.

Heather

1st DCL cruise 5/06 Western

 

[mommasita]

On our last cruise (sept) I had gone on a diet/exercise program, and had lost 30-40 pounds. Well I hate to say it, but I gained 10 pounds upon my return.

Do not let it get to you, within a week it was gone, just a break or a breather in the diet. Once your eating habits return to normal, you should be fine. A lot is just water retention....

 

[BigAl]

I've read in another post that the servers also will help honor special requests including low carb diets and that one option is to order two entrees without the starch.
I plan on being very active.
I always take the stairs.
I have already booked a Scuba excursion and a snokeling one and routinely like to run in the spa overlooking the bridge.
BUT I'm very worried about the desserts, the mickey ice cream bars and the drink of the day.

 

[westjones]

My advice is:

1. Have early dining (if possilbe) so you aren't eating late at night.
2. Eat a late breakfast or early lunch, but only one of those meals so that you are only eating 2 meals a day. For this early meal, choose healthy foods and skip the sweets.
3. No alcohol, diet drinks or water only
4. For dinner, order whatever you want. You and leave part of your dinner on your plate. Save room to have dessert (they are good and you don't want to miss them, but you can have half of something).

If you like to exercise, there is a gym in the spa or your can walk around deck 4 (it goes around the ship).

It was only this past year (after 4 years of going on the Disney cruise) that I finally figured out that 2 meals a day was enough. It made a BIG difference last time (I didn't gain or lose, I stayed the same, which was fine considering in the past I always gained).

Good Luck.
DJ

 

[DiaLady]

Hi there -

One of the most important things you can continue to do while on the cruise is drinking those 8 glasses of water each day. Even if your eating a bit off of your normal healthy diet, if you continue to exercise and drink your water, you'll feel better.

I've lost almost 30 lbs since January. I've got a way to go before our cruise in November. My plan is to enjoy the food, exercise daily and drink my water Then I'll come home and detox for week so I'll be back to my normal healthy eating style.

Hope that helps! You'll do fine!

 

[Jhalkias]

Big Al -

I was worried about this too. In October, before our last December cruise, I had gone on what I call a "sensible" diet. I had seen a few men my age tragically leave their families after a heart attack, and told myself enough is enough! I had lost about 25lbs by cruise time - BUT - I had not yet started exercising much.

I just ate sensibly on the cruise, but ate more and differently than I had on my "diet". However, even though it was tough on me (especially since it is now FREE) I stayed on my NO SODA commitment, and drank plenty of water, and just one or so drinks with dinner only.

So in the long run, because I greatly increased my activity, I only gained about 3lbs in the week. I even had ONE dessert at dinner!

I'm now up to almost 45lbs down, because I went right back to my regimen, and added exercise now too.

My advice: stay away from the soda, drink plenty of water, keep as active as you can, and just don't stuff yourself silly. If you've gotten used to less intake, just keep that moderation up, but enjoy yourself!

 

[jdm]

I returned last week and can honestly say I ate "unrestrained" all week-- along with lots of fru fru drinks..... (several a day). I have a huge sweet tooth and ate desserts and made several late afternoon trips to Scoops which I found to be better than I dreamed!! I was completely prepared to have gained at least the 5 to 10 lb area, but was surprised (elated actually, dancing a jig ) to see I only gained 3 1/2 in the 2 weeks we were gone (an additional week in Orlando). My DD and I made a pact when we boarded that we would not use the elevator all week and I didn't. There was one exception when I had a lot of heavy shopping bags when we got back on in St. Thomas. I was constantly going up and down those stairs many times a day with my heart rate pounding. I do believe this helped.

jhalkias-

I'm curious about your weight loss, and the way you referred to "sensible eating" plan. I'd like to lose about 15 to 20 and even though I had some success with Atkins...... hated it!! What are you doing?

Thanks
Jenn

 

[tvguy]

In a word, the secret to avoid weight gain on any cruise is......STAIRS.
I never used the elevators in 7 days on the Magic.........and made it a point to explore every deck of the ship. We were happy to get a cabin upgrade, but that moved us from deck 2 to deck 7.......which was a lot closer to the restaurants and Topsiders than we had planned, we had fiqured the walk to dinner up stairs would be good for us......so with the upgrade we made an extra effort to go up and down stairs just to do it.

 

[videogal1]

Hi there -

One of the most important things you can continue to do while on the cruise is drinking those 8 glasses of water each day. Even if your eating a bit off of your normal healthy diet, if you continue to exercise and drink your water, you'll feel better.

I've lost almost 30 lbs since January. I've got a way to go before our cruise in November. My plan is to enjoy the food, exercise daily and drink my water Then I'll come home and detox for week so I'll be back to my normal healthy eating style.

Hope that helps! You'll do fine!

What I discovered on my last cruise is that I had been "off" sugar for so long that all the desserts were too rich to eat much of and, toward the end of the cruise I caught a cough that was going around and was so sick when I got home that I actually LOST ten pounds between the beginning of the cruise and two weeks after...Tough way to go, though...

 

[pppiglet]

I am exercising real hard right now to lose some weight before I go, so if I gain some back on the ship I won't feel too bad. My DS and DH have been on low carb and DS has lost 100lbs so he will treat himself on this vacation. My DH has lost 50lbs and is really good on his diet, so he will eat sensible meals, but save room for dessert! We also plan to take the stairs!