Gaining weight on a cruise?

[psimon]

I ask this question as a poll so you can respond without revealing who you are .....

When you take a cruise, do you gain weight?

If you care to comment, so much the better!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[ludari]

Gaining weight on a cruise varies for me. I tend to work out more while on a cruise so I will actually lose weight (I once lost 14 pounds on a 14 day cruise) but typically I will gain about 5 pounds on a 7 day cruise since I eat twice as much as I normally do and work out less.

 

[king kamehameha]

Cruise travel magazine once had a statistic that the average person gains 4.4 lbs on a seven day cruise. I am guilty of eating more just because you can. You don't have to make it, you don't have to clean up afterwards...just enjoy it.

 

[ptcbass]

3 days at WDW with LOTS of walking and 3 day cruise. I usually only vary about 2 pounds for vacations. Imagine my surprise when this year I gained 7 pounds! I can't seem to lose it either!

For our next vacation like this I will be skipping all things good

 

[xlxo]

On another cruise line... I remember the ship tour fitness person stated, the average person gains 1 lb per day on the cruise. I'm just under that average. Getting out on shore excursions and port walks greatly helps after those AYCE buffets to fight anorexia.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I always gain weight. On a 7-night cruise I expect to gain at least 5 lbs. Some usually falls off within a few days as my cruise swelling subsides (feet and ankles always swell). What kills me is on vacation I let myself have anything I want. After I get home its HARD to get back on the wagon. That's where I usually see my biggest jump. Like when we went to Disneyland this spring I gained about 4 lbs even with all the walking. A month after our return was my 40th birthday so between getting home and all the birthday celebrating I packed on an additional 15 lbs. ((Why did I drink all that wine & eat all that cake?!?!)) Anywhoo, I'm back on the ball with my diet & exercise. I've lost 11 lbs. since the end of June. I hope to shed another 10-15 by the end of September. I picked back up my running. I'm challenging myself to run in my 40th year. I'm still able and that won't last forever. I'd be remiss if I squandered this time in my life. So many in my family can't run even if they decided they want to. Down the road I want to look back and say I kicked butt & took names at 40. Now, how well I carry that onto my cruise with girlfriends at the end of September remains to be seen. Once the drinky-drinks start flowing, who knows? My goal is to still walk and/or run each morning.

 

[Dug720]

I answered I don't gain or lose, but it's really more the pound or two I gain is lost within a day or so of getting home and "correcting" my eating, so it's mostly fluid retention.

The HAL cruise I just got off I really don't have that much to stress about extra as it was a running cruise, so we stayed active.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

I voted that I do gain weight; but the most its ever been is three pounds. We do laps daily on the promenade deck and very rarely use the elevators. And the fact that I don't make it my mission to eat as much as I can just because I can helps

 

[Mickeyhugger]

I gained 5 lbs. on my first cruise. The 2nd one, I gained 8! (First time DH and I attended Palo brunch.)

However, the 5 lb. gain was lost, one week after we returned. The 8 lb, I don't even remember how long it took, but the 8 lbs. were gone within the next two mos. as I was able to fit back into a dress I bought to attend a wedding.

I don't even bother to check anymore. It WILL come off.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I thought the portions were smallish and food not that great, so I didn't gain any weight.

 

[missyp]

Immediately after our first cruise I was heading to a destination wedding in key west, when I went to put on the dress, it didn't fit! Need I say more? Luckily the dress I wore on the cruise for dress up night did, not exactly what I wanted to wear but certainly better than no dress. Second cruise I ate half of everything on my plate. Our servers thought I didn't like the food because there was so much left on my plate all the time. Not only did I only gain 1 pound, I felt a lot better too

 

[5Dreamers]

I voted that I gained weight.

I am only 5 ft 2 inches and I gained over 10 lbs, but some was swelling from all the salt that I wasn't used to eating. After returning and losing the excess water weight, I remained at 8lbs weight gain and it took months to get that off.

I think the only reason I could still wear most of my clothes, even though they were super snug, was because I was at my lowest weight in years just before we left for that vacation, so everything had a bit of extra room to start.

 

[bumbershoot]

For me, any rise on the scale is just that. It's not a gain, it's not fat. It's just a temporary upward rise on the scale. It represents water, it represents extra food in the body...but a short cruise isn't even enough time to create fat let alone gain many pounds of it.

Like others have said, it's what I have done or not done AFTER the cruise that changed the results. If I get right back into my normal food habits, it all drops off. If I don't, uh oh.

 

[ibouncetoo]

I generally loose weight on a cruise. As a former (retired) office worker I spent a lot of my day sitting and often made less wholesome (convenient) food choices when working long hours. Eating regular meals on the ship (with 'real' food choices in modest portions) and all the extra movement made the difference for me. I still had plenty of 'treats', but just that bit of difference in quality and movement did the trick.

I actually started a healthy eating plan last December, and kept my cruise experience in mind. Lots more home cooked food, a LOT more fruit and veggies and daily movement (now that I'm not chained to a desk at work) and have lost 45 pounds! I fear the next time I cruise there may be gain, because I know there will be at least a daily Mickey Bar added to my calorie count!

 

[KBinCO]

I have never cruised but I can't gain on our cruise this month! I'll be hitting the gym every morning on the boat!

 

[I❤MICKEY]

DH and I both gain on our cruises. We follow a strict diet at home but indulge on the ship. Our feeling is that we are on vacation and should enjoy. I've gained 7, 9 and 7 pounds on the last three cruises (8, 7, 15 nights ). Always lost the weight within the first week of being home when I'm back to my normal routine. DH has gained 18, 12 and 9. The 18 blew him away when he got home. Took him about two weeks to drop what he gained.

 

[SueTravelsWithKids]

If you are concerned about weight gain on the cruise maybe just come up with a strategy before you leave. I haven't gained any weight on cruises, but I also try to watch my breakfast and lunches so that the heavier dinner calories don't matter that much. Good luck!

 

[Runnergal]

I voted that my weight stays the same. I try to keep up with my exercise routine somewhat when I travel. Otherwise, it is really hard to get back on track when I get home. It is part of my lifestyle, and I feel better when I do it. As for eating, I eat moderately at home-healthyish but not strict by any means(I eat wine and bread and dessert at home too!) and I sort of continue that on vacation. I don't deny myself anything I feel like having, but I don't completely pig out either. Aside from the breakfast buffet, I didn't really feel like there was an over abundance of food on the ship.

 

[Purplejewel]

I usually put on between 4-5 pounds on each 7 day cruise I take. I lose 2-3 of the pounds within the first week or so of being home because most of that is water weight and I lose the other remaining few pounds within the next month after that once I am back on my normal exercise routine and eating routine. I certainly don't stress out about gaining weight when I am on a cruise. I know I will put on a few pounds and I accept that. I indulge and I don't usually tell myself "No" if I want that extra glass of wine or chocolate chip cookie. I have a high stress job and I want to enjoy my vacation and relax. On a cruise a few years ago, I actually went to the gym four out of the 7 days I was on the cruise and I still gained the same amount of weight so that immediately stopped on my future cruises. I work out 5 days a week normally so when I am on vacation, I want to relax and not work out. Even a 7 day cruise seems short to me and I don't want to waste even 1 hour of it in a gym when I could be doing a fun activity or just relaxing by the pool.

 

[EeyoreIsMyName]

I don't gain weight on a cruise because I eat about the same amount as I do at home. Servers sometimes ask me if I didn't like the entree because I don't always eat the entire thing (especially when the menu says a half cornish game hen and they bring you an entire cornish game hen!). I don't eat lunch at home or on a cruise. I walk at home and on the cruise so that keep the weight down too.