How do you NOT over eat?

[Crispen]

On my first cruise i over ate and got sick

How do you folks stop yourself from over eating?

I know will power is obvious but do you have any routines ?

Thanks

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

On my first cruise i over ate and got sick

How do you folks stop yourself from over eating?

I know will power is obvious but do you have any routines ?

Thanks

I just do really small portions, rarely finishing each course in the MDR's. The only exception to this is the Pasta Pursettes in AP and the peel and eat shrimp. I figure the shrimp is very low calorie protein so I eat lots of that. I also stay away from as much bread as possible.

 

[MunFam]

3/4 of the way through our WBPC cruise I forced myself to stop and ask...are you really enjoying this...or are you just eating it to finish it? Most of the time it was the latter. I gained almost 20 pounds in 15 days...huge mistake. I should have started that thought process from the beginning. Most stuff was meh...but I ate it because it was infront of me.

 

[Savikins]

I just eat a little bit of everything. I love to try new stuff, but I think the key is to not feel obligated to eat everything on your plate. I only eat about half of each course in the MDR, for example. The exception is Palo night, I definitely stuff myself to the brim there, haha.

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• go to main dining for portion control... don't ask for seconds
• if you still feel anorexic.... then hit the buffets to top off.
• are you lactose intolerant? Ice cream and other dairy products works wonders.
• Get a fitness tracker... be prepared to do some stairs and deck laps to ensure you have 10,000 daily steps. More if the goal is weightloss.

 

[Jessicandice]

You know it's funny, I lose weight on every vacation I take, and I am not watching what I eat at all. It's from all the walking and exercise I get! However, this trip I plan on lots of salads & seafood/fish at lunch. Whatever I want at dinner...Remember the food takes 20 minutes to hit your stomach so you feel full from it.

 

[Donna3271]

I just do really small portions, rarely finishing each course in the MDR's. The only exception to this is the Pasta Pursettes in AP and the peel and eat shrimp. I figure the shrimp is very low calorie protein so I eat lots of that. I also stay away from as much bread as possible.

LOL! We have the same routine! I run, so I regimented in my diet. NO BREAD (honestly, it is no value to fill yourself up on bread). I eat copious amounts of peel and eat shrimp, fruit and yogurt, and salad. I usually maintain my weight.

I tell my kids to stay away from the bagels, and ENJOY other stuff (meats, fruits, etc...) does not always work with them!!

BUT.... Its vacation! It takes 3 days to gain a solid pound of fat, so all should enjoy! Sometimes I wish I could let myself go and not be so regimented!

 

[Bree]

Don't feel obligated to finish your meals at dinner. The main dining room servers will probably be freaked out at first. Our server ended up calling me little bird after the second night. At the buffets don't take a full serving of each dish that looks good to you. Just take enough for a small bite. Don't eat full meals for "snacks" during the day. Yes, the chicken tenders are wonderful, but do you really need three of them with a pile of fries right before dinner? I brought fruit from the buffet to keep in my stateroom.

 

[TestingH2O]

You know it's funny, I lose weight on every vacation I take, and I am not watching what I eat at all. It's from all the walking and exercise I get! However, this trip I plan on lots of salads & seafood/fish at lunch. Whatever I want at dinner...Remember the food takes 20 minutes to hit your stomach so you feel full from it.

This was my approach as well. I made smart choices at lunch. (I thought at breakfast too, but when I got home and looked up the muesli... Oops.) Then I let myself really enjoy dinner. I never had seconds on any courses, but I did order an app, an entree, and a dessert each night.

In terms of exercise, I averaged 15,000 steps a day. The ship is big and we were having lots of fun.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

For me- Salads for lunch with some protein, a light breakfast (oatmeal, fruit, maybe eggs-no potatoes or sausage), watch the bread intake. A wonderful dinner. But it is vacation after all, eat what you enjoy, not everything in sight. Walk, move around. You will be fine.

 

[cantontrebor]

I struggle with the same thing because I'm on vacation and I want to enjoy myself.

My strategy is to avoid the bread basket at each meal including the pastries at breakfast. Other than that I eat what I want in reasonable portions (easier said than done). Also, each morning I wake up early and walk the track while watching the sunrise. It's difficult to awake early on vacation but the peaceful morning walk has become one of my favorite things to do on each cruise.

I can't avoid the food on a cruise but the above actions have helped me limit my weight gain to about 5 pounds on a 7 night cruise. This is about half of what I experienced previously and I have been able to erase the 5 pound gain at home quickly.

I hope you can find a balance that allows fun and health...best wishes to you!

 

[hubbard53]

Two days in, wife and i felt TERRIBLE and realized it stemmed from breakfast. At home I eat a nutrigrain bar for breakfast - on board I was eating eggs Benedict, potatoes, bacon, bagel, fruit, and a donut ... oh, and those mexican breakfast burrito things... oh, and corned beef hash... why? b/c it was there. My dog has more constraint than I did

So we stopped eating big breakfast - bagel and fruit for the remaining days.

I'm not sure it's possible to overeat in the MDRs unless you order more than one entree.

Lunch can be tricky too but not hard if you stay away from Cabanas.

Here's another good tip - just take the stairs. It burns calories and you wont be furstrated by the elevators !

 

[xlxo]

I can't avoid the food on a cruise but the above actions have helped me limit my weight gain to about 5 pounds on a 7 night cruise. This is about half of what I experienced previously and I have been able to erase the 5 pound gain at home quickly.

They say the average cruiser gains one pound for each cruise day. You are below average. You need to work harder at the buffet table.

 

[shelbell77]

I try and fill up on fruit, maybe eggs at breakfast. Lunch I try and do a lot of veggies if at the buffet. Or if in the MDR I don't get appetizer and dessert.

At dinner, don't feel need to order every course. Often I'd just order the kids garden salad for my soup/salad course. Which is another tip of mine in general - I mix and match options from adults and kids menu at dinner. The kids menu has some yummy stuff but smaller portions which helps. And I don't always get dessert at dinner.

I also make sure I exercise a lot. Usually I'm up there before breakfast. And then sometimes on the WBPC I would go up for a second workout between breakfast and lunch.

 

[com_op_2000]

In the MDRs, I always skip either the appetizer or dessert.

 

[Ariel484]

I cruised this year in July and October (both 7 nights on the Fantasy)...made a few changes on the October cruise and my weight gain was half of what it was in July, which was a pleasant surprise.

At dinner, don't feel need to order every course.

This was a big realization for me - in July I realized I was ordering something for each course just because I could - not necessarily because I WANTED those items. And once they were there I felt like I HAD to eat was what in front of me. So reminding myself that I didn't have to order something for all 4 courses, along with continuing to remember that I don't have to clean my plate at every meal (something I have always struggled with, as I was made to feel guilty for not cleaning my plate by my dad from an early age) were good changes for me.

As a previous poster mentioned, breakfast was one area where I was definitely overeating. At home I normally have some oatmeal...on the cruise it was all of the things.

And lastly, I spent a decent amount at Cove and Vista Cafes...I'd say I still went there a similar amount on my more recent cruise, but I tried harder to steer clear of the frappucino-type things (which I had almost daily in July). Those things are calorie bombs.

On both cruises, I worked out daily and made every effort to take the stairs...but I didn't see the big changes until I started to pay a little more attention to my diet.

 

[mevelandry]

I take very small portions of what I want to taste. If I really like it, I ask for more but I try to be reasonable.

 

[bethy]

I loved my cruise but didn't really love the food all that much. It was OK and that was fine with me. So the upside is I didn't gain weight. And I took the stairs almost exclusively. My 4yo begged to use the "alligator" a few times.

 

[Jennifer777]

I limit myself to a desert size plate at lunch (or less) and I only have a little bit of fruit with my coffee breakfast. I want to be hungry for dinner so I try to stay as active as possible and have more of a sampling mentality, never allowing myself to feel full during the day. Our first cruise I ate myself sick as well. I still eat too much but I'm more aware of my own limits now and I know I can only eat one big meal a day without being absolutely miserable so I choose to make that meal dinner.

Another mistake I made on my first cruise was eating food I can eat anytime at home like burgers, fries, bagels, bread and dinner rolls. You can easily fill yourself by sampling all the things you don't get to eat everyday so why eat food that's so readily available at home? I remember eating "regular" stuff at the buffet at lunch and then getting mad at myself when I was still stuffed when it was time to go to dinner and eat the food I had looked forward to trying for months leading up to the cruise. Not anymore. If I feel like eating a burger I just remind myself I can have one at home and move on.

 

[Quellman]

Skip the bread and other carb heavy foods. Stick with proteins where you can. Oh and only eat a 2-4 Mickey Ice Cream bars, not 15-20.