Weight gain??

[gshoemate]

Well, I have worked my butt off (literally) since January to lose weight. I had lost 17 pounds and felt great. We went on our cruise in September and I didn't hold back at all when it came to the food. I ended up gaining only 1 1/2 pounds and didn't take long to work it off when I came home. DH would not let me go near the workout room on the ship so I had to try to put it out of my mind until after the cruise.

 

[il-gander]

I worked very hard for about 6 months prior to the 10/9 Magic cruise and dropped 35 pounds. When I got on the cruise that I had worked long and hard for, however, all bets were off. I ate what I wanted when I wanted, going from a pretty calorie-restricted diet to full meals including dessert and lots of snacks. We did take the stairs pretty much exclusively and did a bunch of running around the ship and on shore. Nevertheless, I fully expected to have gained about 10 pounds when I got home. I was extremely pleased to have only gained 2 pounds! It's your vacation, enjoy it!

Carla

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

My best advice is NOT to heavily restrict yourself -- if you do, you will likely make up for it when you get home and end up gaining weight on non-cruise food about a week later.

There are amazingly yummy healthy options on he cruise -- I ate fish every day, pretty much. My dh and I always shared two desserts -- everything past bite three isn't as tasty anyway. (Except for the chocolate souffle at Palo's -- I would kill someone with my fork if they tried to touch that.)

Enjoy yourself and diet AFTER the cruise.

Marcy

 

[coriedorie]

I appreciate all the sound advice and chuckles!! I am figuring with my love of food, and lack of willpower, I will probably gain the 7 lbs. a few of you mentioned. OK....I have a week before we fly out to Orlando...If I eat nothing but jello for this week, I can probably lose a pound a day and come back the same as I am now....hmmmm. Or I can just call Omar the Tentmaker for something in a nice vertical stripe!!!


Edited to question the statement that dessert doesn't taste as good after the third bite....this is a foreign concept to me and completely beyond my understanding....

 

[oybolshoi]

Like so many here I was concerned about gaining weight on our cruise. We were having brunch on Monday morning (we just came back from the 10/23 Western) and I said something to our server, Kristoff, about watching what I was eating and he gave me the best piece of vacation advice I've ever received:

The only thing that Disney and Diet have in common is the letter "D".

He was absolutely right - after that I decided that I would have whatever I wanted, within reason, and not worry about counting calories.

Having said that, DH and I always took the stairs, remained somewhat active (you have to loaf a little bit!), and didn't drink much of anything but water during the day. We did drink a lot of alcohol in the evenings, though!

I would say that you should try to keep your eating habits similiar to those that you already have, but don't deny yourself, either. And watch out for those empty calories (like soda and alcohol!). Late dinner seating can present a problem, too, I think. We were never finished with dinner much before 10:15 or 10:30 and by then all we really wanted to do was head back to our verandah and listen to the waves slap the ship.

Just enjoy yourself and don't worry - it's only a week and it's more important that you have fun!

By the way - on this last trip I didn't gain any weight but DH gained 8 pounds!! Do you think it was because he was finishing all of my meals too???

 

[Sarahsal]

On my first 7 day I lost 2 lbs, on the second I maintained.

FWIW:

1. I think breakfast on the ship is just breakfast, so I was very careful, no pastries.

2. Lunch-eat what you like but in moderation.

3. No snacks-ice cream at scoops may be good (never tried it) but I can't believe it's any better than my neighborhood ice cream parlor, so why spend the calories.

4. Walk, walk, walk and take the stairs. The walk around deck 4 is really nice.

5. Dinner-order whatever you want and then have dessert-you're on vacation!!

It worked for me.

 

[two-foxes]

Not to bring you down, but I gained about 6 lbs on our trip....granted it was a three week Disney trip (1 week at the parks and 12 days on DCL), so the odds were stacked up against me. I am a gym rat at home and tried to maintain that as much as possible on the ship, but I also love my sweets, which were very abundant on the trip. I tried to lift 2xs a week and do cardio (step, kickboxing) 2xs a week, in addition to snorkling and diving, taking the stairs EVERYWHERE on the ship (they are quicker than the elevators anyway) and making somewhat healthy choices as far as food goes....
But just to warn you...
Palo will kill you, but it is worth every yummy bite
Scoops is low fat, but certainly not low calorie, BUT SOOOO GOOD! (I ate there everyday for 12 days!)


Do your best, but realize you are on vacation. ENJOY yourself, enjoy a bit of everything, but not all of it. Try to fit workouts in, either before visiting a port, or early on sea days. Also, try the yoga on Serenity Bay. Even though it isn't much of a workout, it is quite a peaceful, beautiful thing to do!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I am not afraid to admit that I gained 8 pounds on the ship!!! I didn't even think I ate that much and I made sure to do a lot of walking and take the stairs, not riding the tram in Costa Maya, snorkeling, etc. I was suprised when I got home, but almost a week has passed and I have lost 6 of those 8 pounds. Don't worry about your weight, enjoy the food and have lots of fun.

 

[S. C.]

I lost 24 lbs before our vacation. We went to WDW for 7 days before our magic cruise, and then back to WDW for 3 days after. we also made several stops to other places on our way home, mountains etc. I gained 6 lbs while on vacation. I didn't hold back and ate what i wanted & when i wanted, figured i was on vacation and would deal with the weight gain when i got back to real life. We are all late night people and eat late so i knew that i would put a few lbs back on. And there was plenty of times that i felt like i needed a wheelbarrow or forklift to get me out of the dining rooms.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

Pffffttt.....with all there is to do, I actually lost weight on the cruise.

 

[JJsmama]

We were on the four night Wonder. I actually came home a little lighter.

1. The first night I was terribly sea sick (so that got me off to a good start weight wise

Plus, I never ate anything the whole cruise that I thought was fabulous--even at Palo.

2. My favorite things were the FRUIT and the ice cream at Scoops.

The fresh fruit was wonderful and plentiful. This allowed me to fill up on very healthy, non-fattening things at all meals. It is also what sounded best to me since I was slightly quesy the whole time. After the fruit, I was always content with just a couple bites of entrees and desserts.

3. We were on deck 8. Since I am impatient, I rarely used the elevators. I happily ran up and down and forward to aft all day long.

4. I really enjoyed getting up early and walking on deck four --at least a couple laps.

5. Although I planned to have alcohol, once aboard I never wanted it and only had one glass of wine the whole cruise. Things were definitely magical enough without the drinks.

 

[Dodie]

Three words ---

TAKE THE STAIRS!!!!!

I ate what I wanted (it's vacation after all) and this tactic worked for me!

 

[kcashner]

Stairs at all times--usually faster than elevators too! Fitness center at least on sea days, I really try to hit it every day. I worked too hard to lose 97 pounds to allow them to sneak back on!

At dinner, do a bite or 2 of any dessert you want. You don't have to eat the whole thing!

 

[hayesktrm]

I actually lost about 7 pounds. I was a bit seasick and really didn't care for the food (except for the dessert at Palo's). The day after we got off the cruise, I got the worst case of stomach flu I could ever imagine. I don't know if it was from the cruise or not. No one else in my family got sick. This time, I will start taking ginger tablets before we leave and will stick with food I know I like (Palo waiter forced us into getting things we don't every day even though I said I wasn't feeling well). I don't recommend my weight loss plan, though

 

[coriedorie]

Originally posted by hayesktrm
I actually lost about 7 pounds. I was a bit seasick and really didn't care for the food (except for the dessert at Palo's). The day after we got off the cruise, I got the worst case of stomach flu I could ever imagine. I don't know if it was from the cruise or not. No one else in my family got sick. This time, I will start taking ginger tablets before we leave and will stick with food I know I like (Palo waiter forced us into getting things we don't every day even though I said I wasn't feeling well). I don't recommend my weight loss plan, though

I am so sorry!! I can't imagine after all the planning and excitement having to be sick the whole time...


Edited to say thanks for the reminder....I have to call my Dr. for a prescription for meds for motion sickness.

 

[PoohJen]

CorieDorie - just a little whine/confession from me...just 5 days left and i have zero willpower for losing those last few (okay, those last 10) pounds before the cruise this Saturday. I was doing well ALL MORNING (LOL!) and then caved in and went to an Italian restaurant w/ DH for lunch - we had so many important cruise details to go over, of course!

Now I'm mad at myself. But still eyeing that Halloween Snickers. geez, I am HOPELESS!!! Guess I'd better go with your theory of being in training for the cruise smorgasbord!

See you Saturday!!! I will be the one NOT sporting a slinky new bikini!

 

[coriedorie]

Originally posted by PoohJen
CorieDorie - just a little whine/confession from me...just 5 days left and i have zero willpower for losing those last few (okay, those last 10) pounds before the cruise this Saturday. I was doing well ALL MORNING (LOL!) and then caved in and went to an Italian restaurant w/ DH for lunch - we had so many important cruise details to go over, of course!

Now I'm mad at myself. But still eyeing that Halloween Snickers. geez, I am HOPELESS!!! Guess I'd better go with your theory of being in training for the cruise smorgasbord!

See you Saturday!!! I will be the one NOT sporting a slinky new bikini!

I am mad at myself today too!! I had two Krispy Kremes for breakfast...one cream filled I have been trying to lose lbs. for the cruise, but I am hopeless!! What Halloween Snickers?? I took care of those before the weekend was up!! It seems that the more pressure I am under, the easier I yield to tempation. See you Saturday! I will be the one hiding under her swimsuit coverup so as not to scare young children!!