My vacations are usually just that… I don’t do much formal exercise but I love vacations where we take our bikes and ride everywhere. I usually just plan to lose whatever I put on after coming home. But I can understand the timing of yours coming right before your race.

Last month it was awesome to hear one of the super-fit spin instructors come back from a week long cruise and say “I didn’t work out and had a cookie every day.” Lol. I love vacations.

I would like to go on a spa-liek vacation sometime with workouts and treatments and stuff though. Maybe just not with my man (we love food way, way too much).

I really like your approach. I try to do something similar. when we go on vacation we’re pretty low key, so it’s pretty easy to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. I save up for dinner 🙂 and try to just have one dessert a day. but on vacation I don’t worry about all the little things, like extra handfuls of m&m’s, or less exercise. I just try not to gain 10 lbs 🙂

When on vacation, I usually follow the “one special meal” per day philosophy. I have regular breakfast and lunch and then indulge more at dinner.

Whenever I arrive on location, I also try to find a place near my hotel where I can buy fresh fruit and vegetable, which I eat as a pre-dinner snack along with bars and nuts brought from home. This prevents me from getting too hungry and order everything on the menu!

My best foodie vacation so far is definitely Tuscany, Italy. But strangely enough, I always loose a couple pounds while there without even trying! And this means croissant, gelato and vino every day! It’s probably all the walking, quality of the food and smaller portions?

Enjoy your vacation!

I just eat as I normally would – maybe some ice cream here or there? And I always exercise. Drinking is the tought part, but I do plenty of that here, too!

I eat pretty normally on vacation. With the occasional treat.

I can’t wait to read you posts during your trip!

I’m like you..moderation is the best thing. Since I eat really healthy most days, I can splurge a little on vacation (but never that much).
My favorite place EVER I have eaten is Hawaii. My parents took my brother and I when I was 18 years old. We spent a few days on the big island (Kona) and then a few days on Kuauii (not spelled right??). Every single restaurant we went to was better than the last. EVERY meal was absolutely wonderful. I think that was one of my favorite parts of going there, among many other things.

You can do this! You’ve got so much motivation and drive. Just don’t over eat and take things and a steady pace.

Have an AMAZING vacation.

When I’m lucky enough to have my parents foot the bill for vacation, we like to rent houses or apartments that have kitchens, find the grocery store, and make most of our meals instead of going out. It’s a fabulous way to stay healthy while traveling!

Love your approach!! While you’re over there trying to be healthy/enjoy yourself on vacation, we will all be doing the same with the holidays – you’re not alone 🙂 I just try to choose unique dishes that are worth the splurge – aka leave the chips and salsa, try grandma’s pie.

I know family members who have come back from england a month later and 20 pounds heavier! Some food choices there are so rich and fatty…I would most likely gain weight even though I would try to work out daily! I dunno…it seems like you are grounded enough to keep everything in check 🙂

I went to Italy once–obviously foodie heaven. We also did a lot of walking, though. One day, the person who wore the pedometer said we walked 10 miles I think, so it was easy to counterbalance the amazing food.
On the other hand, I went to costa rica once for a community service project. They hardly fed us(just white rice and black beans) and we had to hike 10 miles through the rain forest just to get to the village. We all lost some good weight that trip.

Except for our honeymoon, I usually stay pretty active on vacation. When we go to Floriday each year after Christmas, I like to run with my cousins, or work out in my grandparents’ club gym. I also try to make ONE meal a day the special meal, just like you’re planning to do. If I have a normal breakfast and basic lunch, then I’m ready for the big family dinner. I also find that good decisions lead to more good decisions. If I have eaten well all day, I’m less inclined to go bananas at dinner!

The good news is that even if you come back to the US up a pound or two, you’ve already got a great mindset for losing the weight, and the one or two pounds won’t make a difference come racetime anyway! 🙂

Good luck! The alcohol is my problem on vacations too.

It can be so easy to eat more than one usually does while on vacation due to good restaurants and larger than life portion sizes… but, I just try to treat myself every once and a while and listen to my tummy!

That sounds like a great plan! I bet you will do really well, Caitlin. Just be mindful of it!

I am still working on eating and vacation. I have gotten better about it, but I usually over indulge, by WAY too much.

I lived in Rome for 7 months. I definitely miss the food there!

Be safe and have a fun trip caitlin!

I did pretty well on my honeymoon for the first 5 days, but the last 5 days were pure indulgence. I gained about 2 pounds on my honeymoon and was shocked it wasn’t more. We always ate a pretty decent sized breakfast, but then lunch was usually quick and light as we were sightseeing and moving around a lot. I think that helped. Dinners were big, but the light lunch was key.

I think it’s a smart idea to approach this trip with some restraint. You don’t want to be carrying extra poundage for your marathon when your body is used to carrying less. Goodluck – I’m sure you will be fine!

That’s interesting that London is the most vegetarian-friendly city…it makes sense, with all the ethnic food available, but I guess when I think London, I just think fish and chips, and big meat cuts 🙂

I love your dietless diet plan. What a great way to approach gaining a few pounds.

Living in Europe makes it very difficult for me to eat healthy! I have a beer delivery guy! Everything in moderation helps, plus all the walking. Everyone walks over here! I really think that as long as you eat because you are hungry and not “because you are on vacation” you will be fine! We just got back from a cruise to Africa, Spain, and Italy where we actually lost weight (the food was kinda bad on the ship). Instead of taking a taxi in every port we visited, we walked. Some days we walked 6-7 miles a day.

Good luck!

In my opinion, you’ve already survived the ultimate foodie destinations and luckily came away with only a 4 pound gain – SF and Napa! I’ve been to lots of what I would call pretty awesome food trips and even cruises, but those 2 spots top!

I gained weight for sure my last two vacations. I need to be better both this week when we’re visiting family and next week when we go to my brother’s wedding.

i love how open and honest you are in this post about weight gain!
i wanted to go on a fitness cruise, but they were pretty pricey!

Hey Caitlin,
I actually do pretty well on vacations because I am so busy. I think that you will be surprised how easy it is in London because you will be walking everywhere which really makes a huge difference. I try to remember that I will look back more fondly on the vacation if I stay healthy and feel good during it. Some of my favorite vacations are the ones when I felt really healthy- getting lots of activity and eating fresh, light food. That makes me feel best and helps me enjoy the vacation even more. Have fun!!!!

I’m actually going to Switzerland for 12 days tomorrow and I’m nervous about my vacation weight gain as well. It’s my 3rd tri there and each time I’ve gained 5 lbs. despite lots of skiing. 5 lbs. isn’t usually a big deal to me, but last year I came home with 10 lbs. to lose b/c I’d kind of fallen off the healthy food wagon and gained 5 additional lbs. that fall. It took 3.5 months and a trip to the nutritionist, but I lost the weight (and in the process gained a love of running, healthy food, and fitness blogs). (I realize that 10 lbs. isn’t a big deal in the big scheme of things, but it really made me miserable and I *hated* dieting- that’s why I went to the nutritionist, which helped a bunch with helping me eat stuff that was tasty and filling so I didn’t feel deprived.)
I haven’t gained any weight above my ideal weight this fall, but I guess I’m just nervous about gaining vacation weight b/c I remember how lousy I felt last January when I got home and my clothes were all to tight! I started avoiding social events b/c I didn’t want to wear my clothes, which is what I consider to be a pretty low point.
I keep trying to remind myself that I’m not at the same place I was last year and that even the 10 lbs. benefited me because my weight loss process turned into a very healthy lifestyle. I’m just nervous!
I am definitely going to try to be careful about ordering desserts or too much booze, but I think even then it’s hard not to gain weight. Mountain food is hearty!