For as long as I can remember taking vacations I’ve always
dreaded stepping on the scale when I got home.
Not anymore! I’ve now proven to
myself that it’s very possible to go on vacation, and a cruise no less, without
post-trip weight gain and that “blah” feeling. My cruise in October was
7-nights to the Caribbean with Carnival Cruise Line with five ports of
call. This was my first cruise vacation
and after all the weight I had been successful at shedding, I was nervous about
how I could stay true to my food plan and avoid gaining.
First is figuring out how to get food close to your plan and
meal times when traveling by air and avoid resorting to snacks and vending machine style foods. The first leg
of my trip included long flights from the Midwest to Newark, and then on to
San Juan. My plans included eating my
normal breakfast, and then having a modest salad lunch with protein at the
airport before boarding. Then during the lay-over I had a marvelous seafood
stew which set me up well for the night even though we didn’t arrive at our
hotel until 2am. A great mantra in
these situations is to remember that hunger is not an emergency!
On the day I had to return home I again had my normal
breakfast, but the food choices at the San Juan airport were more limited. My solution was to share an entrée with my
travel companion and eat the portions of it that were appropriate for my food
plan. A bigger challenge was getting an evening meal in when my layover was
just a few minutes, but I there was a little convenience store that sold
packaged salads and fruit so I chose a bean salad that had a few greens in it
and an apple. I ate these after boarding
the plane, and I was able to stay satisfied with that until I got home about
10pm. Obviously a good strategy might be
to pack a meal or two to take along, but I wanted to avoid this for a few
reasons. First is that I don’t like eating in an airplane seat as it just
doesn’t feel like I’m having a meal. Second is I want to keep the stuff I need
to keep track of and worry about dragging onto the plane at a minimum.
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| Unique salad of beets, grapefruit, radishes and a sprinkle of blue cheese did not need the creamy dressing |
On the cruise I’d advise you eat most of your meals in the
formal dining room rather than at the plentiful buffets. I even ate most of my breakfasts in the
formal dining room where it was easy to navigate the mostly al-a-carte menu to
put together just the right combination of protein, a half-bowl of oatmeal for
a grain and a great selection of fresh fruits. The dinner menu in the formal
dining room was a little different each night but always included at least one
appetizer, or “starter” item, that was compliant with my food plan including
some totally amazing salads of unique combinations. The wait staff was
generally versed in how the salads were dressed so I could avoid sugar and too
much oil; balsamic dressing was always an option, and some salads didn’t
actually need any dressing at all.
The entrée portions were generally reasonable or even a
little small which worked perfectly for me. I had a different meal every
evening. I ate lot of seafood and fish
including salmon, sea bass, scallops and large shrimp, and I would estimate the
portions to weigh in between 4-6oz of protein. Most entrees included at least a
nod to vegetables but often the portions were comically small so I almost
always had to ask for an additional portion plus order a side vegetable such as
green beans off the menu. If the entrée had
potatoes or rice I asked the staff to leave it off, and if they failed to I
just pushed it aside. Desserts? Of
course the menu included some interesting and decadent choices! Yes, I did look at the menu and twice on the
trip I did order fresh fruit as a dessert, but most nights I just sat back and
enjoyed another glass of iced tea. Overall my dinners were fabulous, and it was
very enjoyable to have someone else prepare, serve and clean up afterwards!
While there are healthy options at the buffets such as the
“build your own omelet” bar at breakfast and the Mongolian stir-fry at lunch,
you do need to pay attention to quantities and cooking methods. Watching other omelets being made I realized
that the chefs were using the equivalent of three eggs and sizeable portions of
cheese, but they just coated the pan with cooking spray rather than using added
oil. When it was my turn I asked to have less eggs and two pinches of cheese
(which gave the chef a chuckle after he understood what I meant). At the stir-fry bar I was able to fill a bowl
with a combination of vegetables I liked and avoided the dollops of sauces that
most always are laden with both oil and sugar.
But when I ate the finished meal I was surprised how greasy it was.
Later I learned they cooked the stir-fry in oil unless you ask them to use
broth instead.
I also tend to avoid buffets because it’s way too easy to
end up with more than you need on your plate and to over-eat. Even if I’m able to scope out the offerings
at the buffet ahead of grabbing and filling a plate, I run into trouble, ending
up with too much veggies or choosing a side dish that looked compliant with my
food plan only to find it tasted sweet, included hidden items like raisins, or
was very oily. And having to wait in a line and having so many people behind
you grabbing and reaching seems to fuel my angst at getting through the buffet
smartly. A few tips for the buffet are
to stick to the one-plate rule and one trip only, realize that you might pick
up something that ultimately you won’t eat so it’s best to fill the bulk of
your plate with known items such as salad or steamed veggies, and go up to the
buffet to check out all the options so you can plan what you’re going to take
to form your meal.
When on a cruise you can make a call to the kitchen to ask a few questions. This is how I learned how the stir-fries were being made and what accommodations I could ask for. Even when I had to ask a lot of questions of the waitstaff I felt they were always patient and accommodating.
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| Mufungo in San Juan at a local cafe |
I was always successful at not snacking, even when it meant
passing up an opportunity to try a sample of something such as traditional
sugar cake on the island of St. Kitt’s. But I did eat a few lunches in the ports and was anxious to try the local cuisine like this Shrimp Mufungo made with mashed plantains that I shared with my travel companion. Did I feel I was missing out sometimes?
Sure, a little, but I kept reminding myself how far I’ve come to screw
up now!
If you have strategies to be successful sticking to a
healthy eating plan on vacation please share them since I plan on going on many
more trips now that I know I can do it and avoid suffering weight set-backs.
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