Diet Strategies for Before & After Cruise...

My strategy for all the previous cruises has been to lose 5 lbs before the cruise, stuff myself & eat myself into a food-induced coma while onboard cruise, maybe gain 7 - 10 lbs for 7 day sailing, even with daily workouts, then try to lose 5 lbs after the cruise. I know, not healthy, but that's why we love cruising.

Last cruise I got on the Whole 30 / Paleo diet & lost 10 lbs in the 30 days before the cruise. Gained 10 lbs on the wk-long cruise & wk-long land vacation afterwards.

Anyone has any other / better diet strategy?

I always go on a major diet before the cruise and then try to get right back on when we get back. It is hard to get back on the diet after eating so well for 7 days.

Give up the diet for the cruise and then back on the diet after. Works for me and no worries!!!:cool:

If you're going to Yo-Yo diet, like you are doing, be prepared in the long term to gain more on the cruise and continue to gain when you get back.:p;) That's what happens with all these types of diets. No such thing as losing weight and keeping it off if you come back to eating the way you ate before you went on the diet.:( The only way is to keep eating your diet and suffer the loss of what ever nutrients you don't get from your diet ( and they all miss some key things) and the loss of $$$ trying to take supplements to make up for them.:eek: Well balanced diet, with more servings of veggies and fruit and you used to eat, moderate portions based on your daily caloric expenditure. For exercise to lose weight, push-aways are the best--push away from the table--followed by door swings--swing that refrigerator door and pantry door closed.:D

On our last cruise last month, we actually noticed so many healthy (and delicious) alternatives, that we chose those instead of all the nasty and fattening junk. Honestly, it's been the first time in many, many cruises when we truly enjoyed the food at the buffet, instead of going there just for the sake of eating something quickly and then regretting it when we got home. And the best thing? By making conscious, healthy selections onboard, we didn't gain any weight! :D

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Cruise food is probably saltier than what you have at home so some of that weight is water. If you're shedding several pounds the first few days home it's almost definitely water weight.

I lost 35 lbs on weight watchers before we cruised, came home and had gained 3 lbs. Back on WW and they came right off. I continue to go to WW and maintain. That means some ups and downs. As long as I go to meetings it helps me to be accountable. It's to easy to go up when I'm the only one seeing the scale. My insurance provides free meetings so doesn't cost me anything. I do need to get my head back in the game and lose some more.

On our last cruise last month, we actually noticed so many healthy (and delicious) alternatives, that we ate that instead of stuffing our faces with all the nasty and fattening junk. Honestly, it's been the first time in many, many cruises when we truly enjoyed the food at the buffet, instead of going there just for the sake of eating something quickly.

 

And the best thing? By making conscious, healthy selections onboard, we didn't gain any weight! :D

 

 

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Correct answer! I am in WW and have lost 74 lbs so far. We cruised this past October and I did not want to get back into the bad eating I was doing before. In my meeting we learned that on vacation you should make a choice to either A) plan to stay on plan and not gain anything; B) plan to make good choices and some splurges and have a "controlled gain" (make a decision to not gain more than a certain amount) or C) throw the plan out the window. Obviously, they don't want you to do C!

But others are correct. Yo-Yo dieting is really bad for your health. I say make a plan to eat as healthy as possible with splurges. Walk, walk, walk! Use those steps - forget about the elevator. It is always crowded anyway. In October, we went to NOLA for the 3 days before our cruise. We walked everywhere most of the time and ate some good food. We walked as much as we could on the ship and in the ports but still ate some good food and I had planned to put on no more than 5 lbs. Came back and weighed in and I had only gained 3 with all the walking we did. I ate what I wanted, but did not stuff myself. I tried to make healthy choices, but sometimes did not want to.

But, you should reconsider the lose 5 lbs just to regain it or more on vacation. Not good for your body at all.

My strategy for all the previous cruises has been to lose 5 lbs before the cruise, stuff myself & eat myself into a food-induced coma while onboard cruise, maybe gain 7 - 10 lbs for 7 day sailing, even with daily workouts, then try to lose 5 lbs after the cruise. I know, not healthy, but that's why we love cruising.

 

Last cruise I got on the Whole 30 / Paleo diet & lost 10 lbs in the 30 days before the cruise. Gained 10 lbs on the wk-long cruise & wk-long land vacation afterwards.

 

Anyone has any other / better diet strategy?

My take is it is easier to not eat a cheeseburger than to exercise one off.

I am not overweight but wanted to prepare for the weight I might gain on our 13 day at the weekend.

I simply cut portions in half or ate tiny ready meals. I stopped eating carbs after 6pm and replaced a lot of carbs with beans and pulses.

I've lost 6lbs which is probably what I will gain on this cruise. Saying that though I stayed the same last year as I kept swimming in the pools on our 5 sea days.

Okay here is the deal. I lost 13 pounds before my cruise and did not gain anything during the cruise. Granted, there were factors outside of my control contributing to no weight gain (upset stomach and having my monthly visitor for the majority of the cruise).

For me this is what worked:

1. I tracked all of my food/calories, exercise using an app Fooducate for the 5 weeks prior to the cruise.

2. My doctor weighed me once a week in his office in order to hold me accountable.

3. While on the cruise I promised myself that I would only eat a few bites of everything I wanted which I did. And I only ate items that I normally do not eat at home.

4. On the cruise I tried to stay hydrated as much as possible.

5. I took the stairs on the cruise as much as possible to avoid the elevators.

6. I did dance my butt off one night on the cruise. I wish I would have danced more though. When I was dancing at my peak a couple nights a week I was at my thinnest and hottest.

my food intake does increase on the cruises, but I do a LOT more walking than normal and usually take the stairs instead of the elevators. This helps a lot in keeping my weight gain down, usually to 3-4 lbs/8 day cruise. Though, my calorie intake probably goes from a normal 3000-4000/day up to 6000-8000+ on a cruise. But I also "graze" all day on a cruise instead of eating huge meals.

A Yo-Yo diet is not going off of it for one week a year.:cool:

my food intake does increase on the cruises, but I do a LOT more walking than normal and usually take the stairs instead of the elevators. This helps a lot in keeping my weight gain down, usually to 3-4 lbs/8 day cruise. Though, my calorie intake probably goes from a normal 3000-4000/day up to 6000-8000+ on a cruise. But I also "graze" all day on a cruise instead of eating huge meals.

Only 6-8000 calories? Was expecting more.:)

I do a lot of walking on the ship with a goal of breaking 10,000 steps each day. Than gain about 3 pounds which is very manageable to lose when we get back.

ok, you got me there... probably more... especially on the days when they have the cheesecakes for lunch. I try to stick to proteins (meats/cheeses) instead of breads but I do get in some carbs too.

We usually don't try before the cruise but while on the cruise we always use the stairs, a lot of walking on excursions and islands and focus on doubling our water intake. We have learned to remain pretty stable while not deny ourselves. The first couple of cruises were not pretty once back home. We all know that sea air shrinks clothing:eek:

10K steps is definitely a great goal... I probably approach that since I do about 3 miles in the mornings waiting for the sunrise. But for me, 10K steps is a good 5 miles.

I'm dieting now in anticipation for my Nov cruise, low cal and low carb. I keep dreaming about all the yummy cruise food to keep myself motivated!!

Take the steps as often as you can. You can allow yourself a treat or two because of it! I got a Zipbit to wear to track my steps and that helped.

I don't drink beer on board and don't eat rolls or bread at dinner. That helps. But, I'm convinced that the closets shrink my clothes and I'm not gaining weight on board. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I think the thing that helped me most on my last cruise was to have a plan in my head in advance of getting on board. I had ideas in my head of what great choices I could make that I would also enjoy. This was things like fresh fruit I didn't have to wash and cut. I made a salad everyday at lunch and I never had to wash or cut any of the fixin's. We ate no bread at dinner and shared a baked potato with our main dish. But the key is getting a plan in mind ahead of time. I enjoyed ice cream once daily and kept very busy. I gained 3 pounds in 11 days. For most of us, cruising is only 2-3 weeks per year. Getting on board with a strategy ahead of time is the best strategy.

Just eat an omelette for breakfast and skip the danish then eat anything you want the rest of the day and you won't gsin if you watch the drinks. I think those high calorie drinks are what's sinking your ship.

I always go on a major diet before the cruise and then try to get right back on when we get back. It is hard to get back on the diet after eating so well for 7 days.

Thats been my struggle. I am on a no dairy diet andvwhrn on vacation two weeks ago I enjoyed dairy a bunch. Noe I am craving it more. But I only gained a half pound of fat on the trip do not too bad!

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Eat clean and exercise year round...no yo yo diets you can't stick to and gain weight back after stopping.

On ship I do indulge in alcohol, but not before 5pm, workout every other day, take the stairs everywhere, skip bread most of the time at Dinner, eat what I want including dessert, usually just a few bites, but do not stuff myself and dance until the clubs close. I either maintain my weight or drop a couple of pounds.