Post-cruise reflections on staying healthy onboard

Hi all,

I've lurked here lots over the past years but never posted on this board. However, I just posted a blog entry about my experiences trying to maintain the healthy lifestyle I started nine months before cruising while actually ON the ship last month. I thought maybe some of you would be interested in reading it, although none of it is groundbreaking and most is just common sense :-)

Otherwise, I hope this helps even just one person stay committed to making good choices while on the ship. Thanks!

Cruise Control

About a month ago, Adam and I went on a cruise to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary (yes, it's hard to believe but oh-so-true). I was excited for this trip for a number of reasons, but there was also one big thing causing me a lot of anxiety in the days leading up to it: how in the world was I supposed to go on a cruise and not gain a ton of weight? Confession time…I have been on five cruises and, prior to this one, I have never come back having gained less than five pounds in one week. Twice I gained more than seven, and once I refused to weigh myself at all until several weeks afterwards. How does one gain weight at a rate of literally a pound a day?!?! Let me tell you.

Buffets. Inactivity. Two dinner entrees. Elevators everywhere. Buffets. Lots of booze. 24-hour access to food. Buffets.

You get the picture. Essentially, a cruise ship (or at least the ones we've been on) is a floating ode to gastronomical excess coupled with what I like to call "relaxation" aka exerting as little effort as possible. And knowing that I was about to spend a week in this mecca of munchies had me searching for ways to avoid a major setback. I had been doing far too well with my weight loss to get derailed by one week, especially when I knew it would take me weeks and weeks to lose what I could easily gain in one.

So I set myself a goal: I was going to come back from this 10-day vacation having gained no more than three pounds. And guess what? I only gained 1.4, which I'm considering a major success since I can breathe wrong one week and gain 1.4 pounds :-) I also lost that 1.4 and then some the following week, leading me to believe the 1.4 was mostly water weight from all the sodium in the food.

How did I do it? A little research online before I went (there are lots of cruise/vacation message boards out there and many have tips on trying to stay healthy while traveling) and a lot of trying to make the best possible choices while away. None of it was rocket science, but I thought I might share it anyway in case someone could benefit from having it all together in one place. Normally I would give lots of disclaimers like "this is what worked for me, what will work for you might be different" but a lot of this is just common sense. I will say that I don't guarantee if you do these things you won't gain wait on your next vacation, but I think it certainly can't hurt.

However, there is one thing I feel like I need to say before getting into the nitty gritty of the post. You have to understand that so much of this all is about mindset. There's something that most people (myself included) have that I like to think of as "vacation mindset." It's the thinking I grew up with, the thinking that says "I'm on vacation, so I have to indulge in everything I don't normally have" or "I'm on vacation, so this doesn't really count." It's the thinking that leads a person (not ME of course) to buy two packages of Double Stuff Oreos, multiple family size bags of chips, two 12-packs of soda, and a jumbo bag of Swedish fish for a weekend trip to the beach. I can't tell you how many times I've gone on vacation and from the time I leave until the time I come home, I order every possible bad-for-you thing I can find on any menu. Things I wouldn't even order on my birthday (*cough* Hyman's fried seafood platter with seven types of seafood and hushpuppies *cough*) are suddenly fair game, and I start to get this almost panicky feeling that if I'm not eating, I'm not enjoying myself. Most of my childhood vacation memories actually revolve around food--whoopie pies from the Amish bakery in Lancaster, Snickers pie at a mom and pop restaurant in Vermont, and literally everything I could get my hands on as I'd eat my way down the Boardwalk.

The thing I've realized in the past year though is that vacation doesn't have to mean overindulgence, and it doesn't have to mean giving up everything you've been working on for the past weeks, months, or years. I firmly believe that, in the same way that you can deal with the stresses of everyday life at home without the use of food as a coping mechanism, you can relax and even indulge on vacation without going overboard. If you think this is crazy, if you are thinking right now "Oh come on, Dawn, you're taking this a little too far. Vacation is my ONE time to let it all go," then you probably won't want to read the rest of this post because I truly don't believe that anymore...and I definitely don't believe that you have to throw your healthy lifestyle out the window in order to have a good time while away.

So without further adieu, here are some of my suggestions for keeping up your healthy lifestyle on a cruise (or any vacation).

1. Employ as many strategies that have worked for you all along while you are away. For example, I tried never to let myself get so hungry that I was going to eat whatever the next thing was that I saw. This is something I do every day in regular life as well. This is tied closely to the next suggestion which is...

2. Don't be afraid to do whatever works for you, even if it doesn't make any sense. I brought snacks onto the ship, including granola bars, nuts, and protein bars. Seems crazy to bring your own food to a place where you have 24-hour access to food, right? The thing is that I knew sometimes--on the ship or even on an excursion--I would want to have a snack. If I can eat a snack that I know only has 100 calories or will keep me fuller longer rather than grabbing something like a cookie or pizza (two of the most commonly available foods between meals on our ship), why wouldn't I? Obviosuly, I'm not a masochist so I didn't count points while I was on the cruise, but some of the little "brain drills" that come along with having been counting points for so long are still there, and I'd find myself thinking "Well, if I eat this two-point granola bar now instead of that cookie, I will have a lot more points available for dinner."

3. Keep up your routines. It's hard work to make good habits, and it seemed counterintuitive to break them just because I was on vacation. I eat breakfast every day, thus I ate breakfast every day. I work out four times a week, thus I worked out while on the ship (more on this later). I think too often we view vacation as a total departure from anything remotely resembling our normal lives, when it's really more like living a more relaxed and enjoyable version of our normal lives.

4. Make good choices every chance you get, even when they're small. Soups. They are served every night in the main dining room on the cruise, and man do I love soup. My favorites are the cream-based types of soup like lobster bisque and baked potato. However, these are also the worst for you in terms of fat and calories, so I made the decision early on that unless it was something I had never tried before/couldn't get back home, I wasn't going to do any cream-based soups and save those calories to enjoy whatever dessert I wanted. This also applied to items I saw whose descriptions included the words "garlic butter sauce" lol I will say, Adam always got all of these things, so I would sometimes take a taste and never once did I feel like "oh man, that would have totally been worth it." And if I had, I honestly would have called the waiter over and ordered my own :-) Which leads to...

5. Don't completely deprive yourself or you'll flip out pretty quickly. Just pick and choose what you're wanting to indulge on. I skipped cream-based soups so I could order other things like dessert. I ate chicken, beef, and pork on the cruise along with lower-calorie seafood. If I had ordered a piece of fish and steamed vegetables every night, you would would have found me head first in a vat of chocolate pudding by day three.

6. Exercise, both formally (if that's your thing) and just by being more active. Yes, I worked out in the gym on the ship a few days, but nothing crazy. I also made it a point to walk as much as possible any time I could. In port, we would walk places that were within walking distance rather than taking a taxi, and would often walk the length of the ship and back if we had a few extra minutes before a show or dinner. It's so easy to put your butt in a lounge chair and just stay there, especially on a cruise where they're constantly coming up asking you what you want/need. If you're not intentional about moving, you could go hours being completely sedentary. Again, I knoooooow it's your vacation and you deserve to relax, but you're reading this post because you want to know how to be as healthy as possible on vacation, right?

7. Watch the booze. Seriously. Yup, this one sucks. Adam and I had $300 shipboard credit on this cruise, and six months ago I was pretty sure I wanted to spend all of that on drinks. Having cruised five times now with the same cruise line, we were also comped drinks several times at different events. Say it with me: It doesn't matter that I'm on a ship and it's so special and fruity and just fits in the atmosphere so well. It still has the same nutrition information as it does back at home, and there's a reason you don't see people who are losing weight walking round drinking Malibu and pineapples all day at home. If you are going to drink, stick to wine or maybe light beer. Less sugar, less calories, and most of the pours seem pretty standard compared to some of the mondo drinks I saw being served.

8. Drink water constantly. Another one that falls into the category of good habits you have back home that you shouldn't break on the ship. A) It keeps you hydrated, which is really important when you're spending so much time in the sun, B) It might help flush some of the sodium out of your system from the food, and C) It helps you stay fuller so you avoid unnecessary snacking. I'm starting to see a pattern here regarding avoiding eating "just because."

So those are some general things that apply to cruises as well. These next few are pretty cruise specific:

1. Take the stairs whenever you can. Someone at WW told me this before I left and said she rarely gains weight on cruises even though she eats whatever she wants, and she swears it's because she never takes the elevator on the ships. There are many benefits to taking the stairs, but honestly the best one IMHO is that you don't spend half your day waiting for the stupid elevators that the other 3,000 people on your ship are also taking to arrive. We walked a lot of stairs during that week, and sometimes if we were going from say 14 to 4 or 3 to 11 and our destination was directly above or below us, we'd walk up six flights then walk the length of the ship, walk up four more, and walk the length of the ship back to the end where we started. If you're a cruiser, you'll know what I mean by this, and it all plays into that being intentional about working in extra movement wherever you can thing.

2. Ask for what you need when ordering in the Main Dining Room. I wanted an extra plate of veggies every night at dinner. The first night I felt silly asking for a whole plate of vegetables to go along with whatever I was ordering as my entree, but it was a much better option than eating four dinner rolls. By the third night, my waiter just brought it for me with carrots, broccoli, squash, and asparagus. The one thing they couldn't get right was that I kept asking for them to be steamed and they were always sautéed (could tell by the traces of oil on them). I stopped trying to fight that battle after a few nights and hoped I was making up for it by eating a bunch of veggies instead of three desserts or the aforementioned rolls.

3. Eat in the MDR when possible instead of the buffets. The portions for the most part seemed really reasonable in our MDR and because you're eating more slowly as you wait between courses, you tend to pay more attention to your body's signals. I know I ate substantially less in the MDR than when I would peruse the 150 item buffet and try pick decent food. It's also a lot easier to avoid french fries when they're not even on the menu (as opposed to always available on the buffet).

4. Ask yourself "Is this worth it?" about literally everything you eat. Some of the food I've eaten on cruises is hands down among the best I've ever had. Some is honestly among the worst. Previously I have always had the mindset that "I paid for this" so I would eat as much as I could at every meal to get my money's worth. I also always finished what I started, even if it wasn't any good. This was particularly true of desserts for some reason. I'd eat a huge slice of cake that tasted like it had been sitting out for three days even though I knew after one bite it was not very good. Not this time. I was very particular, and if I tried something and it wasn't awesome, I stopped eating it. It also helped that I learned about how Royal Caribbean creates dolphin and fish food from their uneaten food, so I didn't feel like I was being wasteful (true story…you can apparently even see them release it at different times off the back of the ship and watch dolphins jumping out of the water to get at it).

5. Try to do something active in the ports instead of just laying on the beach all day. Or at least consider splitting it 50/50 (this is what we did, as I couldn't completely give up my beach time haha) so you get both movement and relaxation in during the same outing. Similarly, look for activities on the ship that will keep you moving. You don't have to pay for the yoga or circuit training classes offered by the fitness center to do this. On this past cruise, there were tons of free options that could keep you moving including salsa dancing lessons, a Zumba-esque class, line dancing, and even scavenger hunts. Just read your activities guide and ask yourself "Does this sound like something I'll be sitting for the whole time?" If the answer is yes, and you've already done five of those types of activities that day, maybe choose something else.

Anyway, so there you have it. Take it for what it is and please do feel free to share YOUR tips and tricks for staying healthy and active on cruises/vacation.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! I've been stressing for the last week about my upcoming cruise because I'm going with a bunch of foodies (myself included) who keep raving about all the dining options. I am a first time cruiser and I'm very excited to try new things, but I've been busting my but over the last several months to get in shape (not just for the cruise, but for a general lifestyle change). I don't want 5 days in paradise to ruin months of hard work.

I think I can do most of these things. The alcohol one will probably be the toughest to stick to.

Nice job. I had a WW leader back in NH that was amazing. One week a member was stressing to several of us before the meeting about her upcoming cruise. Our faithful leader overheard, sat down beside her,looked her in the eye and said" just because you don't have to cook and clean up, just because you have a better view of Juan the Pool Boy, you don't get more points. You just get to eat them in a much better location. ". Never forgot and boy was she right. Thanks again Miss D

Great tips! I don't like alcohol so I always drink water. I don't eat fried foods, but I eat desserts on the ship. I also train at the gym everyday on the ship and take the stairs.

Danda57 Thanks so much for your insite and your cruising experience. I was looking for someone to discuss this. My next cruise is April 2015 and I am trying to get healthy and ultimately lose weight before the cruise. I am a diabetic and want to be healthy. I am trying to formulate a plan that I can live with while I am on the cruise. When I read all the other posts, I see that most people do over indulge on food and alcohol. I love food and I like to drink also but I need to understand that staying healthy is more important and I will follow some of the advise that you gave us.

Thanks again

Thank you! I completely agree with your observations. I felt in control on my 10 day cruise and vowed to get to my meeting as scheduled, which I did. Whatever the scale said, I was ready! I gained 3 1/2 (I think) and it was off in a few days. Total success for me!

To g8rfan17: remember this isn't a sprint, but a marathon. No matter how you do on your cruise, 5 days does not define success. If you get back home and start busting your butt again you will be fine! Have a great time, be mindful and active and commit to yourself at home.

First. Cruise i gained 11 pounds... Second cruise i gained only 2 pounds... Eat the same but I woke up early and went to the gym for 1 hours... Did the yoga class.... Took the walking excursions as much as possible and also did 30 minutes of running before getting dress for dinner... And trust me i ate a lot.... So worth it... Also had other cruisers that i met at the gym and we motivated each other... Worth it... Now i keep the same routine on every cruise... And gain none on my last cruise... Have a wonderful cruise!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Eat at least one fruit and one green vegetable daily. Otherwise, just enjoy!

Thank you for posting. Pretty much everything you did I am going to do on my cruise! Vacations are to take it easy and indulge on things you have never had before...but that doesn't mean 5 trips to the soft serve ice cream machine! lol! I hope a lot of people read this and become enlightened on how to make their vacation healthy but fun. I look forward to working out on the cruise... hoping to make some workout buddies!

Thanks again!

I gained nearly 20 pounds on my first cruise and the several days following it, in which I was a total lunatic and never shut my mouth unless it was to chew something! lol One year ago I joined WW and it has been a real treat. I have lost 48.2 pounds. I went to a meeting the day after returning from my last cruise. I had gained 3 pounds and lost 4 1/2 pounds the following week! You are on a cruise - enjoy some wonderful food but keep everything in moderation. Be active as much as possible. For me, no booze ( just don't like it). Have a taste of cheesecake instead of 3 slices. It is totally about the process. Thanks for sharing such great insight!

It was great for you to take the time to share all of these great tips from your recent experience. I am on WW right now and had worried about blowing all of my hard work on my upcoming cruise. It will help that I will be with my daughter, who is an avid exerciser and super-healthy eater!

Thank you for sharing! That was so nice of you to take the time to write all that!

I will be reading your post many times before my cruise in August. I am on South Beach since the beginning of April. No I don't do low/no carb.. I eat plenty of those. I do watch calories and keep sodium, sugar, protein, cholesterol, fat within certain parameters and increase fiber. I just don't eat junk carbs and very little bread and rice. I am in control of my eating, love eating healthier, and I plan to enjoy... big difference between enjoying and overeating. On the cruise I will eat a desert or have some pizza but not overindulge... the goal of this cruise for me is not to eat.... it's to relax and enjoy... and for me exercise is part of that now.

I've lost over 20 pounds and over 20" so far and don't plan to go backwards. I will be up on that deck in the morning at least walking. Also plan to use the gym and continue my stationary bike. I do pilates on my own but may do the yoga offered while on board. If I don't exercise at least every other day my body gets stiff and achy and lets me know to get off my butt! :D I'm 53 and in better shape now than ever! Still 20 pounds to lose and I will get there!

Wowwww excellent post.

I have been thinking nonstop about how I'm going to at least maintain my weight loss during 12 days at buffet, I mean sea, in August. I'm good for a pound a day gain easily. And I bring those habits home with me. A cruise turns into a two month eating binge, which then turns into the holidays. When I started cruising I was 150 and when I stepped off the Carnival Glory last summer I was 236. I love cruising but there is no doubt in my mind that it sets into motion some extremely bad eating habits. While on board- you don't wanna know. I get a pre-breakfast breakfast delivered (Danish, anyone?) and end the day with cruising up to the lido for dessert after my MDR dessert.

So I started a different way of eating (been admonished too many times not to call it a diet as it implies being "on" or "off") which is a low carb paleo. I've lost 60 pounds- and that includes crashing off for the holidays last year. So now I'm faced with a cruise on the Carnival Fantasy and a strong desire not to come home with a bunch of clothes that don't fit. A lot of Carnival food is pretty meh and cruise desserts, even on the QE2, are usually awful. That has never mattered to me- I just eat more of them to see if any of the other desserts are better.

I've come up with different strategies in my mind: only eat insulin producing foods at night so they won't set into motion the spike-and-crash roller coaster that will have me feeling lethargic and pounding the desserts. Go to the fitness center (always my plan, has never happened once). Stay away from the empty carbs all day but allow unlimited fruit, which will seem like a treat. Take the stairs, which I always do and can really feel after a couple of days. As far as dinner in the MDR goes, I'm kind of at a loss. I won't eat the bread, pasta or grains- that's easy. But I eat a lot of meat and veg- that's pretty much all I eat. So getting a steak and veg in the MDR will seem like half a dinner to me. I'll ask for extra veg but I'm not sitting there and asking for two steaks. Same goes for a little piece of salmon- not going to be enough. We shall see.

If I ate a granola bar in the morning like you do I'd be ravenous a half hour later so bringing snacks on board is not an option. I have thought about bringing super dark chocolate and some almonds, but the thought of bingeing completely on cruise food after 48 hours of my "rules" and coming back to the cabin and staring at my pathetic dark chocolate and almonds is too humiliating. Honestly, deep down inside I do not trust myself- and why should I? :rolleyes:

I do not drink so that's not an issue. I go to bed at 9pm on ships so interrupted sleep patterns is not an issue. I wake up, eat, sit around on loungers all day, ready books, eat, lather, rinse, repeat. I am definitely going to do more in port this time if I can get my son and husband to leave the ship and visit the same not-great ports we've been to ten times already. We are all about the ship, not the trip.

My son is a competitive rower and my husband is a skinny minnie. They are pumping me up with support and strategies. But they know me, I know me, and it am just praying the inner cruise food devil does not come out! If she does I am not cruising again for a long, long time (that's my threat- my delusion is "hey I can consider the cruise to be carb cycling and when I get off the ship and switch back to paleo I'll immediately dump 20 pounds" <<< lie).

Thanks again for your post and I'm sure a lot of us are having the same thoughts.

Dawn, these are great strategies. I use many of them myself. Walking between decks is a big one for us ... "the stairs are your friend," I tell my hubby.

Hi,

Great posts, everyone talks about

Lose before cruising . But it is very

Difficult to reduce your portion

Sizes when you have overeaten

On a cruise or any other holiday and

Resume back to normal eating when

Arriving back home. I stick to a few rules while away on holidays to lighten the damage .

Eat a breakfast and lunch which is

Similar to what you would eat at home on your plans.

When buying coffee on the ship latte

Or cappuccino only get them to fill

Up the cup half way. The standard

Take away coffee are way to big.

No eating between breakfast and lunch.

The time between lunch and dinner

Is quite long so a afternoon snack is

Necessary otherwise you get to dinner too hungry and hit the bread

Basket.

I also fall into the trap of bringing snacks on the cruise and do not end

Up eating them. I rather go to the buffet in the afternoon and choose

Something from there . The snacks

Are great on port days because there

May not be any suitable snacks off the ship .

At Dinner stick to Protein and Veg but

If they have your favourite food on the menu order it and enjoy.

Exercise does help.

At the end of the evening don't go to

The buffet area plus any other time when it is not a meal or snack time.

This can lead to temptation .

I do follow these rules about 80%

Of the time . I'm not perfect and do

Indulge and break my rules.

But at the end of the day I have

Not deprived myself completely

And the damage is minimal.

Lisa

I loved your posting--it was right on! (As well as interesting and well written.) We practice a lot of what you pitch--instead of taking excursions in the ports, we walk into and around town, walk the jogging tracks, and are mindful of every bite and swallow. Alas, we do gain weight, but it's only a few pounds and once we get home and go back to normal eating, it comes off in no time.

I truly believe that you can be careful and carefree at the same time. But it takes work!

Thanks for putting so much effort into your posting--you should share it more widely. - Diana, musingaboutcruising.blogspot.com

I liked most of the suggestions from the OP. On my first cruise I followed the advice to never take the elevator, and I think that helped a good bit. I never convinced myself to go to the gym that trip, but I found movement activities I enjoyed-- walking the decks, ping pong, walking in the ports. Another helpful thing was knowing that it was ok to stop eating something if I didn't love it.

In general, when thinking about these issues, something that gets lost is our original abilities for our bodies to have equilibrium. This is a natural state and skill set that we are born with (we just lose it if we are taught incorrect ways of eating...clear your plate, eat your veggies in order to have dessert, etc). Thinking through food choices can help us return to this state, but when one goes to far and set up rigid rituals and rules, one runs the risk of feeling too restricted and lashing out in the worst ways possible. We are meant to enjoy food; we are meant to trust our bodies.

Kudos to the OP for posting this and good luck to everyone on their journeys and their trips.

We got back last Sunday from a 7 day cruise to Bermuda on the Summit and I lost 2 pounds. We ate in specialty restaurants 5 nights. My husband likes room service for breakfast. I had oatmeal or yogurt every morning just like home with some fruit. Walked one hour every morning and took the stairs all the time. Stayed away from all surgery alcoholic drinks. Had proseco (sp) at the cocktail hour and wine with dinner. If we wanted dessert, we shared one; and drank at least 100 ounces of water a day. Went to Horseshoe Bay 2 days, the waves were amazing and burned a lot of calories. Did I feel deprived? Not a bit, and felt great when I got home. Contemplating 12 days on the Queen Mary in September but our next confirmed cruise is 21 days in February and I will try and follow the same routine. Best of luck to everyone!

Last cruise, I tried to stay active by sticking to the stairs only, but due to a mostly sedentary lifestyle, I did not have the stamina or the strength to make it very far. We were staying on deck 01, and I was lucky if I made it four decks up to the MDR for dinner. We did snorkel in every port, so I was semi-active by swimming around constantly for large chunks of time, but by the third port I ended up dozing on the beach, exhausted, while hubby kept exploring.

Next cruise is in May and my goals are to be about sixty/seventy pounds lighter, feel much better about myself, and have a very large increase in stamina and strength.

These are great suggestions for keeping up with what I've started to get to my goals, and to avoid a post-cruise weight gain slump where I get super depressed because I'm back home in reality with ten plus extra pounds hanging on. I'll have to save those tips so I can print them out and take them with me as a reminder. Thanks!! :)

great overview! I can't stress enough how important it is to constantly drink water and mainly only drink water. When you want those cocktails it makes is all that much better! I'd also suggest to walk around as much as you can (goes hand in hand with taking stairs)...you sit so much that walking sometimes goes away but taking nice walks in the mornings is a great way to start your day and get your body movin!

This is a wonderful thread. We were just talking about this at my WW meeting today. A couple at the meeting had just come back from Alaska land tour and cruise and he had gained eight pounds. We were laughing at how you used to be able to walk stairs between everyplace but now the ships are so big, it's pretty impossible! Going 12 days on NCL Breakaway in January. I've never done more than 7 days before, so I'm a bit nervous about that. Breakaway doesn't even have a wraparound promenade to walk, a lot of newer ships seem to do that to preserve space and let me tell you 10 laps for a mile around a running track is BORING!!!! I'm just hoping I make it to the cruise still on WW...just started for like the 5th time, I have at least a good 20 pounds to lose. So far 4.2 in two weeks...I'm happy with that, any encouragement is great!

I'm about to sail for 12 days, too, and I'm praying the damage is only 5-7 pounds, half of which will be water weight. We shall see! Normally I'm good for a pound a day :eek:

Oooh, I have some suggestions. I send my DH to the buffet first and see what he brings back, then if I want some of that, I can just have a bite of his. Then I circle the entire buffet and look at everything before I make my choices. Then I only take 1 scoop of whatever it is and I don't take so much that it touches other items on the plate. Also, the salads are wonderful. It is so nice to have everything chopped up for you. And they have ham and turkey right there, so you can use that instead of salad dressing. Do not use the salad dressing or croutons. Tons of calories. Share desserts. Don't eat anything that doesn't taste good after the first bite. Remember, you just took a small portion anyway, so you aren't wasting very much. I order the extra veggies at dinner and it is impossible to get them dry, but at least I get the veggies instead of another entree.

Oh, and I get right back on my regular program as soon as I get home but I never weigh until 3 days after I have gotten back to eating right and exercising. There is no point defeating yourself right away.

Oooh, I have some suggestions. I send my DH to the buffet first and see what he brings back, then if I want some of that, I can just have a bite of his. Then I circle the entire buffet and look at everything before I make my choices. Then I only take 1 scoop of whatever it is and I don't take so much that it touches other items on the plate. Also, the salads are wonderful. It is so nice to have everything chopped up for you. And they have ham and turkey right there, so you can use that instead of salad dressing. Do not use the salad dressing or croutons. Tons of calories. Share desserts. Don't eat anything that doesn't taste good after the first bite. Remember, you just took a small portion anyway, so you aren't wasting very much. I order the extra veggies at dinner and it is impossible to get them dry, but at least I get the veggies instead of another entree.

Great suggestions in general ANYWHERE there is a lot of buffet food....a party, special event, wedding, corporate conference, etc!

I lost 30lbs for my daughters wedding and I didn't want to gain the weight back on my 9 day cruise the end of May. I followed the same plan as the original post. I did the steps (even if hubby did the elevator), walked the track in the morning before the pool and tried to stay very active while in port. I didn't take food with me but I did take food from the buffet back t the room. At breakfast they had little packs of peanut butter, so I would take 2 or 3 back to my cabin. Then at the dinner buffet I would get the "healthy" crackers from the buffet and keep them in the cabin so I could have peanut butter and crackers as a snack along with some fruit, again from the buffet.

We also purchased Bubba water bottles. The have bottles that will keep your water cold for 24hrs, they do work. We would have ice in the cabin and fill the bottles with the bottled water we purchased as a package and would take it everywhere we went (except the main dining room). The cold water came in handy on a lot of our shore excursions. I only gained 2lbs on my cruise, I was a happy camper!!:D:D