The DARK SIDE of cruising, so how many pounds did you gain?

[Boomer23]

Six of us just got back from the 7/31 sailing on Enchantment. Seven days to New England/Canada. To put it mildly, we did NOT restrain ourselves from eating anything that looked mildly appetizing. We ate in the Dining Room for most dinners, and Chops restaurant one night. We had breakfasts and lunches in the Windjammer and in the Dining Room. We added ice cream to desserts when they seemed to call for something a la mode. We had a lobster lunch in Portland and Kobe beef burgers and ice cream ashore in Bar Harbor. A couple of us had Cheese Steaks in Philly upon our return, and we had a great Italian dinner at Sfuzzio's in Philly the night before sailing.

 

I haven't heard the outcome from my brother and SIL, but the most any of the remaining four of us gained was two pounds. Some of us didn't gain any weight.

 

We are amazed!

 

We are fairly fit, but nothing more than the average healthy person. The only thing that we can think of is that we were more active on the cruise than we normally are. We almost never used the elevators and we made many stair trips daily. My wife and I walked the track on Deck 10 almost every morning. I added some extra walking laps while she showered, and also walked a bit one afternoon and did 15 minutes on an eliptical machine once. The two 20-somethings and I took a 1 1/2 mile easy hike in Bar Harbor. But we are talking moderate exercise here, no workout animals in my family! I really expected to gain 5 pounds and I thought that this moderate amount of activity would have very little effect.

 

I'm curious what other cruisers expect to gain during a week of decadence.

[mbisson]

I don't gain any weight on my "dark side". However if you roll me over to the other side, it a different story.

 

Seriously I only put on a couple lbs during that week and within a week or two after, it's gone. Now if I could only work on that weight gain (other than cruises) from the last 20 or so years......

 

-Monte

[Marie51]

Lots of walking around the ship and up and down the stairs as well as shore excursions keep the weight under control.

[Murphy]

I'll let you know after our Oct 2 cruise. I have a bet with one of my fellow WW member that I will gain 8 lbs. She says I'll only gain 4!!! :) :) :)

 

Dark Shadows was an old soap opera/sci fi from the 70's but I'm not sure about Dark Side...

[mbisson]

Dark Shadows was an old soap opera/sci fi from the 70's but I'm not sure about Dark Side...

 

I think it was actually "Tales from the Dark Side" and was written in the same vein as "Outer Limits".

 

-Monte

[whyrlygig]

I have never gained anything on a vacation but on our first cruise, DH gained 7 pounds. My boss was on this cruise too. He gained and amazing 17 pounds! :eek:

[Boomer23]

Yowzah!

[Merion_Mom]

Good karma! ;)

[MarciaL]

Wow, 17 lbs. Wonder how much of that was fluids he retained.

 

My husband and I usually never gain, for the same reasons as above. We are more active while on the ship and the shore excursions, and while it seems like we are eating more, it can be deceiving. We eat a light breakfast, average lunch. They for dinner, the servings are usually not as large as they look. We will have the appitizer, either soup or salad, the entree and dessert, but seldon finish all of that. And I'm not sitting here at the computer or in front of a TV.

 

P.S. I loved Dark Shadows......

[dirtgirl]

Sorry, you may hate me here, but I lose weight on cruises! :eek: Never take elevators, in the gym at 6:30 am every morning (no matter how hung over I am):D, and I am constantly on the go. I hate to sit! Dinners are much larger than usual, but I don't overdo breakfast, and may have an afternoon snack (no big lunch). I thought that the alcohol intake would pour the pounds on, but they didn't.........:) The key is to be active! Go rock wall climbing, swimming, kayaking etc - that is the way to keep the pounds away! (and use those stairs - what a stair master they are)!

[Tra4]

The most I gained was on the 12 day Hawaii cruise. I would get up early before my DH & kids, and have breakfast. Then my DD would wake up and I would take her to the windjammer--had to eat with her so she didn't eat alone. Then DH would wake up, same thing. My son loved eating pizza late at night, and I would snack with him also. Since I am a small person, 2-3lbs., quickly make all my clothes very tight. I ended up gaining about 7-8lbs, which were very hard to get rid of.

 

I don't overdo at all anymore. It was too hard to drop those pounds!! ;-)

[mbisson]

The key is to be active! Go rock wall climbing, swimming, kayaking etc - that is the way to keep the pounds away! (and use those stairs - what a stair master they are)!

 

No thank you. ;) It might keep the lbs away, but the following heart attack would probably kill me.

 

-Monte

[AnDeNo.UK]

I think it was actually "Tales from the Dark Side" and was written in the same vein as "Outer Limits".

 

-Monte

 

Hubby didn't put any weight on on the last cruise............it was the 'sea air' that shrunk his clothes. :D;)

[sgttami]

First cruise in '92 I gained 12 pounds in 7 days......I didn't know that you could have meals whenever you wanted and thought that you had to do the dining room for breakfast...we never (to this day) ate lunch on the ship..(dining room)...Those were the days of midnight buffets every night and I thought nothing of getting snacks from room service before dinner...We had late seating...

 

Second formal night I had to hike my dress up to sit at the table....

(thank God, it had a jacket),,,I felt like I was stuffed into a sausage casing!!!

 

On my second cruise I gained 5 pounds but then knew that you don't have to eat every single meal they offer....never ate dining room breakfast again after that...

 

1996 was a charter cruise...I was single and lovestruck by someone I met on the cruise....don't recall eating more than enough to keep an ant alive!!!

 

Since then, it varies but I've never gained 12 pounds again in a week... 2 or 3 is about it...sometimes nothing...

 

I really do think that first timers gain the most (especially if they like to eat!!!)....my old boss was another one who gained 17 pounds in a week...

[hstrybuf]

I don't keep track of my weight before and after a cruise. I must be putting on something though since elastic is my friend by the end of the cruise. :D

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I always gain a few pounds:D .....best advice was to pack a pair of elastic waisted pants for the trip home. It was a life saver for me after our 15 day Panama Canal cruise!!!! :eek:

 

 

***

[joeyancho]

7 days = 7pounds.........................loved every bite

[teddie]

It just infuriates me to even write it, but my DH actually LOST 3 pounds after our first cruise! He is a man who loves, candy, chips, and ice cream (and eats as much as he wishes of them) aarrgghh.

 

I am not making this up!

[abridalmaven]

None, I eat at a higher carb level than normal to accomodate my higher acitivity level, but do not go off of my low carb lifestyle.

[Former Goalie]

Sorry, you may hate me here, but I lose weight on cruises! :eek: Never take elevators, in the gym at 6:30 am every morning (no matter how hung over I am):D, and I am constantly on the go. I hate to sit! Dinners are much larger than usual, but I don't overdo breakfast, and may have an afternoon snack (no big lunch). I thought that the alcohol intake would pour the pounds on, but they didn't.........:) The key is to be active! Go rock wall climbing, swimming, kayaking etc - that is the way to keep the pounds away! (and use those stairs - what a stair master they are)!

Likewise with myself. Use the gym, "running track" when it's not too crowded, and love to walk the promenade deck. Just about the only time I'll use the elevators is carrying bags up to the room at embarkation. I don't weigh myself, but know by how I feel that I don't gain wait.

[cheezwhiz]

I've stayed on my low carb diet too. Just had a few my carbs. Did not gain anything from 4 cruises. I also used the stairs that the rule in our family. I ate a big breakfast in the dining room just bacon and eggs. Lunch in dining room loved those chicken lettuce wraps. Pizza snack in the afternoon no crust. At dinner just watched those carbs and possible SF dessert. My favorite was the sugar free key lime without the crust.

[caviargal]

Sorry, you may hate me here, but I lose weight on cruises! :eek: Never take elevators, in the gym at 6:30 am every morning (no matter how hung over I am):D, and I am constantly on the go. I hate to sit! Dinners are much larger than usual, but I don't overdo breakfast, and may have an afternoon snack (no big lunch). I thought that the alcohol intake would pour the pounds on, but they didn't.........:) The key is to be active! Go rock wall climbing, swimming, kayaking etc - that is the way to keep the pounds away! (and use those stairs - what a stair master they are)!

 

 

You must the one other person I see at the gym waiting for the doors to open!

 

I work out in the morning as I do at home and then often take an extra class in the afternoon. Stairs no elevators. No desserts or fats just like home. Salad for lunch, no dressing. Limited carbs to make up for my extra wine consumption. Breakfast is smoked salmon and fruit.

 

Yes, I have occasionally lost 1-2 pounds but normally just maintain.

[syndyj]

We didn't put on much weight after the cruise, maybe a couple pounds because we were very active on he ship and in port , plus I did not overindulge on meals.

 

However, we both put on around 10 lbs after staying at the last all inclusive resort we were at,my guess is that we were less active (lying on the beach all day), there was always an abundance of cocktails and drinks and we stayed at the resort basically all day. My DH suffered his first case of heartburn after that vacation, so when we were on the cruise he knew not to overdo it.

[cruzincurt]

Typically none, on our last few cruises. Our schedule is up at 7:30am, to bed at 2:00 am.

 

After quite a few cruises we pick and sample the buffets, small afternoon snack, always use the stairs. Never any bread at dinner. One or two drinks a day, alcohol has lots of calories.

 

While people are sitting for the first dinner, I do two miles of walking laps around the promenade then get ready for the second seating. Why walk on a treadmill staring at the wall when you can enjoy walking around the ship.

[wandired]

We were on the Serenade 07/31 to Alaska - (great ship and wonderful vacation even if it did rain 3 days!!) I probably only gained a couple pounds this cruise however when I sailed on Splendour in 1998 I gained 10 pounds in 10 days. (I came back pregnant too so perhaps I was a little "hungrier" because of that!! :p )

 

On the Splendour there was a midnight buffet every night at various locations around the ship. on the Serenade there was only 2 midnight buffets in 7 days. Perhaps that can make a difference....