How to Stay on Your Diet

[Sarcastic Mama]

Hello All!

We cruise in December but my husband asked last night how intend on staying on a low carb/keto, low sugar diet on the trip.  Of course I said I've done fine so far I'm not worried.  Ok, I'm a little worried.  Oh my gosh I adore bread and sweets.  The tropical drinks, I had a dream with margaritas in it, so good.  Bread baskets, Guys burgers & fries, pizza, pasta restaurant, ice cream.  CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKE!  😵

Has anyone ever managed to cruise and stay on or close to their diet?  Or should I plan on dropping an extra 10 pounds to make up for what I'm going to put on.  😀

 

Thanks!

[sc4125]

I've seen people who have managed it - but they seriously look miserable.  I personally can't imagine cruising (or going on any other vacation) and having to watch what I eat or drink.  I'm not saying that you should go crazy and stuff everything you see in your mouth.  I have known many people who keep up their exercise regiment, and that seems do-able.  But, worrying about carbs and sugar would take all the fun out of the trip for me. 

 

I say, enjoy the cruise and instead of trying to drop an extra 10 pounds BEFORE the cruise, plan on working really hard to lose 10 pounds AFTER the cruise.

[cantw82cruise]

I recently dropped 70 pounds (7 months) and just got off a 8 day cruise on the Horizon. I ate pretty much everything I wanted on the cruise when I got home I gained 2-1/2 pounds and dropped that off the first week being back. No I have not been doing the Keto diet and I'm not sure how this will work for you. I tend to be a lot more active on a cruise than I am at home. We once went on a 23 day cruise and I lost 8 pounds. I also look at it like this has to be a life style not a diet so it's only a week do what you want and just keep working at it. 

[PhillyFan33579]

I find it easier to go to the gym every morning on a ship then it is to watch what I eat and drink on the ship. To the OP, I don’t think the food part would be too difficult since there is a lot of keto friendly food on ships, but giving up or severely restricting alcohol for a cruise would be next to impossible in my world. 

[crzndeb]

A lot of people follow keto for health reasons and some who need to shed a lot of weight. Enjoy your week cruise and watch your diet the other 51 weeks. I try to follow low carb at home, but no way would I restrict myself from something I might enjoy on the ship. I just don’t go crazy, and enjoy in moderation.

Edited May 29, 2019 by crzndeb

[Butterbean1000]

We pretty much eat and drink what we want. We're on vacation! But we do try to counteract the "bad" decisions.  We take the stairs whenever possible.  We take advantage of the gym.  Of course we do tons of walking on and off the ship.  Relax a little, you don't have to over do it, but don't deny yourself either. 

[Cruiser_1977]

If you are truly doing keto (over 50% of your caloric intake is from fat and less than 25g of carbs per day) you may (and most likely will) experience uncomfortable side effects if you decide to eat carbs. Gas, bloating, nausea, diarrhea, etc. Also, you would have to begin all over again when getting home to get back into ketosis. If you are simply doing a lower carb diet where your diet is 30% or less calories from carbs you will likely gain a little weight but shouldn't have the side effects associated with true Keto.

 

I have been able to cruise and stick to healthy eating. I utilize portion control (don't feel the need to clean your plate) and the gym/walking to combat extra calories. I haven't gained any weight and actually lost weight on my most recent trip.

 

Happy cruising 🙂

[OCruisers]

No real problem for me.  I eat whatever I want but in somewhat limited quantities and I don't make an effort to excercise more either.    

 

[Nevada Jen]

So a couple of thoughts.  If you are trying to stay in Ketosis it is my theory that you can just significantly up the fat and protein to make up for the carbs you MUST consume.  So like 10 steaks and butter on everything and don't waste carbs on veggies, should balance, desert and fruity cocktails.  So maybe you make it better by drinking spiked adult shakes that contain fat than frozen fruity cocktails?  At least skip the breads?  Do not cheat every other day so your body stays confused enough that nothing happens?  The reality is, I plan to let it go that week, recognizing that I will likely gain at least 5 pounds, if not 10.

[TNcruising02]

I think it can be done, but personally I don't worry about dieting while on a cruise.  It's practically the only time I ever drink or have desserts.   I hardly ever gain weight on a cruise because I end up walking a lot while cruising.  My steps are counted on my watch and it's shocking how many steps I walk while cruising.  As far as eating, I usually only have one tiny dessert and no more than two drinks per day, so I still eat and drink in moderation.

Anyway, it's a personal decision.  In the scheme of things, a week isn't going to matter.  I say, enjoy your vacation.

Edited May 29, 2019 by TNcruising02

[Joebucks]

I find it too hard to diet on a cruise. However, I believe it is quite possible to enjoy yourself in moderation to at least not add the pounds in. You must be crazy if you think I'm going to go on a cruise and ignore my favorite things. 

[MCC retired]

I find the MDR portions and choices small enough to maintain a diet.

Avoid the Buffet and elevators whenever possible.

[pacruise804]

18 hours ago, Sarcastic Mama said:

Hello All!

We cruise in December but my husband asked last night how intend on staying on a low carb/keto, low sugar diet on the trip.  Of course I said I've done fine so far I'm not worried.  Ok, I'm a little worried.  Oh my gosh I adore bread and sweets.  The tropical drinks, I had a dream with margaritas in it, so good.  Bread baskets, Guys burgers & fries, pizza, pasta restaurant, ice cream.  CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKE!  😵

Has anyone ever managed to cruise and stay on or close to their diet?  Or should I plan on dropping an extra 10 pounds to make up for what I'm going to put on.  😀

 

Thanks!

 

I suspect that if you are eating low carb/low sugar between now and December that the breads and sweets might not be as appealing as they once were.  I know when I eat a mostly whole food diet that heavily processed food no longer appeals.

 

Maybe have WCMC one night (with a side of PB to up the fat content) but not every night.  Enjoy your Guy's burger with all the toppings, but skip the bun.  If you splurge on the fries then skip the breads at other meals.  A cheese plate (maybe cheese and a low glycemic fruit) could be a dessert option if others in your group are having sweet desserts.  For Italian, enjoy a Caprese salad (tomato & mozzarella) rather than heavy pasta.

 

You might want to experiment with drinks.  There's lots of time to research low carb options, but you are wise to recognize that cocktails will be an easy way for more  sweets to creep in than you might think.

 

Staying active and planning your spurges should let you enjoy the cruise with minimal (if any) gain much more than either giving in to every temptation or depriving yourself of everything.  Best wishes 🙂 

 

 

[GUEST080219]

It is still calories in vs calories out, whatever you call your diet. The biggest problem is that macro and micro tracking gets so much more difficult when not buying and cooking yourself. That is where most people mess up. Especially with high caloric drinks. So I either don't drink or make sure to only eat nutrient rich less, processed food to make up for it. Use a food tracker to guesstimate your calories and macros every day and try to ramp up the metabolism as much as possible. 

[TX Cruise Girl]

I definitely can't maintain a diet.  It's easier for me to get up and workout..  I already accept that I'm probably going to gain weight, I just try to minimize the damage.  As long as I have fun I'll deal with it later.

[Ombud]

I'll find out Thursday (I'm also on the Thursday weigh-in threads) but I went low sodium and it might have worked. I'm already on a special diet (allergy) so it wasn't harder than usual.  

 

I don't use much salt at home (omitted unless baking) so it tastes normal to me

[Kate P.C]

I find it easy to keep away from fatty food and I manage to keep my weight while cruising. I would try some of the desserts that appeal to me, mostly the ones with nuts. Sometimes I treat myself with fries, but that's about it. I establish a routine and eat almost at the same time and I eat a lot of salad and healthy meals. I workout too.

[CarolinaGirl2010]

I managed not to gain weight last cruise somehow.  I ate no bread at all.  I figured it was just wasted calories and I didn't really need it.  I was as careful as I could be on my meals but I did eat some desserts.  I only had one pina colada the whole cruise and I had water or sugar free drinks the rest of the time.   I went to the gym, and we also walked and walked and walked.  I love when the ship has a wrap around deck to walk on.

[nbist]

My first cruise after losing a significant amount of weight and living a keto/low carb lifestyle for over a year was not that bad. I did splurge, but didn't go crazy. I consumed alcohol, but low carb beer and wine. That cruise I did consider myself lucky in that everything with significant carbs did go right through me 😉, so I "got by" with my indiscretions. After the cruise I regained ketosis and control quickly. Subsequent cruises I wasn't so lucky. I lost the "purge" effect and when returning home would be in the "I'll go back to cutting carbs next week, after I finish off this box of chocolates" state. Sigh.

 

I am now back on keto and doing well. We have a 15 day cruise planned for January. I know I will drink, I know I will splurge, but I am trying to plan the best way to do this without causing too much damage. Those on other diets don't always understand the metabolic changes that happen on keto. It isn't always easy to just deal with the damage after vacation (at least not for me). 

 

My goal is always to take the stairs, go to the gym, and do lots of walking. It helps, but if I eat too many carbs I am out still out of ketosis and the sugar cravings return. I am trying to plan my splurges for those things I really, really want, but we will see what happens when the time comes. I just don't want to undo all of my hard work.

[Jasonmom]

I'm with those who say to not worry about it as much before the cruise, then eat / drink what you want, and then loose it when you get home.  I think it would matter how much you cruise though.  If you are one of those lucky people who get to cruise multiple weeks a year, maybe pay more attention to diet before and while on cruise.  If this is your one vacation for the year, enjoy, and worry about the diet when you get home. 

 

If you are in ketosis, you may want to ignore what I've said because you could have unwelcome side effects while on the cruise.