Hello everyone, I need a bit of advice. My family is going on a cruise for the first time on April 11. It has been planned for a very long time. In a way, I want to cheat and enjoy all of the wonderful food & dessert on the ship--BUT, I don't want to have to lose any additional weight once the boat docks again. Should I just allow 1 cheat day? Or just a little bit?? Thanks everyone!!!!

I've been on a few cruises, and they have plenty of food you can eat that are on the acceptable list. They really is no reason for you to fall off the wagon unless you want to.

Be strong, you can do this. Take advantage of their gym too.

Lily....enjoy the cruise, it's a blast

It's a hard question and one only you can come with an answer for. I know that the cruise I went on had such a variety of food that I could have had a wonderful time eating LC the whole time.

My observation would be that no matter what you do on the cruise, at the end of it, resolve that you are completely back on program immediately and we expect to see you here right away!

Good luck and have a great time!!!

Louise

Oh by the way, I read a story when I first started this WOE about a lady that took a 3 month cruise shortly after she started Atkins, she came back half her size cause she was able to stick to the plan while cruising.

They accomodate your needs. You want no salt on your food they will do as you ask. You want to eat a steak at 2am, you can.

They have plenty of water, fish, protein, vegetables, you name it they have it. I wouldn't be surprised to know they have started an Atkins menu on cruises now.

Let us know if they do, cause I'll be taking one to the Greek Isles in 2 summers.

Lily

I think everyone is right, there is lots of the "good" food available to stick to this, and you are going to feel so proud of yourself if you stick to it. BUT, if you are finding it really hard, maybe promise yourself that you can have a "treat" on the very last day of the cruise if you still want it - chances are that by then, you will have become so used to eating the "good" food on the cruise and so busy with all the activities, you won't even want that treat on the last day.

Good luck, and have a GREAT time!!

notgivnup,

I agree with what has been said already - there is plenty of acceptable food on a cruise ship. The real answer lies in you, however. The answer depends on who you are, and what motivates or drives you. Would having a cheat day help you eat right the rest of the cruise? Would having a cheat day distract you from eating this way and cause more temptation at meal time? Can you have a small treat every once in a while without it getting out of control?

These are questions only you can answer. My personal philosophy is that special times are going to come along in the time it takes to lose this much weight. If this is a WOL instead of a diet - it has to be something you can do long term. If you have the internal fortitude to sit and watch people eating all the desserts you used to love - then do that. If it helps you to stay in this WOE to have a small portion, enjoy it, and move on - then do that. Do whatever it takes to make this WOE doable long term.

The only time I would advise against this is if you are addicted to carbs like an alcoholic is to booze. If you can't eat a small portion without going out of control - then I recommend staying away from it entirely.

I hope this helps - and most of all - HAVE FUN!

Ditto Lily and others.
Not to be mean, because I’m in the same boat as you, so this applies to me also, but the mentality of “Just a little cheat won’t hurt” is what got us here, know what I mean? I’ve said that my whole life, which is why I find myself now almost 100 pounds above my goal weight!
You CAN do it, just stick to the plan, and don’t cheat. If you need to, ask them to make a low-carb jello fluff with sugar free jello and cream cheese. They can. Like Lily said, they pretty much make whatever you ask as long as it’s fairly reasonable.

Given the huge variety, you should stick with your plan. One of the ways that we all got this size was by saying "a little won't hurt". And then we end up saying "Well, I've already gone this far."

Enjoy all the wonderful seafood, steaks, great salads and great vegetables drenched in butter. Save desserts for when you hit your goal and you can make better decisions after you've hit your goal.

If anything, it's going to be easier to stay on plan on a cruise ship because of the selection. Take advantage of it! Have a ball.

H

You've gotten some great advice here! Stick with the program! I would love to have someone else prepare fabulous low carb meals for me! If you do indulge, just make sure you come right back here and get back on track, don't lose any time, just come on back.

Have a wonderful vacation!

This is such a throw back to our thinking, that food is "special".... or a reward. The food you eat should not make your holiday more or less enjoyable (I know.. I know... I said SHOULD NOT) :LOL

I agree with what everyone else has said. Now a days there is such an option to eat "our" LC way everywhere!! If you have the urge to eat dessert, keep some of the wonderful LC bars with you while you're on the cruise.

I personally like the Atkins Peanut Butter Bar, S'mores Bar, Carbrite Peanut Butter Cup and Carbwatchers bars. And none of them are over 2 net carbs except for the S'mores bar it's 3 net carbs.

Enjoy your trip and DON'T GIVE UP because YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!
~ Becky

Look at it this way - if you can get through the cruise eating LC, then nothing will stop you!

Liz

I went on vacation in December. The food wasn't as good as it would have been on a cruise, but it was fairly easy to eat low carb. I went off plan for one meal, there was an Italian restaurant and I wanted to treat myself to a pasta dinner. Then, last week I went to Paris on business. I kept to low-carb most of the time, but this was Paris for crying out loud, I figured I wasn't going to pass up everything in a place I'll probably never get to again in my life! I did have 4 desserts over the week and kept to low-carb almost all the rest of the time (save a croissant once for breakfast and bread at one meal).

I felt comfortable doing this, but I think it's up to each individual. Do you honestly think you can eat off plan and go back to your low carbing after? If in doubt, don't do it. How special is this? Is there anything on that boat that you will never see again? You need to take a hard look at it before you decide.

If you do decide to go off your WOE, you need to plan for it. How long? When will it end? A hint that works for me, the shorter the cheat, the better and easier to recover and get back on track.

Good luck, and whatever you decide, have a great time!

Valerie

I went on a seven day Disney cruise last year and had no trouble staying LC. I told our server at the beginning of the cruise that I was doing Atkins and she made sure not to bring the bread basket near me or push the desserts with me. She also was able to accommodate my requests to substitute veggies for starch portions of anything I ordered. We usually had breakfast at the buffet where I had a lot of LC choices to pick from. I also ordered a nice cheese plate from room service a couple of times as a snack. I just posted in my journal that we made reservations to go to Disney World for spring vacation and I have been having a mental debate with myself about whether to stay cheat free while on the vacation. I'm afraid if I go off the wagon, I will have a terrible time getting back on and have basically convinced myself that cheating on the vacation will not be worthwhile. If you're someone who can jump right back on the wagon after a cheat and this is something you really want to do, go for it. If you're like me, however, and always have a hard time getting back with a program after a cheat, you may want to stick with the plan on your cruise since I'm sure that there will be plenty of LC options for you to choose from on most of the major cruise lines. Have a great time whatever you choose!