Everyday Systems

I was wondering if I could have some help and advice.

I'm going to Disney World with my extended family in a couple of weeks (no, that's not a problem. That's fun!)

I'm trying to decide how closely to try to follow No-S while I'm down there.

I'm going to be in an environment that will strongly encourage snacking. (Bless their hearts, my extended family does love their snacks). I'm also pretty sure that mealtimes will not exactly be regular.

What do you think? Call it an S week and be done with it? The last time I had something like this happen I tried to stick to No-S and had a week of failures, though I notice that I was back on the wagon just fine.

how about trying virtual plating, or would that be too much thinking? Otherwise I'd call it an S week and just really be careful.

How fun!

Will you be doing the "Disney Dining" plan or will you guys be doing your own thing for meals?

I guess I'd try to stick to 3 meals a day but I guess it depends on how your family operates. My family of 3 is very meal-oriented but we have extended family who are very much of the multiple small meals/snacking variety so I know how it goes for travel, etc.

I wouldn't count any day on vacation a failure. Do your best and if it ends up being a yellow day so be it. Honestly, there isn't that much damage you can do in a week plus you'll be doing a ton of walking. Enjoy & make sure to have some S-worthy treats!

I'd call it an S week and be done with it. If you can do regular meals it's great, but if you can't it's great, too.

I agree with everyone else. Call in an S week and be done with it. Just enjoy Disney World.

I took a vacation in March and had to make the same decision. I decided to make it all S days for a few reasons:

1) My S days aren't usually terrible, so I wasn't afraid of binging for a week straight;
2) When you travel you're not always in control of when and where you eat; and
3) I didn't want food to be a stressor on my vacation. I just wanted to enjoy my days and everything I ate.

Did I eat more than usual? Yes; I gained two pounds. BUT I returned home on a Tuesday, and by Saturday those two pounds were already gone.

For me, making the vacation all S was an unqualified success.

Agreed with wosnes and clarinetgal, especially if you'll have an easy time getting back to regular NoS after your vacation. That's the really important part, I think (I've let vacations derail me way after the trip has ended...not good).

You could always try a "partial-S" week-- no S until after lunch (this leaves room for an afternoon snack and a dessert after dinner). Whatever you choose to do, enjoy yourself and don't let yourself be burdened by anxiety about undoing all of your progress.

we are going on vacation soon and i've been thinking about this too. the plan is to allow myself some desserts on saturdays and sundays we are on vacation, but then on the weekdays try to stick with non sweets. it's ok to have a fruit dessert or something during the week. actually this may be good opportunity to test out the idea of just seeing how things go. our meal plan is one sit down, one quick service and one snack a day. the snack is probably going to be something small so probably need to go ahead and take it. so the idea of "no snacking" is kind of out the window. i think no seconds is doable and no sweets can be doable as long as i try and stick with fruit/yogurt on the N days. otherwise, just enjoying it is the goal without going overboard and thinking about food 24/7. not thinking about food would be a wise goal.

I just got back from a 10 day vacation with my extended family so I can tell you how it went for me. I pretty much planned out my "s"es ahead of time, and I ended up giving myself 3 s days. I LOVE chick-fil-a milkshakes so I knew I was going to have one of those, actually I had 2 total: one on the way down and one on the way home!

My family are HUGE snackers. I couldn't believe my eyes when they came back from the grocery store with 5 varieties of crackers and 3 bags of chips, etc, etc, etc. I used the line from a clever poster: "It's just not s-worthy." I ended up having one red day in the whole time and it was such a terrible experience (lots of digestive issues and bloating from too many chips and guac) that it helped me stay on track!

But I do not bounce back from failure easily. I have to stay strict or else I'm afraid when I go off the rails I'll have a harder time to get back on the plan.

My goal was to enjoy my trip and not allow myself to go crazy and put on weight. All in all I definitely think I accomplished that goal. You may actually make the same discovery I did, that the trip isn't all about the food. So many times have I centered my vacations around eating and "treats." What a waste!!! Enjoy Disney! I hope it is wonderful time!

There are some good ideas offered here. For me, when I run into problems on vacation it's from eating a lot of sweet snacks or really just ridiculous amounts of food at some meals. I like the idea of not giving yourself a "red" no matter what happens. But maybe decide in advance which days you'll eat sweets and allow seconds, and which days will just be a bit irregular and snacky, but quite moderate. That way there is some boundary from going overboard on all the days. But if you don't have a tendency to overdo it on consecutive S vacation days like I do, you might be better off to just relax and call it all "S vacation".

Hmm. I'm not sure this is helpful but I just returned from a 1 1/2 week vacation in Austria and Italy (my two favourite foods in the world) and I called it an S-week.

I always call my vacations an S week and go with "intuitive eating" during that time. Now, while "intuitive eating" doesn't work for me in the long-run at all, it does seem to work for me for a week or two.

I usually gain 1kg on vacation and after 2 weeks back on No-S I get back down to what I was. And I always massively enjoy my vacation without guilt and with pure delight!

That said: my issues used to be emotional eating and binge eating, which I do when I'm alone and none of those happen much on vacation because I'm relaxed and usually in company. While I still have a sweet tooth it's still tamer than my usual Sunday.

I hope you figure out what works for you!

I'm amazed by people who can stick to NoS while on vacation, but it's not a trick I've learned, myself. I take vacation days as S days, and hope that it all averages out in the end. About the only concession I make is to sort of vaguely try to have especially moderate S days when there are a lot of them coming all at once.

I had a red week on vacation and knew I would -- I was able to stick to the 3 meals a day and only had a few sweet treats, but my traveling companion is one for a late night drink and snack and I went right along with that! I waited three or four days to weigh in after my return and found I had lost a pound anyway! Just go, have a good time, relax, and when you get back, get right back on the wagon. Somewhere in Reinhard's book, he says there's only so much damage we wage slaves can do in a week and I think he is right!

I'm on the other side. I would not use any more than my two monthly S days for a vacation, plus weekend days. I usually get plenty to eat at my N day meals, since I'm often eating a bit richer. In fact, I might have only two meals on an N day OR S day.

Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy every bite!