Now comes the serious test

I have been on my weight management regimen for almost a year now, but during that time I haven't really gone anywhere where I wasn't in control of the menu (except for the week I spent chaperoning a tennis camp and their menu wasn't that bad).  Now comes the real test.

I'm going on vacation for a week in Hawaii and included in that time will likely be at least two luaus as well as eating out for the entire time.  I'm not stressing over it, but it will be interesting to see how I fare when I am not in control of the menu for that long of a time.  Fortunately, the hotel I'm staying at is right on Waikiki beach, has a pool, and a fitness center and I plan on taking advantage of all of them.  It will be interesting to see if I can buck the trend and lose weight while on vacation like I did over the winter holidays when so many people gain weight.  (I actually lost 20 pounds between November and January.)

Wish me luck.

i do wish you luck!

in my experience, when traveling, one burns a lot of cals just walking, sightseeing and such, myself i went on a semi-bsiness trip to france recently, was afraid of messing up (i love french cheese and i was dieting for about 4 months, ie not that long a time), and lost 3 lbs in 5 days even when i did taste some tasty, fatty foods, and even had a few beers - i attribute it to walking a lot.

Good luck, TD, I think you will have a great time.  You're wise to psych yourself up a bit, especially emphasizing your opps for movement and activity while making food secondary.  Personally, I'm curious about what they serve at  luaus and would probably do some online research to avoid overwhelmingly tempting surprises. You've probably done that already. Then, I eat out a lot anyway, and it works better for me when I avoid surprises that generate "eye eating" or "mind eating"--"looks or sounds so good, I just have to try it" stuff.  That means I don't seek variety in restaurants--I eat at the same place(s) most of the time.  And no, I don't find that boring.  By the way, my traveling experiences have convinced me that the fact that one may never get back to the vacation spot seems to rationalize testing a variety of local eateries and cuisines.  But it doesn't guarantee satisfaction with either venue or cookery, while disappointment often makes me seek satisfaction elsewhere, i.e., eating more elsewhere or raiding vending machines an hour later.  The big wish is that we have such a good time at the beach, in pool, in the stores, with our peops, that we don't care much where or what we eat, as long as it's healthy.  Hope that happens for you!

Oh, I do go on!  Thanks for providing me with one more opportunity to pontificate!