Really upset...

Hey guys, I just got back from vacation (had a great time on the cruise!) but I came home to find that I lost three pounds! How did that happen? I was only gone for a week and now so much of my hard work is undone. I don't even feel or look like I lost anything either - I look exactly the same as before. I'm really upset and I don't know if it was just water weight and will come back on when I start eating regularly again or what but I don't know what to do!

Zebulancherry,

Sorry to hear about your three-pound loss.  There must be something about going on vacation.  The reason I am on weight gain effort now is because I came back from three weeks of work/vacation in Europe in March and people were telling me I looked thin (so what else is new?).  However, when I weighed my- self, I was shocked to find that I was 11 pounds lower than normal and at a weight that I had not seen in 25 years and below normal BMI.  I went to my Dr. and I'm up to normal BMI, maybe.  The last two weeks I probably lost some because of stress.  I think maybe vacations are a stress, even when very happy, because they are a change.   I wasn't eating like normal routine in Europe and running around and walking more--all of that could have caused my big loss.  Vacations are a change in our routine and I think for people that tend to lose weight easily, the change = lost pounds.

Enough about me.  I think your 3 pounds will be back very soon.  Good luck!

Thanks. I'm going to try and just not worry too much about it. I was able to keep gaining and/or maintaining on about 3,000 calories prior to my trip when doing light weight lifting, running, and swimming at home and I know I wasn't eating that much on vacation even though I was still REALLY active (running, swimming, walking, stair climbing, hiking, etc.) every day so hopefully my body will "go back to normal" when I get back into routine since I will be boosting my calories.

Here I am spatting over three pounds when you had eleven to worry about! Blargh. I really overeact sometimes. Oh well, at least I DO care and take notice! Hahah. I'm sure some of it was water weight though and I hadden't eaten as much today since we've been on the go pretty much nonstop with traveling, plane rides, and car trips back home. Food in your stomach really does add up, and I usually have quite a bit more in me! More water too - I've been rather dehydrated all day and haven't had much to drink.

Yes, you noticed and now I will notice for sure.  I never want to get that low again.  I used to think I could tell if I was losing just by looking at my body.  Guess I was wrong.

Planes-yes!  How does anyone like us get all our calories in when flying long distances and car rides, too?  Looks like I will be going back in a few months and this time I'm packing bars and nuts and dried fruit and I don't know what else to last me on the layovers and flights and cabs and trains and...Good observation about the dehydration, too!  Air travel sucks a person dry, I think. The parking lot that I use near our airport gives everyone a free bottle of water when they return home.  I wonder why.    If anyone has travel food suggestions... 

Take it easy and I think your three will be back very soon!

Thanks for the support guys!

Sparkle, here are a few good traveling items if you're flying!

• Lara Bars - or any other fruit and nut bar; these are lifesavers and are easy to eat even when you have little time since they are very calorie-dense.
• Raw nuts
• Dried fruits
• Pre-packed sandwiches - Just remember that liquids (including cold packs) are not allowed on planes so pack accordingly!
• Raw veggies and fruits for munching
• Pouches of tuna or chicken
• Cereal
• Individual yogurt cups

Some airports have nice snacking opportunities too - look for a Starbucks or cafe and get a smoothie and a breakfast sandwich if you can!

Great list, Zeb.

I never heard of Lara Bars until I joined this Forum.  I tried them and they are really good.  I love Kind Bars, too.   I like everything on the list; probably should take all of it for one flight--haha.

Hahah - just make sure to bring a big carry-on bag! I brought a backpack full of snacks and magazines for my entire trip!

For whatever reason everytime I take a plane trip (or long car trip) when I weigh the next day I'm a few pounds lighter - just keep up your normal (high) calorie intake and weigh again in a week and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised

I'm finding it hard to wait a week to weigh in. I WANT my old weight back. Phooey. I know I ate less on vacation and we were a LOT more active. I'm so afraid that I really did lose a bunch of weight. I'm going to keep up my calorie intake and regular exercises per usual and see how things go. I may have to increase a little in order to re-gain if I have to.

EDIT: I may increase my calories to 3,500 up from 3,000. I run for about an hour a day, I swim laps for about 45 minutes, and I also do about 20-30 minutes of light weights and stretching at night. I'm usually not in-active too much around the house either so I tacked on an extra 200 for that - setting my "sedentary" or base limit at 2,200 and estimating my total exercise burn at about 800-850 based on my weight and height (run = 500, laps = 300, weights and stretching = 50-75). That all adds up to 3,000 which is what I was eating before. I may or may not gain a pound this week eating 3,500 but it's 500 over my burn so hopefully it gives me a kick-start! Who knows, maybe my body just needs time to adjust and I would end up gaining anyway, but I don't want to take chances.