HELP! I'm going on an NYC vacation for 2 weeks in June. How did you come back to Keto and how long did it take?

vacation
(Ann) #21

Wow, even lost 4lbs! You must have been super active on your vacation.
That’s what I plan to do as well. I know how to “Ketofy” my meals, I was just dreading on coming back with a few lbs and wondering how long will it take for me to be in Ketosis again. This morning according to Keto Mojo my ketones are 2.7

(Jill F.) #22

Enjoy your vacation and enjoy feeling better by eating keto! If he eats a bagel take 1 bite of his. Next day get 1 bite of cheesecake, or 1 bite of pizza. I do this from time to time if I crave something then I feel like poop for eating it and have heartburn and feel lethargic. I can only imagine if I would eat the whole thing how bad I would feel!

(Robert C) #23

My usual advice is to be careful on vacation about trying to stick to Keto meals interlaced with high carb local favorites. Adding a bunch of high-fat foods (or just trying to make dishes Keto) while consuming carbs is a recipe for disaster (insulin high with lots of dietary fat). Instead (if you eat local favorites with carbs) - limit portions, drink a big glass of water before meals, start with a big salad and try to stick with local dishes / exotic dishes you don’t get at home.

Coming back:

  • Have a blood ketone meter/test strips ready to follow progress back to good
  • Try 3 or 4 days of strict Keto and then 2 or 3 days of fasting upon your return
  • Try alternate-day-fasting for a week or two upon your return

Just an idea - if you decide to not keep to Keto, don’t limit yourself on the trip. You don’t want to come back thinking while shopping “Well, I skipped the chocolate eclair on the trip - and there is one a few feet away from me here in the supermarket - it’s fair to add to the cart”. Resolve to get it out of your system and bring nothing (idea wise) home.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #24

Well said John.

Ketobeliever (like the name), don’t go off the rails hard for days in a row. Plan your indulgences and space them out. Don’t overdo it.

As John said, “not about a few pounds, about reversing your disease”. Keep that in mind, it will give you strength.

I went for 2 months to Florida recently. I ate out about a dozen times, some of those were carb binges. I also drank some which I never do at home. Social drinking. I came home the day after a HUGE carb binge at Red Lobster with my girlfriend who lives there. I just wanted to relax and enjoy myself (I ate about 6-8 of those evil biscuits they give you!) and when I got home after two months of eating keto about 98% of the time I was 8 lbs. heavier. I got back to the strictest lowest carb keto I could muster and the 8 lbs. was gone in about as many days. :sunglasses:

Sometimes I was miserable after a carb meal, I ate Cuban food one night and had bad indigestion, heartburn and felt like :poop: all the next day. Not worth a full 36 hours of feeling under par for a meal that wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. I was there to enjoy myself, not to feel sick. A few minutes of mediocre pleasure has a much higher cost than you might think.

All said, enjoy your trip to NYC, have a great experience and try to keep your keto going 90% of the time. You’ll recover and get back on track just like when you started, but if you stay lower carb on vacation you’ll have more energy, feel better everyday and have a great time anyway. Just don’t make it hard on yourself whatever happens because stress is bad for your health too. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Ann) #25

Thanks for your insight, Jill. Yes, I agree whenever I would eat a heavy carb meal in the past, I would get so sleepy. Felt drunk in fact. Like you, I don’t think I could ever do that again. Since we’ll be there for 2 weeks, we will space out our meals and keto on.

(Ann) #26

Fantastic advise! Thanks Robert. This is EXACTLY out of the box thinking I needed to prepare myself for the trip. I will definitely make note of your suggestion, they all make perfect sense and gives me a road map to come back to Keto after my trip. I can have my fabulous vacation and eat “bacon” too…:grinning:
I guess since this is my first vacation outside my ketofied home, I know how to make meals keto but my biggest concern was how to go back succesfully and be back in ketosis.

(Gary hoover) #27

My wife has been on keto since 1/3 and no alcohol at all. She just come back from Mexico cruise with her 4 sisters and never broke off the keto. They give her food she ask for. Doth go off your keto diet,stick with it it was not hard for her at all. You can do it.

(Robert C) #28

Most important is the mental side.
Be “done” with the vacation when it is done.

#29

Just got back from a carby vacation. Gained nine pounds but have lost four of it already while back home.

We all can give you a lot of advice and encouragement but it’s life so enjoy it.

What I can offer is that intermittent fasting can help. While on vacation, I ate what I wanted but I spaced my meals as far apart as possible — even going 16 hours a few times.

What’s even harder, I am finding, is getting back into strict Keto. Still struggling though I’m going 18 hours a day between meals. Those darn sweets have a sure grip on me.

But it’s a journey and we persevere.

(Ann) #30

Thank you so much for your encouraging words, David. I’ve made such great effort and have had great success finally when I turned Keto. From past dieting it was all or nothing. Falling off the wagon too many times. I don’t want that to happened after my NYC vacation. I don’t want to be tempted. So last weekend I totally cleaned out my fridge and pantry and removed anything and everything that wouldn’t be Keto Approved. My husband and I discussed what we need to do to enjoy NYC and he’s totally on board of me sampling instead of having a full blown high carb meals or treats, as some have suggested. Thank you for sharing what you’ve done after coming back from Florida. It’s amazing how much weight we gain in such a short time, I hope when I come back I will have the same success you had being in Ketosis.

(Ann) #31

Wow, Gary…even on a cruise! I too have 4 sisters and I know how challenging that is. What an accomplishment to stay on Keto. Cruises are like 24 hour All You Can Eat Buffet, right?
My sisters all live in San Diego and it’s cruise capital in CA. I hope someday to be as confident as your wife to stay Keto even on a cruise. Please extend my High Five to your fabulous wife.

#32

@RobC

Exactly what I’m battling right now. When on vacation I ate carby and did not gain inches. So now my body wants me to continue to go carby with no consequences. But not so, I know. It’s a real test for me right now. Much harder than when I first started Keto/fasting.

I really am frustrated by this post-vacation syndrome. And a little frightened really. But I trust my “training” and support on this board will get me back on track.

(Ann) #33

I will! Thanks, Robert

(Ann) #34

Oh Ben, I feel you. Thank goodness we both have this forum and it’s wonderful support team out there. They’ve given me so much ideas and getting my head on straight. Keto is NOT A DIET. It’s a lifelong different way of eating. We now have the knowledge and that knowledge is powerful. What I’ve learned so far is that there’s no magic fast way to get back to ketosis. Be GENTLE to Ben and he will take care of you. Be patience and you’ll be back. When you do, please update me so I can learn from you on how you made it thru to the other end.

(Robert C) #35

Your issue might be the same problem a lot of people have.
I think you mentioned in another thread something to the effect of “never again” after your last trip.
That is possibly why you are hanging on - you are thinking you will never enjoy a diet loose vacation again so, it is difficult to really stop this pattern (sort of keeping the last vacation going or something).

Give yourself a break and tell yourself you’ll do it again someday - maybe just 1 week of a 3 week vacation but - assure yourself there will be another time so you can let go of the sweets now.

(Karim Wassef) #36

NY Steak
NY’s Sashimi
NY Hot Dogs with ketchup and mayo (no buns or ketchup please)
NY Shawerma (no bread, but a little tahini should be fine)

If all else fails, cream cheese and lox please - skip the bagel.

Have fun and enjoy yourself…

https://www.lostacos1.com/



https://www.brodo.com/

http://www.westerlynaturalmarket.com/



http://www.harryandidas.com/new-page-1/
https://www.katzsdelicatessen.com/

NY is like a KETO ADVENTURE LAND!

(Ann) #37

I wish I can add 10 :heart: Karim. You just made my night. I no longer feel anxious about my vacation to NYC. I see it as a challenge now. I can’t wait. Thank you for all the links and suggestions.

#38

I was just popping around some threads looking for advice on how to eat keto on vacation, but also enjoy company and not stress out. (The stressing out not so much me as my family who now worries about what I will be able to order at every place we go … every place … which is sweet but can get tedious because I don’t want them to worry. I know I can always done something.)

Anyway…I wondered if fasting would help. I’m pretty sure I have started to be/am fat adapted, but I don’t want to go off the rails. Today I just had coffee until about noon (about a 16 hour fast). At lunch I had a couple duck legs, but we were all sharing orders. I also had a couple tastes of my daughter’s poutine and a slice of my husband’s pizza (thin). It will likely be a small salad for dinner and then nothing else until tomorrow.

If I do eat some extra carbs here and there over the span of four days, does that stop any fat adaption progress or does it really just mean my body has to switch gears a lot more to break down more carbs? Thus fasting would help? Or no?

When I am back home I will be back to strict keto as I have been for almost 8 months.

(Bob M) #39

What I do is limit the “damage”, but I still eat the local food. I mean, you can’t go to NYC without eating pizza. It’s against the law, I think. I will partake as few times as I can, enjoy it when I do, then as soon as I can, I’ll get in one long fast or multiple small fasts. Oddly, if I’m active, I may not gain any weight. Other times, I will. It depends. But it’s likely mainly water anyway. As long as you don’t spiral down into some kind of uncontrolled carb binge afterwards, vacations are to be enjoyed.

(Susan) #41

@Ketobeliever

Hi Ann! I hope that your vacation in New York City was memorable and that you were able to stay fairly Keto and have a wonderful time =).