After posting daily since Sept 17th (my first ever), I was ready to skip this morning. I’ve just got too much to do. Yesterday I wrote about DH’s great idea to spend 2 weeks on a river cruise in Europe. When you’re retired, you are able to take advantage of the great deal on one of the last cabins, drop everything and go. When searching for the good things about joining the ranks of senior citizens, this one tops the list – the short list. So in 10 days off we go!

DH & I have traveled a lot, but never in winter. This will be different. SP must be on the same wavelength as I am since the daily featured blog is “3 ways to avoid weight gain on vacation.

www.dailyspark.com/blog.
asp?post=3_ways_to_avoid_w
eight_gain_on_vacation

I’ve been so happy about my 3 years of maintenance that this is obviously a concern of mine. Yet I’m not too happy about their suggestions. They’re the same as I would observe when eating out here at home. But, I won’t be at home. These are different cultures, different foods, new people and places and I need a somewhat different plan.

Starting with the easy stuff
“Do a lot of walking” –
This one is easy. The tours are advertised as requiring a lot of walking. There’s also a “fitness room” onboard. So an extra few miles on the treadmill are doable. I’ll even pack my running clothes. Running along the Rhine will be a nice addition to the bucket list.

“Don’t make every meal a heavy one” –
It’s a CRUISE! Lots of food! At least we’ll be ordering from the menu for 2 meals a day when I can make good choices. Breakfast is buffet. As long as I avoid the bacon & pastry, I should be OK. I rarely eat a lot in the morning.
“Grabbing fresh produce from a market and making a salad in my room” doesn’t fit our situation. I wouldn’t do that even if it did.

“Sample the different flavors but don’t have to finish the meals” –
This one will not work for me. I won’t overstuff myself if there is really too much on the plate, but leaving something just to save the calories is for me a recipe for deprivation depression. This is not the state of mind I want while visiting the Christmas Markets.

Then there’s the title itself “avoid weight gain.”
If that was my only goal, I should stay home. My plan is to avoid excessive weight gain. If I come back a few pounds heavier (up to 4?), that’s OK. There will be a scale in the fitness room, so I can still weigh myself daily to keep things reasonable, just like I do at home. It’s part of my morning routine.

Here is my one unbreakable rule.
Except for the wine at dinner and the champaign at the captain’s reception, I will not drink ANY alcohol. First of all, I have to pay extra for that, usually a lot extra and that doesn’t agree with my thrifty self. If I’m going to get 400 extra calories, I’ll get it from the strudel.