Last week I took my real first vacation since having the band put in on June 30th, 2009. We took a cruise to the Caribbean with all of the challenges that come with that kind of 24 hour food fest. But I am please to say that I only gained a few pounds while I was away and most of that came from the drinking and not the eating. In the past week I have lost that plus two more pounds so I am feeling great.

Normally, I drink a shake for Breakfast because I am fairly tight in the morning and not much else will go down. But the biggest thing that changed on the cruise was that I went to the omlette station each morning and have him scramble for me some very soft eggs. I felt like I was enjoying something special but since I did not pile on bacon and potatoes it still was a reasonable choice. I did my best to manage all of the other food options during the day and pretty much succeeded. Especially if I compare it to the other cruises I was on before the band. I was not in the habit of weighing myself then but I bet I gained 10 pounds. One thing I did notice now was that I got stuck a few times on things that would not have been I problem before. I asked my Dr. about it and she said that the fact that I did not drink as much Water (What, Mojitos don't count?) led to some minor dehydration and that can cause some sticking problems. So for those of you who go on a cruise, make sure you drink your full amount of water.

But the best part of the whole trip was how good I felt being active. Our last vacation was a trip to Tuscany for my 50th birthday. I struggled to get up all of those hills and felt at times like I was going to die. I was over 300 pounds and felt it every step.

This past week I went walking everyday on deck. We went snorkeling, I went on a hike through the jungles of Belize and then caving where I had to crawl on my tummy to get through a crevis or climb over a 4 foot wall. I just could not have done that a year ago. I am down 62 pounds and feeling fine. It has been a bit slower that I had hoped but I am moving at a pace that works for my body.

When i saw my Dr this week she said that since I had not lost anything for a month she wanted to give me a fill. But I declined since I was on this trip and want to go a month without the mojitos and see where I am. I feel like I have a good sense of what my body needs. I have already lost the weight I gained on the trip plus a little bit more.

I don't post much here anymore but I wanted to share the vacation my band and I took together.

Congratulations on your success--it sounds like a fabulous cruise! I'm so glad you were able to enjoy it so fully.

I remember the first cruise I took after getting the band. I was wondering if I would have problems. I did but they were of my own making. I wonder now if I was drinking enough water. I bet I wasn't. I never realized that, that could cause a problem. I will now drink more water. My biggest problem was just saying no to all the food they wanted to give me. I usually just ordered the entree and even with that, asked the waiter to find the smallest portion he could. He had to wonder cause I"m not a small person. But I just smiled and said I still had days to go and lots of meals to get through, they (the staff) will help you get what you want. I liked the omlette station too, with bacon and cheese YUM I usually split it with my hubby, and that helped. So all of you out there cruising is NOT about the food, it's the adventure and fun activities you should try. Here's to taking the stairs instead of the elevator...:thumbup:

SueAZ:

I agree with you that it is hard to turn down all that food. But I tried to stick to ordering 2 appetizers instead of the entree and that really helped. On this ship the appetizers were of better quality than the main courses because they were smaller and got more attention.

But what was really fun was when someone we met said to my partner that I did not seem to be a big eater. Yahoo! I was certainly full and enjoyed myself hearing that.

I think the key to going on a cruise is exercising. You can choose to be very active. I cruised on a very large ship and it was a journey just to get from my room to the dining hall.

Upper Westside

I never thought about ordering the appetizers I ususally just went to the Entrees. I going to take a long look at that next week. Yeah 10 southern on Ruby Princess I can't wait..

i did a disney cruise last month and did mostly appetizers. and a lot of cold fish at that. it really worked for me. i avoided alcohol and didn't exercise. i lost 3 pounds during that time period.

Thank you so much for sharing about your cruise. I am going to be banded sometime in April. My husband and I are going on our first cruise the end of September and I have been a little apprehensive about how I was going to do. I think I was more worried about getting stuck, PBing, etc. Your info about staying hydrated makes so much sense. I love this site...I have learned so much!