HELP!!! Going on a cruise

OK, so my husband and I have been married 11 years. We are finally going on a honeymoon. We get to go on a cruise in 11 days. I am starting to freak about eating on this cruise. Am I going to get all my protein in? Can I take my protein with me? Will there be low fat choices? I have never been on a cruise. I am just now getting a wardrobe together. Since WLS and getting to a stable weight, I only wear jeans and T's. So, I've had to pick up some clothes.  And OMG!!!! I have been told, I need to EXPECT to gain weight on this cruise. "You can't go on a cruise and not gain weight. There is always food all the time." Is what I have been told. Now I had a panic attack at Christmas being thrown into a different environment and a ton of food. I hope I can do this. I will not allow myself to gain weight.  I can't. I won't have my OH family to read up on and ask questions while I am gone. I just need to tell myself I CAN DO THIS!!!! Sorry I am rambling now.

Don't panic -- you can do it -- I did!  I went on a cruise last month, and managed to handle the food and protein concerns I had, came back and had LOST weight!  I don't know if this will help, but what I did was I drank a ton of water, ate at each of the meals...just made smart choices (which was actually easy because there were so many different types of food there)...and stayed really active.  I took protein bars with me to make sure I was getting protein in (I took powdered protein to add to the water, but never used it -- the bars were perfect because they traveled so easily).  Don't worry about it -- just plan ahead and you'll do great!  Have a wonderful time!!!  :)

Sweety .. we talked about this .. and as to the weight gain .. if you allow yourself to eat all the time on the cruise - then yes .. you could gain weight . But for the most part you are going to be too busy to stay in the eaterys all day .  Is the food good on cruises .. Heck yea man .. but you can still make good food choices .  It was great that the Dinner Menus had a vast variety of foods . This made it easy to order different things and still stay true to my lifestyle .  As you know Alcohol can put weight on . So I would definatly limit your drinks .. yea I know .. this is a time to party ... but you still need to be careful .  Always take your water bottle with you no matter where you go . Make sure you get in your protein at all cost . The nice thing I liked is when you go to lunch it is buffet style and they have great deli meats and cheeses .. and guess what .. they do carry SF deserts .. and are really good .  Do  not be scared .. Go on this cruise and have fun . Keep in your mind that you are a successful and positive force. Let nothing stand in your way to sabotage your journey. You can do this . just go and have fun . And if you do eat something that you think was not the right choice .. guess what you are human .. and if it really gets to you .. Get your butt up to the gym on board and work out . That is what I did.. go for long walks if you have a day at sea . Swim ..  Just go and have a blast .. NO WORRIES K ..  Love you and will be talking to you soon .  Nat

Of Course you can do this!!!  You can basically get anything you want to eat on a cruise - and if you can't find it, they will do all they can to get it for you.  You may already know this, but there's a great site - www.cruisecritic.com - that tells you everything you need to know about cruising! But, more importantly, they have message boards.  Before both of my cruises I spent a TON of time on those boards learning all I could.  One of the things that I was able to find was that there are people who have photographed the dinner menus and put them in their online photo albums.  So you could see what the food choices are and that might help you feel better.  I also have to agree that it's really easy to stay really busy all the time, so that you don't eat too much.  You CAN eat all the time, certainly.  But you won't.  You'll be having too much fun enjoying all of the things that the new, skinny you can do!!!!!!!!!  I know on both of my cruises I had to carefully choose my shore excursions because of my weight - there were some that I wasn't allowed to do, and some that I just knew I wouldn't be able to handle.  How cool is it that you don't even have to worry about that?!?! Have a great, great, great trip!!!!!  (I am by no means a cruising expert, but I researched the heck out of both cruises that I've been one - one to Alaska and one to the Caribbean - so if you have any cruising questions, feel free to PM me!)

Yeah and you gotta face us when you come back!! (did that strike fear in your heart???) We'll expect stories and ,...pictures,..you know that.   No lame, I forgot to take a camera or my cell phone doesn't do pictures excuses!!! And make sure there aren't any pictures with,...you know,..like,... icing around your mouth or jelly filling on your blouse!!!      Ugh,... PLeeease  Dancing, swimming, shuffle board, getting wind burn on a lounge chair on the sundeck,  standing on the Bow of the ship yelling,  " I am the QUEEN of the WORLD!!!"  That kinda of stuff is good. And whatever else yo can think of to pass the time on such a big boat in such cozy quarters You'll have a great time.  Just use what you've learned and enjoy the time off.  Take you vitamins and stuff.  You can start worrying again when you get back.

What line are you on? Different ones have different dress requirements. I took one on Norwegian (it was pre-op though) and you can eat without having to dress up. Others require the equivalent of corporate casual. Others need you to dress up. Regarding your protein and vitamins. Get a letter from your doctor saying they are medically necessary just in case anyone questions you. It may be easier to drop some money and get shakes or pre-mixed bottles for your trip. I took Myoplex shakes when I went to Budapest and it just made it easier to grab the shake instead of worrying about mixing. Almost every cruise line has a large gym on board, so make sure to get up and work out each day. When you hit shore days, you're certain to see some nice exercise. They won't let you bring alcohol on board, but you can bring drinks on. I recommend getting a case of bottled water (or your drink of choice) and maybe some of the Crystal Light drop-ins. There should be free water and tea available, but any other drink is STUPIDILY expensive. Finally, enjoy yourself!!! It's the honeymoon you have waited way to long for!

You should be able to contact the cruise line customer service, OR look up online to see if they have menus posted and several of them have * marks indicating that they have lower fat choices. I would contact someone about bringing on the protien to ease your mind...you want to have FUN FUN FUN not WORRY WORRY WORRY. Get that part over with now and just enjoy yourself!

Just to let you know when we went in Oct. I lost 5 pounds on the cruise and did I eat yup sure did I had my meals plus snacks but there are healthy things for us and even if I had something I wasnt to have the boat is so huge you walk it off believe me. Go and enjoy yourself and have fun. My trip was awesome and we want to do another one soon, so dont worry about the foods and the clothes take 2 nice outfits that you can wear w/ several different things and the rest be comfortable. you will have a blast.....