Holidays still fun?

[CL_in_NZ]

Do you still have fun on holidays? I find it really hard to find things I can eat plus my kids go in holiday mode which means they want things like chips and ice cream all the time. We never ate/eat that stuff at home. I end up sad I can't eat things but I can deal with it. It is hard going out to eat and trying to find things I can eat. Got a salad today that was tiny so I was really disappointed and hungry. I don't want to make my family go to places they don't like or roam around looking for food when they are hungry.

Any tips or is it just not worth it? What about staying home and sending the family off on their own anyone try that?

 

[Diakat]

While sometimes I would love to send the family off without me, holidays are about way more than food. Relaxing, culture and new places.
You could pack suitable snacks for you?

 

[caroline_92]

There is a lot you can do to minimise your carbs on holiday - fish & chips without the chips, ask restaurants to swap potatoes for a salad etc. I do relax my diet a little on hols so I may have the odd taste of ice cream as a treat, knowing I can get back on the wagon when I get home.
I also try & encourage my family to go easy on the carbs, even on holiday! My kids have my genes after all so I am trying to protect them for when they are older.
Enjoy your time together and don't stress about it too much

 

[oh_dear_me]

I tried sticking to my low carb diet on holiday and ended up hungry and fed up. So I relaxed and just enjoyed myself and even had a fabulous cream tea! I didn't go mad, salad instead of chips etc but sometimes all there is is a sandwich! So i stopped making myself miserable and guilty and had some lovely food with everyone else. I do find I can't eat certain things now without feeling a bit poorly....fish and chips for example...too much of a carb overload and makes my blood sugar soar! When I came home I was back to it with the low carb routine.
Just have a great holiday and relax a bit

 

[bulkbiker]

Depends on what you like of course and your way of eating.. I find it quite easy.. there is always meat or fish on the menu so I get that and shove any unwanted carbs at hubby if he wants them or ask not to be given them.. Pizza toppings would be fine even fast food.. burgers and chuck the bun..

 

[dbr10]

Do you still have fun on holidays? I find it really hard to find things I can eat plus my kids go in holiday mode which means they want things like chips and ice cream all the time. We never ate/eat that stuff at home. I end up sad I can't eat things but I can deal with it. It is hard going out to eat and trying to find things I can eat. Got a salad today that was tiny so I was really disappointed and hungry. I don't want to make my family go to places they don't like or roam around looking for food when they are hungry.

Any tips or is it just not worth it? What about staying home and sending the family off on their own anyone try that?

I do have problems finding something suitable. Basically if you eat in the hotel you can't really be sure what you're eating. It's a case of going for the least worst options. By BG is always higher when I'm away.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I enjoy my holidays, it is why we have them. Being miserable isn't allowed. I will have an ice cream tub and no cone or flake, fish and chips (scrape some of the batter off and go very easy on the chips or do without the chips and have fish and peas. However, we are always self catering and tend to eat at home in the evenings, so no problems there.

 

[Jenniewren1958]

I sometimes take a picnic we can all share and maybe buy burgers or fish to go with it

 

[Grateful]

Do you still have fun on holidays?

Bit hard to generalize. If going abroad, it depends a lot on the local cuisine. For example, I found it very hard in Germany where the local diet is extremely heavy on carbs (and the beer is good and cheap, therefore tempting!). Easier in France. One possibility is to stay in a hotel or resort that serves bland "international food" because in those places, there will usually be buffet meals where you can find lots of low-carb choices.

I am lucky that I was diagnosed after the kids had left home, so that makes it a bit easier to choose relevant eating options.

 

[CL_in_NZ]

Thanks. I am keeping things strict and average about 10g carbs per meal or less. It is hard eating like that when you don't quite know what is in a sauce. We have always loved to travel and food was always a fun part of it and I miss it. I end up thinking about what I can eat all that time and getting jealous of everyone else that can just have fun. We are going out to eat today and while I thought I could do Indian, tandoori chicken, I'm not so sure now and will end up stressing all day about it.

On a positive note I am going to try and use this as a excuse to avoid a trip to visit family next year. We are migrants to new Zealand and a highlight of trips back home was food. Not any more for me. My only family I will see here anyway so this is my wife's family so not as bad as it may sound!

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Love NZ. Daughter lives in Auckland.
The food seems much like the UK in general but with more Asian options.
For "International" food I have a burger without the chips and bun, or something like ham egg and chips without the chips. omelettes are always a good bet.
A good curry house should be able to produce a low carb curry (medium carb if you have a dahl) and if you avoid the rice and bread you can have a very healthy meal.

I respectfully suspect that the main problem is the yearning for all the nice things that you should no longer eat. It is easier to resist the cravings at home when you don't have that kind of stuff around.

Be strong. Walk down the supermarket aisles full off good/bad food and smile as you head for the meat and cheese.

Watch the family tuck into chips and bread and sugary snacks, take a deep breath, and relax.

You are strong!
[Well, that is what I try to tell myself.]

 

[bulkbiker]

We are going out to eat today and while I thought I could do Indian, tandoori chicken, I'm not so sure now and will end up stressing all day about it.

Of course you can have Tandoori chicken and some leafy veg like spinach or maybe aubergine. Just ditch the rice and sweet sauces.. ask for some raita instead.

 

[CL_in_NZ]

I'm totally fine with green veg it is just what they mix I with it I am not sure about. I guess I can bring olive oil along and top up on that if needed and just stick with the chicken and then eat salad when I get back.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks. I am keeping things strict and average about 10g carbs per meal or less. It is hard eating like that when you don't quite know what is in a sauce. We have always loved to travel and food was always a fun part of it and I miss it. I end up thinking about what I can eat all that time and getting jealous of everyone else that can just have fun. We are going out to eat today and while I thought I could do Indian, tandoori chicken, I'm not so sure now and will end up stressing all day about it.

On a positive note I am going to try and use this as a excuse to avoid a trip to visit family next year. We are migrants to new Zealand and a highlight of trips back home was food. Not any more for me. My only family I will see here anyway so this is my wife's family so not as bad as it may sound!

Please don't fall into the trap of letting diabetes rule your life. You have a long time to live with this disease and will drive yourself and your family crazy stressing and worrying about food. There are always choices, and if the choices all seem bad ones, pick the least bad and have a smaller portion with extra veggies or salad. You can always avoid rice and breads. Take a nice walk after a meal that has more carbs than you wanted.

 

[CL_in_NZ]

Please don't fall into the trap of letting diabetes rule your life. You have a long time to live with this disease and will drive yourself and your family crazy stressing and worrying about food. There are always choices, and if the choices all seem bad ones, pick the least bad and have a smaller portion with extra veggies or salad. You can always avoid rice and breads. Take a nice walk after a meal that has more carbs than you wanted.

I honestly don't see how it can't rule my life. If I don't manage it well I will get complications and I know complications would stress me more than food. What scares me more than anything is getting gradually sicker. I don't want my kids visiting me while I am on dialysis or in a wheelchair.

Having been away for a few days now I can do ok. Breakfast is pretty easy to do and dinner out will take a bit more planning and may involve something my kids don't like as much. Lots of eating in too which is easy. I am still getting used to the fact I have to think ahead about what I will eat, no more winging it. It's easier eating out at higher end places as they have less junk I have to get my kids used to that or let them fend for themselves lol.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Well, I'm getting on for 10 years since diagnosis and diabetes does NOT rule my life.

You need some chill pills.

You don't have to eat the same as the rest of the family when you are out, nor make them eat the same as you.

It will probably take a while for the anxieties to settle down. The main thing to take on board is that if the rest of the family has a big bowl of french fries you don't have to join in. Meat, eggs and cheese are always a good stand by.

 

[CL_in_NZ]

Well, I'm getting on for 10 years since diagnosis and diabetes does NOT rule my life.

You need some chill pills.

You don't have to eat the same as the rest of the family when you are out, nor make them eat the same as you.

It will probably take a while for the anxieties to settle down. The main thing to take on board is that if the rest of the family has a big bowl of french fries you don't have to join in. Meat, eggs and cheese are always a good stand by.

I have no problem with everyone else eating things I can't! I go to the pub with friends each week and they eat chips and beer and I have wine. My kids still get treats on holiday and at home.

It is just when all I can get is a burger without a bun and I get a patty a piece of lettuce and a tomato I struggle. I'm tall, very fit and much closer to under than over weight. I need to eat and it ends up being a big focus of my trip instead of having fun. I may well be being too cautious but if I am not cautious enough the implications are severe.

A woman I work with is type 2 and has been for a while. She was pretty good (her words) and not very overweight but she is now having problems. I'm only 47 and need to take a long view as statisticaly I should be dead in 19 years. I'm aiming much higher!

 

[Mbaker]

Family and I were in Disney Land Orlando in the summer. For my version of LCHF it was disappointing as I couldn't find full fat yogurt anywhere (tried Walgreens, but not Walmart), strawberries were not a problem but other berries were. I prefer the British range of cheeses, probably just familiarity and bacon. At the theme parks there were turkey legs and I did bun-less burgers. The best variety I had was at 2 different price points. Boma animal kingdom lodge was a low carb paradise, they had meat, fish, salads, vegetables and although it was buffet style, the chef would if required make concessions. At the other end the Golden Coral had a wide variety including omelettes, freshly prepared salads, hot meats, vegetables.

I have had no problems low carbing in in Spain, Portugal or Ireland, eating out, supermarkets (high fat yogurts, cheeses).

I had difficultly only in the Lake District and Ilford recently near the shopping centre.

Overall I would say it has been relatively easy for me to enjoy holidays on the LCHF protocol (but I always bring mixed nuts with me just in case).

 

[Resurgam]

I go off camping for my holidays - hire a van, an ordinary one and throw all my gear in - a couple of camping stoves and a portable barbecue - start the day with a big fry up, maybe boil a few eggs for later if I don't have any spare sausages or tinned fish - later in the day a salad with whatever I've got and then later still a barbecue.
I have never relied on other people to feed me and I have often ended up having a small party with a pot of coffee over the embers and people sitting around singing and playing - I take a load of folding chairs as it always ends up as a gathering.

 

[CL_in_NZ]

Do they do coconut yoghurt in the UK? I love that stuff and the fat content makes normal Greek yoghurt look like non fat! My only problem with it is my daughter has discovered it and I have competition for it now!