To think it's going to be really hard to lose weight whilst working abroad?

[hooliodancer]

I have to work abroad for the next 6 weeks, usually 3 or 4 nights away in different European cities, travelling lots of evenings too.

I have been trying to lose weight- need to lose 2 stone but 1 would be great- for ages, and nothing has worked. I got a fit bit this week, and have realised that I really need to restrict myself to 1300 calories a day to lose a pound a week, rather than the 1500 I was allowing myself. Basically what worked the last time I dieted doesn't work now! Age and hormones have changed how many calories I need.

At home I find it easy to eat very healthily, loads of vegetables etc. I also go to the gym and do exercise classes 4 times a week. I just don't think I'll be able to do it when I'm away, as I will be eating often at airports/ on trains in the evening. At lunch it will be a case of get what you are given. Some hotels will have an exercise room, but there will be no time to use it on many days,or when there is I want to have an hour seeing whatever city I happen to be in. I can imagine I will get so pissed off that the nights I have to myself I'll end up ordering steak and chips! Also,I don't think I can go to Paris and not have a croissant.

I feel really frustrated that I have finally discovered what I need to do, and I am going to be prevented from doing it!

Am I being unreasonable in thinking I won't be able to do restrict myself to 1200 calories because I am away. Or do any of you have some tips to help me?

I plan to go for a long walk at lunchtime every day. I will resist the hotel breakfast and have tomatoes and mushrooms on toast.

Oh that made me laugh anyonebutandre! I am indeed a short middle aged woman.

The fit bit has really opened my eyes to the fact I now need fewer calories. I did 10000 steps and a 50 minute (tough) gym session yesterday and still only burned 2000 calories in the day! I used to eat what I wanted because of all the exercise I do. Not any more!

I'm with you on that hoolio I too am a sedentary, short middle aged woman. I prefer to say I am energy efficient. If I were a fridge I'd be A+++
:)

Oh my God AnyoneButAndre that is SO true!!

Could someone please tell me what Fit Bit is please? I have only just discovered MFP. I can't keep up!! (that's how middle aged I am)

A fit bit is a monitor you wear to count your steps and calories burned in a day. Mine also measures heart rate, so also counts calories from exercise. It also tells you how long you sleep.

Would a version of 5:2 work? You can eat nice restaurant food one day, but then on another day when your travelling between cities or at home you could have a fasting day.

Don't be defeatist!

it's not the being abroad, it's the long hours and limited exercise opportunities. It would be a shame not to take advantage of good local food, so just eat the right amount, stay off the booze and fit in every possible opportunity to move around.

Perfect opportunity really - experiencing different environments which are not associated with any current entrenched eating habits, and surroundings which offer plenty of distractions. I'm not a fan of diets (and 1200 sounds pretty challenging to me too), so I'd suggest being sensible with portion sizes, and making sure you fit in regular exercise. In my experience hotel gyms can be open early in the morning to late at night - I'm sure you can fit in 30 minutes or so somewhere in the day. I wouldn't focus too much on numbers and targets - just going in the right direction. Good luck.

I'm 31 and lost a lot of weight through doing HIT which you can find a lot in the web or try some jillion michaels DVDs if travelling. I regurlarly attend Bootcamp.

I've always been told eat breakfast like king, lunch like a price and dinner like a pauper

I stuck to 1500 and still try to even after weight loss it's important to see it like a lifestyle change rather than a diet. I ate protein shake PhD diet whey with 200ml of soya milk plus egg whites and nuts for breakfast occasionally oatmeal. Lunch was hummus and veg sticks/ or salad with plain chicken/fish dinner was stir fried veg including the likes of kale with again meat/fish I would sometimes add in quinoa and lentils

I went from 87 to 70kg over about 6-8 months

Sorry Jilian michaels

Lunch like a prince