How to Avoid Gaining The Dreaded 10 Pounds on Your Next Cruise

Cruises have some very interesting places and events to remember, but the most popular part of nearly any cruise is the amazing assortments and quantities of food! Food is a vital part of normal life on land, but on a cruise, it's even worth photographing at times!

So, what are some of the foods often available on cruise ships? Breakfast may consist of a Belgian waffle with cherries and whipped cream, lunch of fried fish and chips with vanilla pudding among dozens of other options at the buffets, and supper of lobster and prime rib with desserts of cheesecake and creme brulee. Why not? after all, the food is included! And, since you don't have to pay extra, why not order 24-hour room service or a sandwich and cookies for a late night snack on your balcony. And on a cruise ship, you will likely encounter foods you've never tried before. Why not go for something different? Hey, if you don't like it, don't eat it. After all, it's free!

And the food really is tasty. The formal dining room, and paid dining options, always have great presentations for their meals. And the quality of the food is really quite exciting. (Sure, you may hear of someone disliking the food on a particular ship or line, but that is by far the minority.)

With all of this food available, is there anything that could possibly go wrong?

It's called gaining 1 or 2 pounds per cruise day. That means a 5-night cruise could make you gain 6-12 pounds, and a 14-night cruise could potentially make you gain a whopping 15-30 pounds!

Is it really worth it? Unless you have an amazing metabolism, the answer is easily NO NO NO NO NO!

However, just because you go on a cruise doesn't guarantee that you will gain a single pound. In fact, some people even lose weight onboard! It is very possible to avoid gaining that extra weight if you follow some simple rules.

No, that doesn't mean to not eat more than a few crumbs (You really can have an extra dessert, the midnight buffet, and room service!). Nor does it mean that you have to spend hours and hours on the treadmill and other workout equipment.

The simple rules are these:

A-If you have one of the late seating dining options, which is often past normal dining hours, be sure to eat a little snack that is low-calorie around 5:00. It will hold you over, and not let your appetite get the best of you when you go to order during supper. Fruit, salads, even a small sandwich is just what you need to keep your tummy happy until it gets what it requires later on. You could order a plate of fruit or a salad from room-service, or even half a turkey sandwich. No, that doesn't give you a pass to have a whole other meal at 5:00, complete with the buffet's 101 options, room service catering to your ever beck and call, or the 24/7 pizza parlour watching you chow down on every slice you can get your hands on!

B-When you are in port, don't jump onto (or more likely get herded into) the nearest taxi. Walk whenever you can. You're burning calories and exercising, and you get to see lots of things you wouldn't even notice if you had taken one of the over-priced taxis. Most likely, town is only a mile or so away, anyways, so it's not even that long of a walk. St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Cozumel are three such examples. Walk to town and back to the ship as you can, and you will really enjoy it more. And it's much more spacious than in a crowded van! Besides, you can see much more of the beautiful scenery (such as the ocean side of the street in Cozumel). So, while other people are waiting in line to be shoved 10-fold into an 8-passenger vehicle, you can be walking into town, and would probably even beat some of them there too!

C-Don't finish everything on your plate. Yes, mother wasn't right when it comes to cleaning your plate on a cruise ship. In fact, it's a cruise ship tradition to try a few different things at the same time and eating some of each. 1/2 of each of two desserts or entrees is really quite acceptable. And by not finishing them, you are not getting nearly the amount of calories and fat in your meals. So, go ahead and order lobster AND prime rib or cheesecake AND carrot cake. And, when you're at the buffets, a little bit of a lot of things (or not finishing everything on your plate) will truly satisfy you. And this was you can try foods that are new to you too!

D-Stay active! Yes, that means you can't just lounge around by the pool all day, and listen to the great musicians and shows at night. Actually participate in the literally hundreds of activities onboard. Every hour, in fact, has something going on. (Although, don't expect much happening at 3am.) When you get your cruise schedule the night before, go through it and pick out lots of things that interest you for the next day. There is everything from ice skating and surfing on the newest ships, to rock climbing, dancing and dance lessons (with all sorts of musical genres), water aerobics, shuffleboard, ring toss, quest games, relay races, on deck dancing (Don't worry about looking stupid doing the macarena, because nobody looks normal doing that one!), basketball, volleyball, ping pong, pool, and on and on and on! Another reason to get involved? For a moment, you stop drooling over the food!

E-Everything in moderation. You don't need to eat like each day is the last day of your life. You don't need to eat like you're going into hibernation for 4 months. You don't need to eat like your life depended on 4,000 calorie meals. No, you don't ever need to stuff yourself or overeat on a cruise. Sure you can visit the midnight buffet, even. Just don't raid it!

F-There really is a gymnasium onboard the ship---use it. I said earlier that you don't have to do hours of exercising too keep that weight off, but I do recommend that you use the gymnasium to work out at least one time during your cruise. Due to the location of most of the gym facilities, too, you will get a view from high up on the ship, and see things you wouldn't normally be able to see otherwise from a vantage point you would not have been able to know about. You will see many treadmills and stationary bicycles lined up facing the vast wall of windows. You would probably not get a view like you see out those windows when you work out at your local or home gym, so do make a point to take advantage of it. Most gyms are busiest early in the morning, but why not try a different time of day, perhaps even sunset, or if you don't mind waking up early try sunrise. Both are amazing experiences in themselves.

G-Take the stairs, but hold onto the railings. Once you get your sea legs, and get used to the constant movement of the ship, make a point of taking the stairs as often as possible. Unless you will be late or are wearing high heels (which is enough exercise in and of itself), or if you are carrying a lot of gear with you, you really should take the stairs. Of course it's not easy going from your deck 3 stateroom all the way up to the deck 14 lounge, so I'd concede taking the elevator for that long of a distance. Of course, if you did take the stairs, think of the workout that would be! Hang onto the railings, and just have at it. The stairs are probably carpeted anyways, so they won't be too much trouble. Just think of it as another adventure onboard. And if you are well-practiced on the stairs while the ship moves, if an emergency arises, while others are trying to figure out how to carefully use the stairs, you will be easily able to breeze right by them! Anyways, stairs do burn lots of calories, try taking them before your meals, too! That will even help your metabolism!

H-Watch what you drink too! A large number of cruisers might not gain much weight from overeating, but they do gain it from overdrinking. And it's VERY easy to start adding on 1,500-2,500 calories just from your drinking habits. Avoid alcoholic beverages onboard. Your waistline and your wallet will both thank you. Instead, opt for water, tea, diet soda, or juice. Those fruity drinks, and dark-coloured aperitifs will definitely add on to your weight and waist. Just one a day might be acceptable, if you keep active enough and don't overeat.

I-Don't forget to pack your supplements, dietary products, and appetite suppressants. These will come in very handy once you see how much food is available to you at all times!

J-There are lots of healthy options all over the ship---try some! Before you even choose the worst possible options on the menu or at the buffet, look around and see what other options are available. Even if you've never had it before, try it anyways. You just may like it. And, even if you don't like it, you can always throw it away, since the food is already paid for! Like most restaurants, cruise lines are offering more and more healthy alternatives. And they are just as tasty as their artery-clogging counterparts. Salmon is an especially healthy alternative, and what a deal since you don't have to pay for it!

Before you leave, make sure to weigh yourself. And don't weigh yourself again until you return. Let's see how well you did!

When you're ready for the adventure of a lifetime and have a wonderfully memorable cruise, be sure to visit www.kingarthur.myttn.com first!