Liz - I did not mean to scare you. I really think you can find ways to control yourself while on board. ESPECIALLY if you start NOW thinking of a plan of attack. For example, you can always take the stairs, instead of the elevator. Make it a game to ALWAYS leave at least a small bit of your meal on your plate, eat lots of fresh fruit with your breakfast, etc, etc. Take lots of excursions and you'll get lots of exercise and no time to snack (they have the excursions timing so tight you sometimes don't even have much time to shop, let alone eat.) So for that day, you won't snack. I also kept a SMALL stash of chocolates in my cabin as a little treat each evening. That took the edge off feeling I needed lots of sweets. I knew I could have my treat in my cabin (plus the chocolates they leave on your pillow!!!). I could go on & on. I'm sure other, more experienced cruisers have lots of tricks.

The important thing for ALL OF US ON THIS THREAD to learn to live with is that we can't avoid the fun things in life forever, just because we watch our weight. Nor, should we. We need to be able to learn to live with all the events that surround our life. That is what makes it worth living!!! So our true goal should be to learn how to eat at those functions, not to avoid them. I know, easier said than done. But we must do it. We've gained so many dieting skills already. This is just one more aspect of it that we really must do. One event at a time. That is kind of why I am starting to like the low carb diet. You can always eat a salad, meat, cheese,vegetables and some fruit. There is always something at a function that you can eat (almost anyways :) ). Then it becomes a game to find those foods and really enjoy them, rather than thinking to yourself - I can't eat anything or I'll blow my diet. This outlook has helped me SO MUCH!!!

Again, it is AFTER the cruise, trip, etc that really counts. The weight you gain during that time is often just "pig-out" weight and you know how quickly that comes off if you get right back on your diet.

Hope this helps!!