My dreaded date with the Bathroom Scale

Coasteering in Wales!

I spent the summer in Europe. Three months based in London, with a week in Paris, long weekends in Wales and Scotland, and day trips to tons of little towns around England.

It was part of my UF study abroad program, and I loved every second of it. I had never done much out-of-U.S. traveling before (just a cruise with my family in the 10th grade) so this was the trip of a lifetime for me.

One thing Europe definitely does right? Food.

England isn't exactly known for its fine native cuisine, but London is such a cosmopolitan city that you can get any sort of food from any country at any time of day. And, lucky me, there is such a high vegetarian or vegan percentage of the population that finding a veg option in the U.K. is pretty simple.

So eat I did.

I know that people--most people, anyway--gain weight on vacation. I was definitely no exception. And I have a history of obsessing about my weight so I decided that when I got back to my home and native land I would give myself a couple months to get back to my normal eating habits and--hopefully--my normal weight.

Well, today was the day. The first day I weighed myself since being back from Europe.

And guys? It wasn't so bad. I weighed more or less exactly the same as I did when I left. (Though that was plus a couple pounds I was trying to lose at the time, but I'm picking my battles.)

Giving myself that "recovery" time was the best thing I could have done.

WebMD has tips for avoiding vacation weight gain, and it's probably a good idea to try and stick with relatively normal eating habits when you're out of town. Here's some things they recommend doing:

• Bring healthy, nonperishable snacks with you on airplanes, trains, in the car, etc. By fending off extreme hunger you're less likely to binge. Some good suggestions? Nuts, dry cereal and granola bars.
• Dine out, but in moderation: being on vacation isn't an excuse to eat ten times as much at dinner as you normally would. Watch your portions!
• Stay active! Whether you're traveling with your family or on your own, don't just sit on your butt. See the city you're staying in! Take a walk, try a new activity... on my trip to Wales I went coasteering--basically a combo of rock climbing, swimming and cliff diving. It was amazing and exhilarating and a great workout; I never would have been able to do it back home.

Have you ever been on an extended vacation? What did you do to stay fit?