Have you been working hard to lose or maintain your weight but you fear that you'll ruin your efforts by taking a cruise? Not to worry! It's very easy to enjoy yourself on a cruise and maintain your weight!

To maintain your weight, you'll want to be active. Cruises are very relaxing and lend themselves to being sedentary, but they also offer opportunities for you to get your daily workout! Most ships have gyms that you can use for no charge. In addition, walking around the deck will help you meet your 10,000 steps a day goal. Don't forget to take your pedometer. Walking is also a great way to explore the ship, enjoy the outdoors, and meet people. If the weather is bad then walk the hallways inside the ship or walk the stairs. Take advantage of the shipboard activities. Many ships offer classes that will help you get in your daily workout. Doing this each day will still leave plenty of time for you to sit and relax!

Most ships today work hard to offer something for everyone. You will most likely find that on your ship's menu, courses are provided at each meal that meet certain dietary standards. These will be designated by the words "Cooking Light" or "Healthy Choice" or something similar. You'll know that that these items will be lower in calories and fat. Your headwaiter will be very familiar with the menu. Use this person as a valuable resource.

Don't feel like you have to stick to the special menu. Meals served in the dining rooms are served in reasonable portion sizes. Remember that you can eat pretty much what you want if you watch your portions. You may want to ask questions about how something is prepared and you may want to ask that sauces are served on the side, but don't automatically discount regular menu items. If controlling portions is your downfall and you really need to lose weight during your cruise, consider the new 5-4-3-2-1 Diet plan. It provides an easy way to eat what you want in smaller portions.

Pay attention to how you feel when you're dining. Eat with intention, not automatically. Put down your fork between bites. Chew your food well. Check your comfort level several times during the meal. Stop eating when you are no longer hungry. Don't keep going until you're full. There will always be more food available when you're hungry again.

Cruise ships are very generous with their bread and butter baskets. Either avoid bread and butter or give yourself a limit of one per dinner.

When eating at the buffet, it is very easy to make wise choices, but it is also easy to over indulge. There is almost always a carving station. This would be an easy way to get your 3-4 ounces of protein. Help yourself to vegetables but understand that they are prepared to be flavorful, so that usually means butter or oil. Fix yourself a tossed salad at each meal. Be generous with the raw vegetables but be skimpy with the cheese and salad dressing. Try dipping your fork into the salad dressing before taking a bite. You'll get lots of flavor without a lot of calories.

The desserts will be tempting but consider allowing only one a day or sharing a variety with others so that you have one bite of several different ones. They're served in small portions so this will help your efforts.

Fruit is usually plentiful on a ship for every meal. In addition, they offer many healthy choices for breakfast, including oatmeal, cold cereal, yogurt, whole-wheat toast, and omelet stations with egg substitutes or egg whites only. Avoid the donuts, Danish rolls, and muffins!

What about alcohol? If you know that giving up alcohol isn't a reasonable goal then find ways to limit your intake. Choose the occasional light beer, glass of wine or champagne, or a simple, two-ingredient drink such as a Bloody Mary. Frozen drinks are loaded with calories. One could be equivalent to eating a huge cheeseburger. If your cruising experience just wouldn't be enjoyable without indulging, then limit your high-caloric drink to one per day and compensate by decreasing your food intake or increasing your workouts. Don't forget to drink plenty of water!

If you don't take your cruise as an excuse to blowout all the rules that have helped you lose or maintain your weight, then you'll be fine. Dietary facts don't change on the open sea! It's still all about taking in less than you expend. What happens if you come home and discover that despite your best efforts you still gained some weight? Not to worry! You can immediately cut back to healthy choices in small portions and you'll lose the extra weight within a week! Bon voyage!

Gail M. Davis is the author of the weight loss advice site www.easy-weightloss-tips.com. To learn about the new 5-4-3-2-1 Diet and to see more tips on weight loss, visit our site today!