Just out of curiousity...Do most people gain weight on vacation and how much?

Not me. I usually come back thinner. We tend to walk a lot on vacation.

thinner here too...

I fight weight gain every waking hour while at home.
While on vacation I consume croissants/gelati/pasta/wine, often three meals a day, and I either maintain status quo or lose weight, due to the walking.

I usually drop about 5 pounds, everywhere but Germany. I guess I don't move around as much with a belly full of beer and brats!

Weight stays the same, but my legs look great when I get home!

I gained a couple of pounds during our last vacation. We went to Vienna, Munich, Florence and Rome. While we walked basically everywhere in Italy, it was freezing and snowing in Vienna and Munich so we took public transportation everywhere to get out of the cold. Still, the weight gain was worth it for all the wonderful Viennese desserts and pastries!! Luckily I lost the weight pretty quickly once returning home.

Usually I try not to worry too much about weight gain on vacation. Sure, nobody likes to gain weight, but part of the vacation experience is the food. I am generally pretty mindful of what I am eating at home, but I definitely wasn't about to pass on gelato while in Italy!

I usually gain around 3-5 lbs. I normally walk about 5 miles a day, live in a three story house and bike a few times a week. The increase in walking on vacation is "outweighed" by a greater increase in food and wine consumption!

I always lose a few pounds. Increased physical activity, I guess.

To paraphrase Louis X1V...

Perte de poids, c'est moi.

European cities are wonderful for walking while exploring, and I do a lot of that.

... we walk to the restaurants.

I stay the same in Europe. The extra calories consumed get burned off with all the walking.

In the US I tend to gain about 3-5 pounds on a two week trip. The extra calories consumed are NOT burned off by riding everywhere in a car. NYC is the exception, however.

I lost 10 lbs on my last 2 week vacation. I drank wine, and had one sweet indulgence every day. But, I walked a LOT. Of course when I came home and didn't walk as much, I stopped losing weight.

Even living in NYC and doing lots of walking, I always manage to loose weight on vacation regardless where.

Whether doing lots of walking in Europe; or being driven just about everywhere in Africa; to a combination of both in SEAsia; and lots of walking in South Pacific, Australia - loose weight all the time. In Australia I actually lost 8-lbs which was a big surprise when I realized I had stopped into every other MickeyD's (there's one on about every corner in SYD) for fries. I'd never do that at home - eat fries, nor loose weight like that. And as quickly as it came off while away, that's how quickly it came back when I returned home.

In conclusion, I believe I should spend more time on vacation!

I lost several pounds from all the walking - definitely didn't pass up anything I wanted in terms of food or drink.

Sandi, I also took the weight loss as a sign I should spend more time in Europe. I've found several other reasons also; for instance - dollars have to be folded to fit in my wallet, Euros fit perfectly, and I have absolutely no problem with jet lag going to Europe, but get hit hard (and it seems harder each time) coming back.

I get hit hard coming back to the US as well. Going to Europe my problem is simply sleep deprivation on the overnight flight. On the 2nd day I'm fine.
Coming home, a day or two later I experience zombie-like symptoms.

lost 15lbs last summer in sicily. i gained it back so i am going back in august. wish me luck

Never gain, usually stay exactly the same. I think it is all the walking but also smaller food portions in Europe and no snacking. I do eat many rich foods, delicious baked goods & drink loads of wine.

I stay exactly the same, because even though we walk for miles sightseeing, we make it up in the dining experience! Wine in France, gelato in Italy, beer and frites in Belgium, chocolate in England...takes a lot of walking to undo caloric damage like that.