Vacations are all about experiencing new things and taking a break from the day-to-day realities of life. The downside to vacationing is that you can easily justify eating your weight in cookies for breakfast…because “you’re on vacation.” If, by some crazy chance, you are hoping to still fit into your pants when you return home, here are a couple of tips to help you eat healthy and still enjoy what your destination has to offer:
- Pack snacks. Snacks can be the downfall of any vacation. Gas stations and airports leave A LOT to be desired as far as healthy choices go. Eliminating the unhealthy calories you consume mindlessly on the car ride or plane ride will probably cut down significantly on vacation bulge.
- Hit the grocery store the second you get to your destination. Grab some nuts, seeds, fruits, etc. to store in the hotel room.
- Pick one meal to splurge on. For example, if you commit to a healthy breakfast and lunch, you can go wild at dinner without the guilt of the cheeseburger, fries, and shake from lunch hanging over you.
- Eat only 1/2 of your meal. Restaurants offer obscene portion sizes, when your meal comes, immediately ask for a box {or split it with someone else} and box up half. You can always take it back to the hotel mini-fridge. On day three when you are dog-tired, you can come back and eat it while watching a movie in your room. It will feel like a luxury.
- Don’t be afraid to ask restaurants if they can “customize” your meal. For example, exchanging a side of fries for a side salad with the dressing on the side, or veggies without butter, etc.
- If you don’t have a splurge meal, plan one treat a day. That way, you can still enjoy the local pastry or ice cream shop without worrying.
- Order water. Vacationing means eating out…a lot. Resist ordering soda with your meal {even if it comes with your meal} and just get water. Soda adds a stupid amount of calories for nothing.
- Download a calorie tracking app while on vacation and commit to entering your choices BEFORE you order them. Sometimes just seeing the nutritional profile is enough to deter you.
- Refuse the free bread, chips, etc. that comes to the table when you sit down. I know, refusing bread is almost criminal, but the pre-dinner munchies can add a lot of calories to your meal.
- Order extra veggies. Veggies are sometimes hard to come by at restaurants unless you specifically order them. Forego the potatoes and ask for a double veggies instead. Aim for 5-7 servings each day of vacation and they will help to fill you up so that gorging yourself on cupcakes is a little less tempting {in theory anyway–I’ve never actually met a cupcake I’m too full for}.
How do you eat healthy on vacation? Is it hard for you to stay on the straight and narrow, or is it just habit for you now?
~Mavis
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Debbie says
Great tips on pre planning your food for vacation, helps you make good healthy food and calorie choices.
The good food will also help keep energy levels up so you can squeeze in more vacation activities.
A win win:)
Kajsa says
Thanks for the tips! Heading out for vacation tomorrow and these were good reminders to not go crazy in the food department.
Rosaleen says
+1 for the picking up grocery store items ASAP. While there, consider grabbing a corrugated box or two for storing food in your room. Wrap one in an emergency blanket to help hold in cold and you should be able to keep salads and veggies for a day or two with some ice. We usually plan to eat breakfast in our room. Fresh fruit, some bread from the night before, maybe some boiled eggs or cheese or cereal and milk can work if the establishment doesn’t provide breakfast. Something similar can work for lunch. We often go for the larger meat portion when it is a dinner option, then have either half the meal for the next supper or half of the cold meat over a salad. (Instead of refusing the bread, wrap it up for another meal or snack.) It can be a bit tricky, but I’ve boiled eggs with an immersion coil. It takes longer than one might expect and the eggs need to be turned if the container is small.