Is it actually possible to ENJOY your vacation without bringing home five extra pounds alongside your beach-themed souvenirs?
Si Señorita!
You don’t need to choose between sticking to a healthy eating plan, OR enjoying delicious dinners on the terrace and drinks by the pool.
Stick to these 5 simple steps while traveling to stay healthy and hot all summer!
Shop
Before you leave for your trip, do a little searching about where you’ll be going. Figure out where the closest health food store and/ or farmers markets are. Hit them the day you arrive. Having healthy snacks on hand will prevent you from walking in to a fast food place because you’re starving.
Stock up on these:
Trail mix
Healthy Bars
Fresh Fruit
Kale chips
Individual green powders to add to your water
Coconut water
Bonus: Hit smoothie and juice bars for your mid-day snacks.
Move it!
Sure, it’s your vacation – you’ve earned the right to relax. But schedule a few fun activities into your day between the massages and poolside reading. Play volleyball, padel, go walking, running or swimming. If you’re visiting an exotic locale, there are probably tons to activities on offer that you’ve never tried. Try your hand at horse riding, kite surfing or body boarding. If you’re visiting a city, sneak in activity by making it a point to walk everywhere you can, and squeeze in a short workout in a park, or your hotel room. Try this workout here.
Stay hydrated
Hours in the sun can leave you with a headache or nausea. Always keep a bottle of water on hand. Sip on natural (sugar free) iced teas or even better, coconut water throughout the day. And remember, thirst is often disguised as hunger; staying hydrated can prevent you from over eating.
Watch the Booze
All those delicious, alcoholic calories can add up quickly! A 12 ounce beer is 150 calories, a five ounce glass of wine is 115. If you drink two beers with your lunch and two glasses of wine with dinner, you’re consuming 530 extra calories a day. Space out your alcoholic drinks by drinking a big glass of water between each one or vow to drink alcohol at only one meal. Also, alcohol stimulates your appetite and may lead you to binge on foods you wouldn’t have touched sober. Mozzarella sticks, I’m looking at you.
Indulge consciously
Vacation is not the time to exercise iron-clad will power. But! If you have a pina colada and dessert every day for two weeks you can easily gain two kilos of body fat. Instead, consciously order the big, fruity drink and then skip dessert. Or skip the giant daiquiri in favor of the cheesecake. Even better, split one with a friend.
I will be heading to NYC this summer. And although I don’t think I’ll be trying the Cronut, I will be making it down to BabyCakes for my fave cupcakes, having some wine with dinner and maybe even a lobster roll. I will balance this out with daily green juices and tons of kale salads.
Happy travels and staycations!
I’m going camping this weekend but I’ve already loaded up on fruit and some veggies for grillin’!