I
recently went on vacation with my boyfriend and a couple of our friends. We stayed in a place where we had a kitchen,
visited another friend and also spent some time riding dirt bikes. I found many challenges to sticking with my
healthy plan. I find it especially
difficult when I travel with others to maintain my healthy habits. This is something that I think many of us
struggle with when we get out of our normal routine and have less control of
where we eat. I found that even in
traveling to a place where we had a kitchen the people around me wanted to go
out to eat. Sometimes eating out makes
me nervous because there are temptations depending on where we go and no matter
where you go there will be temptations.
This
trip was no different I definitely was faced with temptations and some I was
able to do well with and others I struggled with, which helps me understand
that I still am growing and learning new skills. The first place we went I tried to eat well
but it was hard because they have the best biscuits and gravy and we rarely go
there, so I had a few bits of my boyfriends. (Which was better than eating a
full plate of my own). Then we ended up
at a bar for dinner one night, I have able to order a chicken sandwich hold the
bread, coleslaw (their salad bar was closed) and a potato (which was only a
half of potato). Not too bad, however I
did have some beers. The next day I was
able to start fresh with a good breakfast however as they day continued on
choices became harder and again I spent another night having some drinks (this was
a theme of the whole weekend – do well in the morning and increasing struggle
throughout the day and into the evening).
All
and all I did alright, I wasn’t great but I didn’t though caution to the wind. I did work out a couple time during the trip
and it felt great to be able to do that.
I did come back about 5 pounds heavier and then struggled to get it
off. However what was different about
this trip is that I was more aware of my choices and paid more attention to how
my body was reacting to the less than healthy food choices. I couldn’t help but notice I felt bloated,
experienced more gas (yes increase in farting.J), and felt less
energetic. These things helped me
understand how my food choices impacted my body and my body was telling me hey
I don’t like how this food makes me feel.
I
learned six major things that I am going to work on the next trip and you can
implement as well.
1. I always have
control over my choices and so do you (even if I don’t have a kitchen, I can
make healthy choices where ever I go).
It is my choice to have a beer, glass of wine or glass of water. No one was pressuring me to drink and what to
drink. If you want to drink, it is wise
to choose something that you drink a little slower, that way you don’t pack on
the extra calories. For me this means
that I will try to choose wine over beer. This also applies to food – no one
makes you choose the hamburger and fries, you can always choose a salad with
the dressing on the side, drip your fork into the dressing and then add your
salad to the fork. Just make sure your
salad has some healthy protein. Stay
away from fried stuff if you can.
2. Workouts are always
possible when on vacation. There are lots
of things you can do that don’t require weights or machines. This is also a nice change of pace for your
body it requires your muscles to do something different, which is always
good. One thing you can do before you go
is plan out what you would like to do, and keep simple and less than 30
minutes. It can be a plyo workout, a
sprint session (you don’t need to be at a track to do sprints – just pick two
points a good distance apart and then sprint one way, walk back the other way),
or even try doing 500 walking lunges (I know crazy but always an option – it should
take you less than 30 minutes depending on your fitness level). There are lots of things to do so just find
something that you enjoy!
3. Plan ahead. Take the snacks and food that you can eat. Where you go may not have what you need so if
you can take it pack it!! That way there
will not be any questions or excuses of why you couldn’t do it. Then if you don’t eat what you brought, it is
only about a choice you made versus, the excuse of well I couldn’t find
it. Easy things to pack are protein
bars, almonds, grapefruits, and apples.
4. Choose water as
your primary drink. Yes its vacation and you will likely indulge
in more drinks, more eating out (which also means more sodium intake) and more
things that you might not normally do.
Drinking as much water as possible a minimum of 8 glasses but preferable
12 glasses or as close to a gallon as possible, will help flush out the sodium and
keep you hydrated. Both of these are important for your body to be running at
optimal levels.
5. Have an eating
strategy and give yourself one to two cheat meals (depending on how
long you are on vacation.) I know when I
am on vacation I choose foods that I normally wouldn’t eat food with creamy
sauces, pastas, alcohol and dessert. However if I eat like that every day I
will be sabotaging my hard work. To help
limit self sabotage, give yourself permission to have a cheat meal or two and
eat anything you want. (try to keep it max two cheat meals per week, so if
vacation is less than a week – limit it to one cheat meal). The other nights
try to stick with a lean protein and veggies, especially in the evening. Swap out the rice or potatoes for an extra
side of veggies. You will feel better in
the morning not only physically but also mentally because you won’t be saying
to yourself “why did I do that….I can’t believe I did that….what was I thinking…
now I have ruined everything….Oh I did it again, I am horrible….I can’t do
anything right what is wrong with me.”
These statements don’t help you at all so give yourself permission for a
cheat and the rest of the time make healthy choices.
6. Practice awareness
of your choices and only make a choice for right now. Much of the above
suggestions rely on your ability to be aware of your choices and to make each
choice in the moment. Remember it is important
not to give away all your future choices (this will create more self sabotage) and
you can enjoy things in moderation.
Moderation is not “Oh I am on vacation therefore I can through caution
to the wind and eat whatever I want because I only do it once a year.” Moderation is making choices about where and
when you will indulge and doing it because you want to not because you are on
vacation. If you do the latter you might
feel worse about yourself and your choices later, especially when you get home
and reality slaps you in the face. It is
okay to indulge but awareness of your choices is a critical component of the
equation to being healthy and happy. Without awareness it is harder to reach
your goals and stay on track. When you
are aware of your choices and plan out your indulges, you will in turn be
kinder to yourself and kindness to yourself is a necessity to sticking with
your healthy choices.
On
your next vacation or even this coming weekend (this could be applied to
weekends too) try to follow these six suggestions and see what happens. Note how you feel about yourself both
physically and mentally. You might be
surprised that you don’t feel deprived and you don’t feel bad about your
choices when you return home. Remember
give yourself grace, this is a journey not a destination and we are continuously
growing and learning. Use each vacation
as an opportunity to practice making the healthiest choices for you. The more you practice the better you get,
even the best athletes have to practice every day. Remember you can do anything you put your
mind too with awareness and control over your choices!! Good luck and let me know how your next
vacation or weekend is after trying these 6 suggestions!!