Summer has finally arrived and you’ve been training and working hard to be beach ready and in great shape for it. Here’s some great easy tips so you can stay on track and keep those great results coming. And still have fun while you’re doing it!
It can can be very tempting to abandon your good sense of healthy eating on vacation. Although you may strive for healthy eating if you don’t put some thought into it and plan accordingly with clear intentions you can see your good work go up in smoke. Plan a little before and watch how well things go… and you’ll save money!
With some smart preparation you’ll save money and feel better.
If you’re lucky enough to be travelling by air it’s easier than ever these days to request a low fat or vegetarian meal on airplane flights. If you choose to instead drive to your destination, the quest to find healthy food can get a bit more complicated but it’s still really workable with a bit of planning.
So instead the stereotypical fast food road trip fare take some time and simply pack some nutritious foods in a cooler with a couple of ice packs. Fruits, veggies, nuts, crackers, yogurt, hummus, avocado, and wraps or sandwiches are all great to have with you on the road.
Plan ahead and avoid the fast food restaurants.
You’ll feel better for eating right when you’re driving and won’t have those afternoon energy crashes because you’ll be well nourished. When we did extensive road trips through New Zealand we had so much fun with road snacks and they tasted absolutely delicious. Just hit an inexpensive store, purchase some basic utensils and you’ll have a little road kitchen before you know it.
If you can eat corn Real Foods has a delicious rice cake like Organic Corn Thins that we would load up with avocado, hummus and hemp seeds and whatever else was about and they were awesome. It also saved us a ton of money and gave us more travel time as we could just keep driving instead of doing pit stops at restaurants.
Once you arrive at your hotel, you should do yourself a favour and take a pass on the minibar key so you can avoid that temptation. If your hotel offers a continental breakfast, stick to fruits, cereals, and proteins. If your hotel has a stove or microwave, bring your own healthy food. You’ll enjoy getting out and shopping in the locations you’re visiting instead of doing the typical tourist restaurant experience. It’s fun getting out with the locals.
Get out and shop with the locals in your travel destinations.
When you must eat out, do so only when you are hungry and choose wisely. Restaurants will usually serve large portions, so be careful of portion size and remember they probably don’t use as well sourced ingredients as you would at home. If you do go a bit over on a meal, simply cut back a bit on the next. There’s no point in letting it take the fun out of things by feeling guilty over it. After all you’re on holiday!
If you find it hard to fit in three square meals a day, try to fit in six smaller meals or snacks, as your body needs fuel every four hours or so. When you eat out, watch out for the appetizers…. They can be really overloaded with salt and fat. Whatever you do though, do not miss any meals.
As much as possible try to avoid eating large meals at night. When your body gets ready for sleep and slows down, it also burns calories at a much slower pace. So if the day has gone longer than planned try something that’s easy to digest and not too heavy.
It will help you to not be up all night digesting food and a lot of times it’s harder to get a good night sleep when you’re away from home so it’s a win win that way. You’ll always enjoy yourself more when you’re well rested to do whatever it takes to set the stage for a great night of sleep.
Always have some easy snacks close at hand to avoid temptation.
If you prepare properly eating healthy on vacation and staying consistent with your good habits isn’t really that difficult. All you have to do is use a little common sense, and pass up foods that you know aren’t good for you. This way, you’ll enjoy healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle wherever you go. And you’ll look and feel better for it!
So now that it’s vacation time, remember that eating healthy is a way of life and lifestyle. And it’s the lifestyle of choice that will take you where you want to go from a health and wellness point of view. It’s well worth putting in the effort to take good care of yourself.
That way you’ll enjoy your holidays more and you’ll experience a higher level of enjoyment because you are truly looking and feeling your best.
If you want to try the ultimate energy boost that will control your appetite, boost your energy, focus and mood get your hands on some of our magic coffee. Just one cup in the morning will cost you less than a Starbucks and you will feel the difference. Try it for yourself and see… and happy holidays!
Those are great tips for staying healthy in this vacation season, and thanks for reminding us to keep our health 🙂 Usually, I and my friends get a lot of fat during long vacation like summer and winter holiday. I want to stop that habit and minimize the carbs and fat that I gained. Bringing healthy meals in cooler box is a cool idea. I will discuss this with my friends. They also need to keep their fat on the check. Thanks
Thanks for commenting. You’re right, it’s worth making some small steps to minimize the weight gain. And it’s a fun thing to do with your friends. Hope you have a great summer!
You are so right. SUMMER is unfortunately here! Florida summers are just brutal. But Summer can be a great time for travel, and of course, beach weather.
Great recommendations for travel and eating healthy. Reading through this article made me hungry for appetizers. Every negative point you made about unhealthy splurge eating is something I do all too often. Some of the snack ideas you mentioned actually seem tasty!
I will have to look into the magic coffee. I am a huge coffee drinker, and years ago I was given some Healthy Coffee, which was a small start up making coffee with mushrooms and other such earthy stuff that was supposed to be “healthy”. I guess it never caught on but this stuff sounds interesting!
I’ve heard those Florida summers are hot… hopefully not too bad with air conditioning. We all splurge from time to time for sure but when you balance it out with healthy it’s all good. Holidays are meant to be fun!
The magic coffee really is interesting… works so well and it’s an easy thing to add to your day!
Thank you for sharing some great tips and inspiration to continue eating healthy even when on summer vacation. I loved your idea of taking your own healthy food along when travel. The little road kitchen.
I must admit, that I do try to allow myself to have cheat days. On a vacation, I might even have an extra cheat day since it is vacation. Plus, I tend to be even more active while on vacation, so I’d like to think that I”m burning off more of the calories that I would have done so at home.
I need to check out that magic coffee that you mentioned. I could use it when I am not on vacation or a holiday.
Thanks for commenting! We have had so much fun with those little road kitchens… some awesome memories have been created that way.
And yes, that coffee really is magic! I use it whether I’m on holidays or not 🙂
Great article! You are spot on. When traveling, it’s so easy to drive through fast food restaurants. They’re usually quick and convenient, so many people go that route. Like you said, with a little preparation, you can eat much healthier on trips, and it’s cheaper. Also, it’s just fun to have a cooler full of snacks and drinks for the road. A lot of people make fun of me, but I’ll pack a cooler and a snack bag every time we travel. And if we’re going to a hotel, I’ll bring along healthier choices for the microwave or food that doesn’t need to be heated. The kids love having snacks in the room as well.
So many people gain weight on vacation for the very reasons you warned about. It’s just not that hard to avoid it. Thanks for an interesting read.
Thanks so much for commenting! It makes such a good difference when you plan ahead a bit…and it adds to the adventure 🙂