Tips and Tricks for Eating Right and Exercising on Vacation

Eating right when you’re cooking for yourself at home is easy when you get into a good routine. Even ordering while dining out at a restaurant becomes a non-issue when you become familiar with the menus.  But why is it so difficult to stay on track and both eat well and exercise while on vacation?

 

In some cases, you may be trying to be too strict to lose weight too quickly to be swimsuit ready for that tropical island destination.

 

Even though we all know this weight loss method isn’t the best approach to a long lasting, lean body, many women, and men still opt to lose weight like this only to face the inevitable time and time again.

 

The combination of feeling deprived of food for a period of time plus the relaxing atmosphere send you into denial, convincing you to deal with it all later when you return from your trip with more than just a tan…

 

Welcome home five extra pounds and a repeat performance of the stomach issues you worked so hard to recover from! And the exercise regime? If you were forcing yourself to go to that spin class you secretly despise, chances are the sentiment you left home with stuck. Now that you’re out of town, the last thing you’d want to do is revisit that type of agony.

 

So, what’s the trick to keeping on track with moving and eating while you’re away? There is none!

 

There are, however, some simple steps to follow to really drive the point home that it doesn’t have to be a choice between having a fun trip, enjoying all the local culture and cuisine or being healthy… and boring.

 

1. Don’t try to ‘cram’ eating healthfully and exercising. If you’re going to Tahiti next week, now might not be the best time to decide you need to jump on a crash diet and lose ten pounds by trying to survive on celery sticks and cottage cheese and adding an extra hour at the gym each day.

 

While the scale may tip slightly in the direction you’re hoping for, it won’t be fat loss and you’ll arrive there feeling grumpy and irritable, making yourself all the more likely to go off the rails

 

2. Give yourself enough time to adopt healthy eating habits and allow your body the time to reap those benefits. Work backwards from when you’re leaving and set rational goals for yourself. If the trip is next month, you may still not be where you want to be from a fitness standpoint, but you’ll have enough time to have added some solid habits that will have a better chance of sticking.

 

For example, making the connection that when you get up and go for a workout before breakfast seems to result in having a far more productive day with better energy, is the first easy step to being mentally prepared to put it in action when you’re away, too.

 

3. Do your due diligence prior to going away with regard to dining. What type of foods and dishes are going to be offered at your destination? Which are most conducive to fitting into a True Paleo diet regime?

 

Generally speaking, it’s not too hard to find Paleo foods everywhere and while certain cuisines lend themselves more easily to it than others, if you learn what’s offered where you’re going, you’ll be able to try new flavors without worrying about falling ill as a result.

 

4. Find out not only which exercise options are available, but identify the fitness classes or activities you’ll enjoy most! If you hate the gym, the fact that your resort has a hotel gym might not be your best option, but given that you happen to be staying on the beach, a morning run in the sand very well may be.

 

Traveling, enjoying local culture and delicious, healthy food, and coming home with a suitcase full of memories will accomplish the whole purpose of vacation in the first place. You’ll be rejuvenated, refreshed and ready for more, instead of the alternative scenario which may ensue if you don’t do your homework. It’s a no brainer!