Travel season is in full force and many of our patients get worried about staying on track with their weight loss while on vacation. It can certainly be harder due to being off your normal routine and with all the many foods and beverage temptations out there BUT it is certainly doable to maintain and even lose weight on vacation!
Here are our health tips for traveling for you to try:
#1: PLAN: Planning is the key to healthy eating while traveling. Figure out what snacks you can travel with whether flying or driving and pack them! Remember, snacking will prevent you from getting ravenous and making poor choices later! You can also search nearby restaurants, take a look at their menus and figure out healthy choices to try before you get there!
#2: HIT UP THE GROCERY STORE: Grocery shopping while on vacation will help you stay on track with your weight loss! Utilize the time you are flying or riding in the car and plan a weekly menu. From there you can make a list of things you will need to stock up on while away from home (i.e. vegetables, fruits, water, lean proteins, snacks, etc.).
#3: SNACK SMART: Remember, what we eat will have a huge impact on hunger level later. Snack on foods high in protein, good fats, and fiber so you stay fuller longer. Try to limit the simple carb snacks like goldfish, cheezits, crackers, pretzels, etc. and instead reach for the nuts, jerky, boiled eggs, greek yogurt and even a lower calorie protein bar.
#4: LIMIT EATING OUT: We know this one is hard when on vacation but something you can try to do is the “one a day” rule. This means pick one meal per day to eat out and the rest of the time eat in. This should be pretty easy when you are planning in advance and have made a trip to the grocery store!
#5: PORTION CONTROL: When eating out, you know most of the time we get 2-3x the amount of food we need in one sitting. A couple of things to try are to split a meal with someone or go ahead and ask the server to bring a to-go box right when they bring your meal so you can put half of the meal aside to take home for later!
#6: LIMIT EMPTY DRINK CALORIES: Here at Blue Sky MD we encourage our patients to try not to get any calories via beverages, it’s only going to halt your weight loss. However, we understand vacations are a time to relax with a drink in hand. Something to keep in mind is the type of drink you choose. Stay away from mixed drinks that have soda or other sugary mixers in them, these will add up in calories A LOT quicker than you think. Stick to a lower calorie beer, get a half pour of wine and add sparkling water to make it a spritzer or use a La Croix to make a lower calorie mixed liquor beverage.
#7: HYDRATE: This is important all of the time but on vacation, drinking plenty of water will not only prevent you from getting dehydrated but it will also help to fill you up! Still, aim to get in your 64-96oz of water daily!
#8: STAY ACTIVE: Make sure you stay as active as possible on vacation. Walk as much as you can, swim or hit up the hotel gym for a quick HIIT workout! This won’t only help to burn some of those extra calories you might be consuming but it will also help you feel healthier overall which in turn may help you make better choices later!
