It’s the time for beach outings, camping trips, and backyard BBQs! There is nothing better than sweet summertime but like so many others, I struggle with how to make “life” fit in with my fitness goals.
For many years I would avoid these outings. I didn’t want to be tempted so I just wouldn’t attend all together. I not only was super depressed about it but I lost a lot of friends this way. Eventually, I resulted in going the complete opposite way and saying “You only live once!” and overindulging. I would wake up feeling bloated, depressed, and in some cases, significantly up in weight.
After many years of yo-yo dieting and lonely summer nights, I finally am able to say I found balance. Dieting is 100% and completely mental and that’s why I choose not to do it. I live the 80/20 rule and let me tell you it works and I feel fulfilled in both aspects of it, how I look and being able to enjoy life. Granted, there are sacrifices and choosing your battles but I never feel left out.
Now it comes to the number one question people like to ask me, what do I do when I am on vacation? This was my last struggle to overcome. I found myself having a hard time being excited about trips because I dreaded how I would feel eating outside the norm and how I would look upon returning. Once upon a time, I did return from Las Vegas up 12 pounds over the course of a long weekend and that is NOT fun, or healthy.
Now I can go on long vacations and enjoy good food and a bikini! Here are just a few of my personal tricks that I follow to enjoy my trips, while also enjoying “life”
1) Head into your trip with the right mindset.
You’ll never stick to your goals if on the flight there you are already writing down the top icecream joints to hit up. Be prepared and have a plan. Wake up each day knowing what and where you are going to be eating.
2) Always bring the essentials.
By essentials, I mean the little “snacks” or meals more so that you don’t want to be hunting for at your destination spot. For me, this is always rice cakes, protein powder, almonds, peanut butter, and some form of fruit.
I am normally not a snacker. I have four solid meals a day and ZERO foods in between and I try to stick to that while I am vacationing as well. Think about how you start with a cocktail and a few cubes of cheese and next thing you know you ate an entire block of cheese, a whole bag of tortilla chips, and basically an entire watermelon. Mix mindless snacking with alcohol and you’re bound to consume double your daily caloric limit in one sitting.
For me, my “essentials” are going to be a meal.
3) Water, water, water!
Not only are you going to probably be out and about in the sun all day but you may be drinking fruity drinks or alcoholic beverages, both which are going to make you feel hungry when you may not be. I try to have a bottle of water with me at all times. This makes me feel full and of course hydrated.
Also, if you are drinking, I stick to water-based cocktails. This means vodka and water and a splash of cranberry (because, vacation!) or soda water. Beer and juice-based cocktails will make you bloated and have much more calories. Also, they taste good which means you drink them faster, which in turn means more cocktails. By ordering something you can sip on, you can partake in the fun without all the trouble.
4) I always TRY to eat out only one meal a day.
This one is tricky depending on where you are going but extremely important. Restaurants want you to eat and drink that’s of course how they make their money but in all of that yummy food, there is so much hidden junk. Besides the hidden calories in all of the oils they are using, the huge portion sizes, and the opportunity for apps, drinks, and bread rolls, there also are insane amounts of sodium. Sodium is one of number one culprits in making you look twice the size in your bikini by the next morning.
This is where the “essentials” come into play. I will usually save my dining out meal for lunch or dinner, so I wake up and have either some fruit and a protein shake or a rice cake and peanut butter with a shake. My other meal I will normally make a salad of some sort.
5) Stick to ONE starchy meal a day, the rest should be veggie and protein based.
This one is especially important if you are going on a trip such as an all-inclusive vacation where you aren’t able to make your own meals. I would still have my fruit and protein shake for breakfast but then have a strictly salad/protein meal and then for dinner I will do a steak and potato for example or if I have a sandwich for lunch then I would stick to Chicken and vegetables for dinner.
By “Starch” I mean breads, pastas, rice, beans, potatoes, etc.
Another option would be to have eggs and veggies for breakfast, a rice cake and protein shake for lunch, and your starch at dinner.
I personally would not have three meals out even if one was a salad, regardless who has money for that anyway!?
6) Have the ice cream!!
This is where the “Life” part comes in. I always tell my clients what’s the point in looking a certain way, if you aren’t enjoying it. One night of my vacation I always let life happen and I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries or a slice of pizza. If it’s a long vacation then I will do two nights. Enjoy yourself! There are memories to be made over a good meal and one night won’t hurt but wake up and remember your goals.
In the end, the memories are whats most important. Try to get out and have a good time and don’t make the vacation all about food.
And if your trip doesn’t go as planned, then what’s done is done and take those memories with you while you hop back on track towards your goals!
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Happy Travels 🙂
