When I go on vacation, my diet goes out the window. Ok, that’s a little dramatic but I do become much more relaxed about my food consumption during vacations because a girl can’t just eat kale, almonds and avocados all day, everyday. It’s all about the balance, right?
I just wrote about how we went to wine country and you better believe it that I indulged in wine during our trip, drinking more than the doctor recommended one glass a day and I had no regrets. Well maybe the next morning when I was a bit more thirsty than usual (maybe with just a slight hangover) but besides that, no regrets 🙂
I also indulged in good food during our trip. We went to some good restaurants where I indulged in bacon wrapped scallops and avocado burgers with onion rings. I did these during my vacation and again, had no regrets.
With healthy eating, it is all about balance. If I am on vacation, I will try and eat healthy when I can, but if a restaurant is known for something (e.g. burgers), I’m not going to get the salad because that would just be stupid.
After indulging a bit and coming back from vacation, I always step on the scale and gasp at what I see. OK, that may be a bit dramatic but I have been known to bloat up a handful or more pounds after a vacation. This isn’t too surprising since I usually bloat up when I drink alcohol and eat a lot of carbs….two things I am really good at doing during vacation. The key word here is that I “bloat up.” I don’t ACTUALLY gain 5 lbs because that means I would have ate an additional 3,500 calories each day, which would be basically impossible for me to consume.
So when I get home and see my new weight number, I know that it is short term. I set myself up for success right when I get back from vacation by ensuring that I have meals planned for the day I get back. I get something easy that will hold up for a few days. For this trip, we had things like eggs and chicken w/frozen vegetables so we could cook healthy meals the day we got back. Besides having healthy meals to cook, we also will go grocery shopping the day we get home too. This ensures that we will have healthy food to eat and don’t have to continue our trend of eating out.
Another thing I do to help “deflate” is to decrease alcohol and carb consumption for a week or so. This doesn’t mean no carbs or alcohol, I just cut back a lot. These things combined with calorie counting for a few days will get me back on track to my usual portions and healthy eating habits.
In addition to resetting my food, I also reset my exercise routine. Which basically means that I get right back on track when I get home with walks and yoga.
My “reset” is nothing extreme, it is just getting back on the wagon of healthy eating and exercise because consistency is key to success. I have found that I can enjoy vacations without guilt, I just have to get back on the healthy wagon when I get home.
