Staying Fit On Vacation
Staying Fit On Vacation
It's always so exciting to have a vacation booked, and your new outfits packed. You've been working out and getting fit, and you most likely used the vacation as a goal to push you through most of your workouts. The vacation is about to begin, and you can't help but feel a little bit of anxiety worrying about blowing all your efforts on the gym floor once you get to your destination. You certainly don't want to go backward and regain all the weight you've lost.
You feel torn between going and enjoying your time eating whatever you want, whenever you want and sticking to your fitness plan. You want to enjoy every waking moment of the trip, but you can't help but wonder if you'll be able to workout while you're there.
Staying fit on vacation is not as hard as you think. It will require a little bit of effort, but you don't need to go consuming yourself with working out and staying lean. I've done this in the past and drove, not only myself but my entire family crazy! I had to learn a balancing act of living it up while returning not feeling like I blew all of my goals. So let's break this down so you can easily have fun and stick to your fitness.
BE LESS RIGID
Being self-driven to stay on point with your fitness while traveling is great but only if you go with the understanding that you don't need to be as rigid with your regular workout and nutrition regimen. If you usually exercise five days a week, do three days a week on vacation. If you typically spend an hour a day at the gym, back it down to half an hour during your vacation.
Don't put so much pressure on yourself to spend as much time as you do at home on your fitness while you're on your trip. Your current fitness condition will sustain you while you're on vacation and just hitting a few days while away will help with keeping you in a routine.
Ease up a little bit with the knowledge that your body will not fall back to your old shape just because you are backing your routine down for a few days. Your body will most likely thank you for the break.
MAKE WATER YOUR BEST FRIEND
When traveling and eating out more, our bodies are loaded with extra sodium, retaining a lot of excess fluid. You will find yourself feeling bloated and possibly constipated. It takes the body a while to adjust to your new way of eating out, flying or sitting in the car for hours on end.
Don't panic. It's merely extra fluid that increasing your water will flush right out. Consume as much water as you possibly can to aid the body in flushing itself and digesting your food.
Drinking more water on vacation will help increase your energy, keep you hydrated, especially if you're on a hot beach or humid climate and it will save you from looking bloated and swollen.
Most restaurants foods are prepared with a lot of sodium. After you eat out, be sure to follow the meal with a big glass of ice water to help rid the body of all the sodium, so you wake up feeling refreshed, not feeling like a bloated tick.
LOG YOUR FOOD
If you're anxious about gaining weight while traveling, be sure to log your food intake. This will be the only real way you'll know if you're consuming too many calories.
Guessing at the calorie count on the food you're eating is not only inaccurate, but you may fall out your habit of eating healthy. Logging your food will keep you accountable and make you think before you order just any old thing.
Don't forget, calories are in drinks too. Log all of your beverages as well because those calories can add up quickly. If you know that you'll be having a few margaritas at dinner, log those first thing in the morning so you can save up your calories throughout the day.
As I said, don't be so rigid when trying to stay fit on vacation. Allow yourself to splurge a little bit while traveling and don't beat yourself up for consuming extra food here and there.
CHECK OUT THE LOCAL FITNESS ACTIVITIES
When you're planning your trip, be sure to look at the different gyms, fitness classes and outdoor activities that the locals offer. Be willing to try something different while on your trip. This may spark a new fitness passion that you had no idea you'd enjoy so much.
From kayaking to yoga on the beach to a new gym with totally different equipment or renting a bike for a morning ride. The possibilities are endless. Allow yourself to get out of your everyday routine and shock the body with something different.
Signing up for a gym, class or outdoor trip will also help keep you on track and not oversleeping to avoid your typical morning workout, especially if you have to pay to sign up. Use this as a tool to stay motivated and get your exercise in for the day.
GET YOUR GROCERIES PRONTO!
When you arrive at your destination, get yourself to the store right away. Buy some fresh fruit, veggies and lean sources of protein that are easy to prepare. I always tell my clients, failing to plan is planning to fail. Having your healthy food and snacks handy will keep you from falling off the wagon and returning from your trip feeling like you blew it.
When hunger strikes and you're busy traveling, you'll grab whatever is quick and convenient. From doughnuts to fatty chips, especially if you have kids around, will leave you feeling tired and bloated. Prepping your snacks will prevent you from grabbing anything and everything.
Trust me, eating one doughnut always leads to two doughnuts and cookies, well that can lead to the entire package! Once you allow yourself that sugary snack, you'll instantly crave more. Keep fruit handy, cleaned and sliced so you can grab it and keep your thoughts off of the processed foods laying around. Again, drink a lot more water than you typically do. This will help keep your hunger pangs under control as well.
MY SECRET WEAPON FOR EATING OUT
I love to eat out, especially when I'm on vacation. I lay on the beach thinking about what I'll be eating for dinner, all day! It may be what I look the most forward to with traveling. Exciting new restaurants and not having to cook it myself is pure pleasure to me. This can also be my biggest trap when trying to stick to my weight loss goals.
To avoid going on a binge fest in the evenings and blowing my calories out of the water, I only consume protein during the day, leaving myself more carbs and fats for dinner. I will generally eat scrambled egg whites for breakfast and grab a protein shake for lunch and then eat whatever I like for dinner.
I'm also sure to drink water throughout the day, so I'm not feeling tired and starving when I head into a restaurant. Although I allow myself to eat whatever I want, I always keep myself hydrated which leaves me less likely to eat everything in sight.
You can also add fruits in during the day when your stomach starts growling. You'll feel full and guilt-free with your snacking choices. You don't have to be obsessive and rigid to stay on track. A little planning ahead of time will make a big difference.
GET EXTRA SLEEP
When planning a trip, we always think of how busy we are with our daily lives and all the responsibilities that wear us down. Vacation seems like the perfect fix to get some well-needed rest.
However, many us return exhausted even more than when we left for our trip, especially when traveling with kids. We get to our destination and jump into everything we can. We want to explore and experience everything. We tend to stay up later and get up earlier to soak up every minute of our vacation.
So if you want to stay fit on your vacation, get more sleep. Sleep is vital to healing and restoring our bodies. Getting enough sleep keeps our hormones in check which aids in our metabolism function, our cortisol hormone levels and allows the body to heal our muscle tissues. The health benefits of sleep are endless and what better time to grab a few extra minutes of sleep than on vacation.
WALK AND WALK SOME MORE
Being in a new location, you're surrounded by new sights and exciting things to experience. Take advantage of this time to walk around and explore your surroundings. If you're vacationing at the beach, get up and walk the shoreline every morning. If you want to burn more calories, jog the beach. You can do a walk with lunges mixed in. The possibilities are endless at the beach, and it is an excellent place for a workout!
Instead of hitting the gym every morning, get up and walk. Give your body a break from your everyday routine and allow yourself to unwind, relax and walk casually, letting all the stress drain from you. Not only is this a physical break, but this can be more of a mental break from everyday life.
If you've had too many calories for dinner, walk the rest of the evening. This will lessen your guilt of overeating and will make you feel better, both mentally and physically.
Cherish the time you have on this trip, set aside your rigid regimen and walk those calories away without feeling the physical strain of fitness. Our minds are important to take care of, just as important as taking care of our bodies. Destress and take in the beautiful environment you won't get to experience again for a while.
DON'T FORGET YOUR GYM BAG
There is nothing worse than getting to your destination, ready to stick to your fitness plan, only to realize you have no tennis shoes or workout gear. You were so excited to go on vacation and try out a new gym or go for a run. You had mentally prepared yourself to stay on track by getting your exercises completed while you were vacationing, and then it hits you; you forgot your gear!
You don't want to spend your limited time on vacation trying to find a new pair of shoes or a workout outfit. You want to unpack, get your food prepped and get up and go for your workout so you can move on with the day.
Prep your bag ahead of time and put it in the car. I have been through this so many times and having to shop for your favorite things, may ultimately lead you to say "forget it, I just won't work out." There have been many times where I've forgotten my gym gear and my week without workouts turned into a month without working out.
So if you're one that struggles with staying on the fitness path, be sure to plan ahead of time, pack your belongings for exercising and stick to your routine. This will keep you from falling completely away from your workouts when you return home.
ENJOY YOUR TRIP
The most important part of your vacation is that you genuinely enjoy your time away from home. Whether you decide to work out every day while you're traveling or not exercising at all, do what makes you happy. Maybe you need a total break from fitness, or perhaps you need to stay on point, only you know, and you need to find balance.
My best advice would be to be somewhere in the middle. Do your workouts half the time you usually do and replace a workout or two with a massage at a spa or walks on the beach. Grab your favorite book and sit back and enjoy quiet time alone reading.
Hit that pin button so you can keep these tips on hand, especially when you’re traveling. You don’t need to struggle with your weight loss, especially while traveling!
Heading out for vacation can be stressful and exciting. However, when you've worked hard losing weight, it can be downright dreadful. What if I told you, you can still go on vacation, enjoy time with your loved ones and not spend your entire time in the gym? I'll show you how to relax on your trip, enjoy the foods you love and skip hitting the gym so you can soak up your time away from home. Losing weight doesn't need to isolate you from everything you love.
Sticking with fitness and nutrition goals is tough. You need to know that you can temporarily step away from it and be ok. You need to trust that your body knows you need a break and will keep working for you. Be sure not to fall off the wagon entirely while traveling because you will feel so much better when you return being able to jump right back into your regimen. Stay active while you're gone to keep yourself on a routine, but ease up a bit. You need it!
If you need some fun, simple ways to keep you on track and inspired, please sign up below to be on the inside loop of tricks and tools to fast track you to all of your fitness goals. I'd love to be a guiding light on your path to greatness.
Hugs & Love,
Aimee
Aimee Schwinabart is the founder of The Purely Fit—online workouts, nutrition, and fitness coaching that actually work! She specializes in short (super effective) daily workouts combined with customized nutrition plans to help real people shed excess fat to reveal toned, lean muscles. The Purely Fit approach to looking and feeling great prioritizes small, steady, super efficient workouts and nutrition upgrades to help you stay with it once and for all!
