How to avoid gaining weight on vacation

Seems like everyone is going on vacation this summer.  But how can you enjoy your vacation and not return 5 or more pounds heavier?  We all want to have fun on vacation by eating out in new restaurants, trying new foods, and not worrying about gaining weight.  For those who want to return from vacation at the same weight they left, what are some things you can do?  WebMD has some good advice in their article, Avoid Vacation Weight Gain: 5 Simple Rules  .  

Tip 1:   Plan Ahead to Include Some Physical Fitness

Every vacation my husband and I go on, includes hiking on trails, renting bikes to enjoy some bike trails, or walking a lot.  Yes, we still enjoy site seeing, eating at restaurants, but we also enjoy being active on our vacations.  On a recent trip to Yellowstone, we hiked a lot, walked a lot and also rented bikes and enjoyed biking by a number of geysers.  The WebMD article notes, “Keep in mind that physical activity is the ticket to enjoying extra calories without weight gain.”  It does take some planning to incorporate being physically active on vacation.  We look up local parks to see if they have walking trails.  We look up places to rent bikes and locate bike trails in the area we are visiting.  We also ask about gym facilities in the hotel we are staying at.  My husband likes to ask if the gym facilities in the hotel has a stationary bike he can ride.  Then if we aren’t able to rent a bike, he can still get in a bike ride at the hotel. 

Tip 2:  Plan for some healthy food at breakfast, lunch and snacks

Whether you are traveling by plane, train or automobile plan ahead to have some healthy food options with you.  When traveling by plane or train, I bring along some healthy snacks such as nuts, dried fruit, or granola.  By train, we often pack a healthy lunch.  When taking a road trip, we bring a picnic lunch and eat at rest areas or a picnic area at a local park.  We have sandwiches on whole grain bread, bring yogurt, milk, fresh fruit, whole grain chips, veggies with hummus.  So many people just stop at a fast-food restaurant and load up on fried foods, fatty foods and high calorie foods.  We also often pack our breakfast so we not only eat healthy but we can eat when we want and don’t have to waste a lot of time finding a restaurant and spending an hour or more eating breakfast.  We also pack healthy snacks to munch on in the car – whole grain crackers, peanuts, fresh fruit.  (See How to Eat Healthy on Road Trips.)

If you are staying in a hotel or vacation rental for a few days, stock up on healthy snacks (see Enjoy Some Snacks):

• Popcorn
• Granola bars
• Whole grain crackers
• Dried fruit
• Trail mix
• Seeds like sunflower seeds
• Peanut butter
• Hummus and veggies
• Whole grain chips
• Cereal – General Mills cereals are all whole grain
• Graham crackers
• Fresh fruit

Tip 3:  Dining out – plan ahead

Besides high calorie snacking, dining out is usually the reason vacationers gain weight.  When you cook a meal at home, you know what goes into every menu item.  But in restaurants you have no idea how much butter, oil or other ingredients have been added to a menu item.  We usually choose a restaurant to eat at before we leave for vacation.  We read online reviews but also carefully review the menu.  Do they offer entrees that are baked, broiled or grilled?  By avoiding fried foods or foods laden with a heavy cream sauce, you can cut back on a lot of calories.  When we can go out for dinner, we enjoy a meal that we know is higher in calories but we know we had two healthy meals:  breakfast and lunch and usually we have had some physical exercise during the day.

If a hotel has a kitchen or fridge, we may go to a local store that offers salads, fresh fruit, entrees and choose our dinner items.  

Review the menu before eating out.

Tip 4:  Indulge Some

Who doesn’t want to enjoy some treats on vacation?  So have some ice cream but it doesn’t have to be a large banana split.  Share a dessert at the restaurant. 

Tip 5:  Watch the portion size

Recently, my daughters and I ate breakfast at a very nice hotel.  The portion sizes were huge.  I ordered orange juice and they brought me an 8-ounce glass.  I ordered a fruit parfait with yogurt and it was huge.  My daughters also found the portion sizes very large.  The next morning, we ordered half the amount of food, shared some menu items and were more than satisfied.  Order what you like but enjoy smaller portions. 

Diekman, Director of Nutrition at Washington University, states:  “Enjoy small portions of whatever you like, eat slowly so you taste the food and feel a sense of satisfaction, enjoyment, and relaxation of the vacation.” 

I will add Tip 6:  Gain the weight, lose the weight

I noted in previous blogs that a nutrition professor I had commented that she was at a nutrition convention for a week.  When she returned home, she had gained 5 pounds.  So, she focused on losing those 5 pounds and said, “I guess we won’t be eating desserts like apple pie this week.”   First, I was shocked that my nutrition professor was eating apple pie but she taught us desserts are OK to eat.  But second, I was impressed that she enjoyed eating at the convention but was very focused on losing the 5 pounds she had gained once she returned home.   It didn’t take her long.  In a couple of weeks, she announced she had lost those 5 pounds

Enjoy your vacation this summer.  Aim to eat two healthy meals a day and some healthy snacks.  Enjoy eating out and enjoy some desserts.  After all, it is vacation.

Sources:  Avoid Vacation Weight Gain: 5 Simple Rules , notes , How to Eat Healthy on Road Trips , Enjoy Some Snacks , Diekman , states   Image Sources: Eating out   , healthy snacks for a road trip,  portion control