Staying On Track

When you go on vacation things can get a little rocky. You tend to not work out as much and your eating habits often go downhill. I think this happens to almost everyone.

When you’re on vacation you just say “I will eat healthy when I return”, “I am going to work extra hard Monday!”, “I will work out double next week”, “oh they are drinking, I should too”, “it’s ok, it’s just one week”, the list can go on and on.

And that’s OKAY.

Vacations don’t happen every week. So it is ok to splurge every once in awhile. But then when you do get back home from a vacation get completely on track. Don’t fall off the road completely. The longer you are away from a routine the harder it will be to get back into that former routine. {If you quit smoking for 5 months vs. 1 week, 5 months will be harder to return to smoking than 1 week}

I am on my second week of a two different back-to-back vacations. I was at an outdoor musical festival for three days and then the next day I left for Atlanta for six days. But I have managed to eat pretty clean.

Country Jam (outdoor music festival) was hard because you are often there for one or two meals. If you eat there you are going to spend $10 for greasy fried cheese curds. No thanks. So instead we ate a huge meal right before and then brought (snuck in!) little snacks.

We had a few healthy meal choices that we brought from home. We had: grilled chicken, turkey burger meat for taco salads, Caesar wraps and turkey sandwiches. We also had LOTS of snack options: blueberries, grapes, apples, carrots, string cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, popcorn, rice cakes, peanut butter, protein bars, the list could go on forever.

By having all these healthy choices I was able to make the right choice most of the time. Then when I did want to have a treat I didn’t feel as bad.

The hotel didn’t have a gym. One of the days we went on a walk and the other day we ran 5 miles. This was ok for me, because A) skipping a day of working out is ok and B) I had friends with me that kept me motivated to go on a 5 mile run VS. a 5 minute run.

Going to Atlanta has been easier because there is a gym and I have time to workout daily, which I have been doing. But when I want frozen yogurt or a slice of cake I am going to do it because I am on VACATION.

Eating that amazing white chocolate raspberry cheesecake from The Cheese Cake Factory was totally worth a hard 45 minute work out. 

For breakfast I try to stay with oatmeal, greek yogurt, fruit, eggs, cottage cheese. For lunch I like doing protein shakes/bar, veggies, cottage cheese. For dinner we go out and I like chicken (shocker : )), sandwiches, veggies, soups. And then some nights I like to get dessert. When I have my meals I make sure to make the right choices so when I do indulge it is ok.

Make sure to eat fairly healthy for most of your meals if you do plan to have a treat at some point in the day.

When you are away don’t completely give up everything you have worked so hard towards. But do remember this: vacations are usually short and you get off routine, but that is ok because you can jump back on track after one week of being off of your normal ‘routine’. And one slice of cake will not make you gain weight, just like one salad won’t make you lose weight.

P.S. don’t be up all night worrying about what you ate. It will be OK!!!