Do you want to be as care free as possible on your much deserved vacation without worrying about the scale skyrocketing once you return? Here are some keys to help you avoid weight gain!
In the end, how much or how little your vacation ends up interfering with your overall progress/physique is on you. But if you are smart about it, you will come home fine and be right back to where you were before you left. Below is a short list of options that will hopefully put your mind at ease about what to do while you’re on vacation:
Portion control
Maybe you are staying at an all-inclusive resort where food & drinks are abundant 24/7. That’s totally fine, but control yourself. If you have a huge breakfast at a buffet, try not to stuff yourself with a one-pound cheeseburger and a pile of waffle fries for lunch. If you opt for a light lunch or a snack instead, it . Or you can always go with my personal philosophy – eat until you’re comfortably full. Don’t eat until you are so full that you hate yourself. The same thing goes for drinks.
Intermittent fasting
There is not anything inherently magical about intermittent fasting. It is just a way to control your overall food intake. If you are on vacation, it means you’ll be able to find something fun & exciting to do. So maybe skip breakfast after you wake up and occupy your mind and your time with something fun until noon comes around and it is time for lunch. Time flies when you are on vacation. It should not be hard to fill your time with other things. You can decide what time you want to fast and what time you want to eat.
Staying active
Most resorts have gyms. Better yet – most resorts have a beach! Go run. Go swim in the water! If you’re active, you’re more likely to burn off the food you ate. Even if you can’t find time to exercise, you’d probably be surprised at the number of calories you burn just by walking around and sightseeing. There are a number of ways to stay active. Literally anything besides sitting down all day.
Making Your Own Meals
This option sucks, but if you are REALLY worried about not being able to do any of the above, making your own meals might be the best option, and honestly, it’s the only way to accurately know how many calories you’re eating. Will it be convenient? No, probably not. But it all depends on where you’re at with your fitness goals and what you’re willing to sacrifice to accomplish them.
And finally…Do nothing
That’s right. It isn’t a secret to staying slim. But does it make you care free? Yeah. After all, it’s called a vacation for a reason – you VACATE your regular life for a bit. It’s a good break for your mind, it’s good break for your body. Might this option result in coming back a few pounds heavier than when you left? Well if you vacationed right, then yeah it might! I kid, I kid. But seriously, it most likely will. And that is totally fine.
You know exactly what you need to do to get back on track with things when you get home. Get back to your exercises, drink plenty of water, and get your diet in check again. Most of your post-vacation weight gain is going to be from glycogen, sodium, water, and a small percentage might be actual fat. But again, get back on track and you’ll be back to normal in only a few short days.
People don’t give the human body enough credit. It is incredibly efficient at maintaining it’s current state. You really have to give it a reason to change. It doesn’t want to lose or gain weight. It is happy where it is. That’s not to say gaining weight is hard. That’s the easy part. This is where I go back to portion control. Be smart about what you eat and how much you eat, and I bet you’ll surprise yourself with how easy it is to stay around your normal weight upon returning.
Blake Bernstein – Personal Trainer