Eating Healthy & Exercising on Vacation

Here is a blurb I posted to my Facebook page after my vacation this summer. I thought it deserved a repost as i'm anxiously awaiting my trip to Cali at the end of November! And yes, exercise is built into my vacation plans (5k, running the Golden Gate Bridge, hiking, and taking a Barre class with my sister).  I'll be sure to be blogging about those!

Staying Healthy on Vacation  

A question asked by many people, is how to eat healthy and get exercise in on vacation.  While you may not always have the choice to eat whole fresh foods, there are some things you can do on vacation to keep you on track.  It is harder to maintain your goals while away, and let's face it, you're on vacation and should be enjoying yourself!  But It's all about balance.  

Yes exercising and eating healthy are two very important things to me, and are a huge part of my life.  However, I have balance in my life and I allow myself to indulge or enjoy things once in awhile that may not be so good for me.  I enjoy adult beverages on the weekends and go out to the bars with friends.  Yes, ice cream and frozen yogurt are my all time favorite desert that I enjoy way more in summer.  But for me, it's all about balancing the bad with the good.  Do I eat ice cream everyday of the week? No.  Probably not even once a week, but I sure don't feel guilty when I have it!  Do I drink every night?  Nope...but I enjoy some good beer on the weekends!  So when it comes to going on vacation, I don't stress about the fact that I will be off my usual routine of exercise and healthy eating.

When it comes to vacation it's all about making "better" choices, even if they aren't the best.  While we were on vacation this past summer, all we had was a mini fridge and a microwave in our hotel room.  No stove to cook on.  Even with the fridge and microwave, we were only ever in the room to shower and sleep.  We were on the go which caused us to eat out at every meal (except most breakfasts).  Knowing this was going to happen, I made sure to 1. Pack healthier snacks for the drive and to have in the room (cashews, almonds, protein shakes, bananas etc...) 2.  I packed traditional rolled oats to have with fruit for breakfast and 3.  I packed my TRX suspension trainer, and my very supportive boyfriend made sure to book a hotel that had a fitness center.  When eating at restaurants I would order sandwiches or salads (dressing on the side) over fried food, or order a side of fruit or veggies with my meal.  One evening I ordered salmon with a side baby spinach salad for dinner (so delicious!)

I made my own breakfasts since our hotel only offered things like waffles, bagels or "eggs".  However, being down South meant great tasting food.... but not so good for you food.  But I allowed myself to have a meal or two that wasn't a better choice (hello Bar BQ bean burrito).  I wanted to have a taste of "southern cooking", I just made sure not to have a taste for every meal.  

As far as exercise, we walked everywhere!  Our hotel in Nashville was only a 15-20 minute walk from downtown so we were constantly walking from morning to night.  Not to mention we hiked a lot on our vacation (Smoky Mountains and on our drive home).  I also went for runs, did a TRX workout, ran on the treadmill in the fitness center and even did a quick strength training workout with the weights that were available.  Were my workouts long?  No... but I still got quick and effective workouts in.  

So, find your balance.  Help keep yourself on track by packing healthy snacks, making your own breakfasts, choosing better options while eating out,  walking instead of driving if possible, planning physical activities into your vacation (hiking, biking, running etc...), booking a hotel with a fitness center, packing travel friendly exercise equipment (suspension trainer or resistance bands), or simply doing bodyweight cardio and strength exercises a few days during the week. If it's important to you, you'll find a way.