You need to know how to have fun on spring break while being healthy
Mama, I want to destroy one of the worst myths in nutrition: vacation calories don’t count. I know that you know that that’s not true, but we still follow that advice right? Spring break is just around the corner and I don’t want you to get stuck in the typical vacation cycle.
The typical vacation dieting cycle looks something like this:
Before vacation, you start restricting yourself. You cut your calories, you spend hours trying to burn extra calories. You lose 5, 10 maybe 15 pounds if you’re lucky.
Then, you go on vacation and you eat and drink your little heart out. You say yes to everything you’ve been saying no to for the last few weeks. You have so much fun and love every bite of food.
Then you get home. And you hop on the scale only to watch it go up, up, up. Not only did you gain back all the weight you’d lost before vacation but there’s an extra five pounds just as an extra little vacation present. *eye roll*
And you’re frustrated. Because you spend so much time and energy losing weight only to have it come back with a vengeance. Now, you have two options, go back to that diet that drove you crazy, or give up.
And giving up sounds so much easier! So you do it. Until your next vacation or event that forces you to diet again.
Mama, I used to be stuck in this cycle too. I was stuck in this cycle for years!
I would restrict, restrict, restrict myself so I’d look just right in my bikini before we’d go on a trip. And then, over the five days we were gone, I’d stuff myself. I’d indulge in everything I had told myself not to eat for weeks, and I’d drink until I wanted to hop on the bar and dance.
I thought this was the perfect arrangement! Diet for a while, and then go on vacation and cut loose! It seemed easier than trying to eat healthy all the time.
I thought the fun of vacation eating was worth the restrictive diets and extreme self-control. But I ended up having to do it again, and again, and again and I never moved forward. I was stuck in this frustrating loop and had no idea how to get out of it!
It wasn’t until I learned about nutrition and how it didn’t have to be miserable or restrictive that I was able to lose weight, go on vacation, enjoy myself and not gain weight.
Mama, we’re heading into spring break which for most of us means some sort of vacation. And I want to give you this freedom! I want you to go on vacation with your kiddos and have a blast without gaining 10 lbs.
So, I’m going to give you four seriously easy steps to go on vacation for spring break where you can have fun and be healthy!
Plan meals & snacks for spring break
The first step is always to make a plan. If you want to stay on track with your nutrition, then you have to have a plan.
I know planning your meals and snacks for vacation doesn’t sound fun, but trust me, from one busy mama to another, it’s so worth it!
When I go on vacation for spring break, I don’t want to think. I spend 90% of the year thinking, planning, organizing and scheduling. So when I go on vacation, I want a break from that.
Unfortunately, vacation calories count just as much as at-home calories so unless I want to undo all my hard work, I still need to think about what I’m eating.
But, if I think about it ahead of time, then I can still take a break on vacation!
Before spring break, I’ll plan out exactly what and how much I’ll eat at every meal, but when I’m on vacation I want more flexibility. Instead of making exact plans, I’ll make a basic outline and try to stick to that.
I always try to start my vacation breakfast with lots of protein. I do this for two reasons.
Starting your day with protein will help curb cravings for the rest of the day. This helps me make better choices throughout the day even if I go off plan.
It leaves more flexibility for eating out later in the day! If I’ve had plenty of protein early in the day I feel more comfortable having fun with my food later in the day.
After I have breakfast planned, I can decide if we’re going to eat out for lunch, dinner or both. If the answer is both, then I try to choose healthier options at the restaurant; subbing out fries for fresh fruit, or getting grilled chicken instead of fried.
If we’re only eating out for one meal I’ll allow myself to have more freedom with my meal out. I still try to eat something more nutritious for my other meal, but I still make sure to have fun with it!
I also like to plan out a few snacks each day so that I can snack without going too crazy. I like to try and sneak in some extra protein so I’ll pack protein bars or protein shakes with me. I also love to enjoy fresh fruit and veggies on vacation so I’ll plan to have those as snacks as well.
The goal is to eat well 80% of the time and then have more decadent, fun foods 20% of the time. If you can get this balance down on vacation, you’ll be able to have fun without gaining a ton of weight!
Prepare your food before leaving for vacation
Again, I want to actually be able to relax on vacation, so I take time before vacation to prepare anything I want to eat on vacation.
If you’re driving, then prep for your trip by making a quick grocery run for anything you want to take with you and then pack it in a cooler and throw it in the car!
If you’re flying somewhere, then you can pack a few things or grab groceries when you get to your destination. I love to use grocery pickup when I’m traveling because I can land, grab groceries on the way to the hotel, and then I’m ready to go once we check in!
Whenever we travel, I try to make sure all of our snacks are prepped ahead of time too! If you have baggies of fruits & veggies ready to go or yogurt cups in the fridge, it’s easy to grab that instead of hitting up the vending machine - plus my kids don’t have to bug me every time they’re hungry! There’s already food ready to go for them.
Even though it takes a little bit more work, prepping things before you go on a trip is absolutely worth it! In the long run, It’s going to save you money, and time so that you can spend your vacation relaxing instead of feeding everyone! And Mama, you deserve that!
Protect your plan so you protect your goals
Like we talked about earlier, the “vacation calories don’t count” or “just let loose” mindset is almost second nature for most of us. If you have that mindset, then you need to prioritize protecting your plan.
Protecting your nutritional plan is going to be hard. I wish it was easy, but because so many people think that letting go on vacation is the best way to live, you’re going to face a lot of peer pressure to eat outside of your plans or to drink more than you told yourself you would.
I want you to think of yourself as a teenager when you’re faced with these challenges. If you were talking to a teenager what would you say when their friends tried to get them to do something they didn’t want to?
Would you say, “Yeah, give in! Do what your friends want you to do! It’s not that big of a deal!”
Or would you say, “Hey, it’s OK to not go with the grain. It’s OK to make choices that are best for you, even when it’s not what everyone else is doing.”
I bet it’s the latter one. That advice is good for our kids and it’s good for us too - even if our kids or spouse are the ones pressuring us.
Because Mama, no one else has to live in your body! No one else is going to have to live with the hangover you will have if you over-drink. No one else is going to feel uncomfortable, bloated and gross if you overeat.
You’re the one who has to deal with the consequences, so you should get to be the one who makes the choices.
One thing I love about learning to protect your nutrition is the lesson it teaches you: that you can trust yourself.
I used to use excuses like “Oh, I just couldn’t help myself” or “It was too good to stop eating” to justify why I broke my promise to myself to not overeat or over-drink. But any time I used that excuse I was left feeling guilty and frustrated and usually a few pounds heavier.
When I started to protect my nutrition I realized that I was in full control. I could stop whenever I wanted. I could eat what I wanted. And because I was in control I didn’t have to deal with the consequences like I had before. And I’m so much better off for it! Because I know how to enjoy myself without going too far.
Get back on track ASAP
I’ve saved the best for last! This is the most important part of having a healthy and fun spring break: you need to get back to your normal eating as soon as you get home!
The reason that most people gain weight over vacation isn’t because they ate outside of their normal boundaries for a week. It’s that they don’t stop eating that way when they get home!
Traveling in and of itself can cause weight fluctuation. Flying or driving can cause you to retain water and that will show up as a weight increase on the scale. That being said, you probably didn’t gain fat.
However, when people step on the scale after a vacation and see that increase they get frustrated or annoyed and throw in the towel.
Instead of getting back on track and seeing that weight come back down, they keep eating like they’re still on vacation and that weight never goes away.
Which is how you get stuck in that yo-yo dieting cycle I talked about before.
To avoid this I have my clients do two things:
Don’t weigh up for a few days after vacation. Typically I recommend waiting a week. This gives your body time to come back to normal after eating out and traveling.
Get back to your normal eating at your first meal at home. When you get back to your normal eating as soon as you get back you don’t let your brain freak out and convince you to give up.
One of the best ways to get back on track once you’re home is to have a meal plan already in place.
I like to put in a grocery order for pickup when I’m on my way home so I have fresh, healthy groceries as soon as I get home. Another great option is to have a meal in the freezer so that when you get home you can whip something up that is a normal meal for you.
However you choose to do it, getting back on track as soon as possible is the best way to not let your vacation eating trickle into your real life.
I’ve given you the exact steps I teach inside my Macros Made Easy Program to help busy mamas lose weight without feeling restricted. But if you need help learning how to implement these tips and have some accountability on your weight loss journey, then let me help you!
My blogs, podcasts and social media channels are great for providing basic advice, but mama you aren’t basic! Your nutritional needs are not going to be the same as anyone else’s so if the free advice I share here isn’t enough for you, then schedule a Healthy Mama Blueprint Call. We can chat about where you’re at and where you want to go.
Then, when you join the Macros Made Easy Program I’ll create a customized plan that will get you to your goals. And we’ll work together to help you learn how to do things like going on vacation without gaining weight! Schedule your free Healthy Mama Blueprint Call today!
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