The best way to make sure your vacation doesn’t ruin your weight loss goals
Mama, have you ever dieted right before a vacation so that you look good on the beach? Then when you go on vacation and you overindulge and eat everything you’d been telling yourself you couldn’t have pre-vacation. Only to come back from vacation and step on the scale and have the number shock you? I’ve been there. I’ve done that, and I’ve even taken it a step further and decided that I might as well just eat whatever I wanted because I wasn’t going to be able to lose all that weight all over again.
Now, let me tell you the truth Mama, Your vacation doesn’t have to do this to you. You don’t have to keep riding that weight loss, weight gain roller coaster every time you leave town. Today, I want to teach you the best way to make sure your summer vacation doesn’t ruin your weight loss progress and goals.
Since I learned to be aware of my nutrition, I’ve been able to go on vacation, enjoy myself, eat some really good food and come back without gaining a ton of weight! I usually gain 1-2 pounds when I go on vacation because I’m aware of my food choices before, during and after vacation. And after today, you’ll be able to do that too!
What to expect from your body on vacation
Vacation weight can come from a lot of different things, including what you eat and drink but it’s not limited to that.
First of all, traveling can take a toll on your body and can cause inflammation and water retention. When you fly the pressure changes in the cabin can make you bloated, the changes in pressure will also cause more dehydration. Not to mention that airplane food and snacks are usually higher in sodium and sugar, which causes more water retention.
Plus, when you’re stuck on an airplane or in a car for a while, you’re less likely to move around. Even if you eat perfectly on vacation you can still gain a little bit of weight just by traveling. Knowing this can help you understand what to expect from your body when you travel. I like to tell my clients not to get on the scale for a day or two after they get back from vacation to allow their bodies to settle and get back to normal.
Second, we have to face a hard truth. You cannot go on vacation stuff your face at each meal, drink for a few days straight and not gain weight. You just can’t. I seriously wish vacation calories didn’t count, but my body likes to remind me that they really, really do.
Now I don’t want you to peace out right here because you don’t want to keep eating plain grilled chicken and steamed broccoli on vacation. I don’t do that and I wouldn’t tell you to do that either! However, I do want to show you how to enjoy good food on vacation, have a few drinks and still stick to your weight loss goals. It’s not that hard, it just takes a little bit of awareness!
Create a flexible meal plan for vacation
I love a good plan and that extends to my vacations too! Planning how you want to eat when you go on vacation is the best way to avoid falling off the wagon or gaining a ton of weight when you go on vacation.
Unlike when you’re at home, you never really know what kind of food you’re going to have access to on vacation. That’s why I suggest creating a flexible plan. A flexible plan doesn’t tell you exactly what foods you’re going to eat, but instead, it sets up how you want to eat.
Here’s how I structure my flexible vacation meal plans.
Protein first
Whether I’m at a resort or camping with my family I make sure the first thing on my plate is a hearty serving of protein. Protein is the most undereaten macronutrient, but it’s also the most needed! Our bodies use protein for so many things, that whether I’m at home or on vacation, I want to set myself up for success by eating plenty of protein!
A really important time to get protein in is at breakfast. What you eat for breakfast can set you up for success for the whole day or it can start you on a path towards cravings and sugar crashes. Instead of grabbing a donut or sugary cereal, look for protein-dominant options for breakfast!
Eggs or egg whites
Sausage or bacon
Protein shake (adding it to your morning coffee is so good!!)
Greek yogurt
Breakfast sandwich
Breakfast burrito
Steak and eggs
Egg bites (Grab these at Starbucks!)
Oatmeal made with a protein shake
Protein pancakes or waffles (mix a scoop of protein powder into your batter)
Cottage cheese bowls (add fruits to make it more fun!)
I love having a protein-packed breakfast because it also allows me to have a little more fun either at lunch or dinner, which are more likely to be meals where we eat out or want some dessert after.
However, I still make sure to have protein at all three meals, and I like to sneak a few protein snacks in if I can too!
Carbs second
A lot of mamas who have been stuck in the diet cycle for years think that they can’t have carbs, but mama, I have good news! You can eat carbs - on vacation or at home! Carbs are the body’s first source of energy and we need them to live a healthy life!
That being said, I like to prioritize which carbs I eat so that I’m getting the most bang for my buck, even when I’m on vacation. My first recommendation for carbs is fruits and veggies! When I’m on vacation I love doing this because I love getting to try whatever fun produce the place I’m visiting has to offer. Plus, fruits and veggies help keep you regular and traveling can do a number on your digestion.
After that, you can add breads, pastas, or whatever other carbs make you happy, to your plate. Prioritizing good-for-you carbs will help you hit your goals even when you’re enjoying more decadent foods on vacation.
Drinking alcohol on vacation
I know that drinking is basically essential on vacation, and that’s ok. You can drink and lose weight, but you just have to know a few things to make it work!
Alcohol is hard on your body because your body considers alcohol a toxin, that’s why you get intoxicated when you drink. To flush out the toxins your body puts all other processes on hold and prioritizes flushing out the alcohol. Alcohol and fat are both processed by the liver. To get rid of the alcohol, your body stops breaking down fat for a few hours. Which is why you see weight gain on the scale.
That being said, that’s not weight that is going to stick around for ages. Once the alcohol is processed, your body will start processing fat again. But, if you’re doing a lot of drinking for a few days, it’s going to delay that process and the fat will stick around longer.
If you’re ok with the scale going up for a few days and waiting to burn fat, then you can have a few more drinks on your vacation. If you don’t like the idea of storing extra fat so you can drink more, then you can do something about it!
The first option is to not drink much. Choose when you want to drink and make it count! Don’t drink just to have something in your hand or just because everyone else is. Order your favorite drink a few times throughout your vacation and enjoy those moments.
Another way to help balance out drinking is to drink plenty of water! You can alternate between water and alcohol while you’re drinking to make sure you stay hydrated and to slow down your alcohol consumption.
Finally, I love to have a good mocktail instead of alcohol! A fun mocktail will help you feel like you’re fitting into the social parts of your vacation but will leave you hang-over-free! Plus, if you use flavored waters you’ll end up hydrated too! It’s a win-win.
Whatever you decide to do with alcohol is fine, but make sure that you decide ahead of time what your plan is so that you can stick to it in the moment! Planning ahead will always help you stick to your goals!
Create a concrete meal plan for when you get home
If you eat outside of your nutritional boundaries while you’re on vacation, but you don’t want to gain a ton of weight, then you have to think about what you’re going to do when you get home. Too often, we let ourselves fall out of our healthy eating when we get home and that’s when we start to really gain weight.
I always tell my clients that one off meal, or one week of vacation eating isn’t going to ruin everything you’ve worked for. But you don’t want to let that week of indulging turn into weeks and months of overeating. You can enjoy a moment on vacation, but you have to keep it at a moment and not let it turn into a habit.
To avoid turning it into a habit, I want you to come up with a concrete meal plan for the week you get home. This means planning out what you’re going to eat for the next couple of days. You can use the outline from the flexible planning to create your meal plan, but I want you to step it up and know exactly what you’re going to be preparing and eating once you’re home.
You can create your meal plan before you leave for vacation, or while you travel home, wherever you think it will work best for you. But don’t get home without a plan! When you walk into a house with no groceries you’re way more likely to make choices that don’t align with your goals.
One of my favorite ways to make sure that I get back on track as soon as possible is to order my groceries on my way back from vacation.
When I’m traveling home, I’ll order my groceries for pick-up or delivery. If I do a pick-up order, I’ll grab the groceries on the drive home so that I know when I get home I’ll have healthy options right away. Or, I’ll have them delivered close to the time I’ll be home so that it’s one less step!
Then I have no excuse not to get right back on track when I’m home. Plus, after eating out for most meals for a week, having home-cooked meals can make you feel so much better! I promise you’ll be glad you have a real meal plan when you get home!
Mama, you can go on vacation, enjoy your food and not gain a ton of weight. If you need help learning what your nutritional boundaries should look like so that you can achieve your goals, let’s chat!
I help mamas just like you understand their nutrition so that they can hit their weight loss goals and feel good in their bodies. Schedule a free discovery call to get started now! Don’t keep waiting until before a vacation to eat healthy and lose weight.
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