Vacations are a time to relax and indulge, but they don’t have to derail your healthy habits. With a bit of planning and mindful choices, you can return from your getaway feeling rejuvenated and energized.
You can still enjoy what you want to eat on vacation but focus a little more on how much you eat, suggested Kathryn Adel, registered dietician, nutritionist and owner of Charleston-based Fitwave Nutrition.
“You don’t have to restrict what you eat; you just need to pay attention to when you are full and stop,” she added. “Think moderation, especially with sweets and alcohol.”
Adel also suggested that vacationers pack snacks with protein and fiber so that they can keep a consistent eating schedule. “Snacks will help people avoid feeling starved and then overeating as a result,” she said. “And eating fresh food, fruit and yogurt always helps when trying to maintain healthy eating habits.”
One thing that Abigail King MS, CNS, of AK Functional Nutrition, tells her clients is to stick to the basics while on vacation and get movement in.
“It may not be realistic to hit the gym during vacation, but get some movement in when you can,” she says. “Whether it’s walking the beach, a bike ride with the kids, or checking out the class schedule at the resort. I also find it helpful to explore the hotel or resort’s exercise facilities upon arrival so you know what to expect and can plan accordingly.”
Many vacationers incorporate healthy habits by opting for active adventures like cycling tours or surfing lessons, while others are exploring local markets and cooking healthy meals in their vacation rentals.
Wellness cruises and other themed retreats can also be excellent health-focused vacations.
And if you fall off your healthy habits while on vacation? King believes it is all about your mindset.
“The number one thing holding most people back is their all-or-nothing mindset,” she explains. “Thinking they have to be perfect in order to be successful. Long-term health success is about your ability to be consistent, not perfect.”
For Charleston-based life coach Jessica Rueger, vacation time is the best time imaginable to apply what you’ve learned that helps you feel healthy and happy while watching for opportunities to learn more.
“I work with people to expand their consciousness,” Rueger said. “Expansion involves living your intentions, living the experience you want to have.”
“We keep growing; we are never done,” Rueger added. “And vacation time is the perfect time to keep our brains open to what is possible.”
Rather than ordering something that you tend to always order when you go out to eat, Rueger suggested, we should order something completely new — especially in a new culture.
“We don’t have to spend time laboring about the best item on the menu,” Rueger added. “Just pick something knowing that it will be a new, more vivid experience. Old habits keep us safe, but they also keep us from experiencing the magic.”
Rueger has personal examples and stories that her clients have shared with her that confirm how the unexpected, even unexpected mistakes, often give way to awesome opportunities if people are open-minded.
If you get lost while on vacation or have to go back somewhere because you left something behind, she explained, those detours are doors that are opening — doors to unknowns that will help you grow.
“Life becomes this incredible unfolding,” Rueger explained. “Being aware of what you learn with every fold and then applying it opens up a life that is more vivid, more magical.”
Reporter Karen Liszewski contributed to this story.
Tips for Eating Healthy While on Vacation
1. Bring healthy snack options like pistachios, small seed protein bars or Chomps jerky.
2. Scope out the closest grocery store.
3. Plan to go to the story early on your trip.
4. If you plan to eat out, then browse the menu before making a reservation so you know your options.
The most important tip: Enjoy yourself.
Source: Abigail King, AK Functional Nutrition
By Lisa Moody Breslin
