Top Tips for Staying Fit on Vacation
By Yevgenia Baranska
Vacations and travel are almost essential for our well-being. Traveling expands our horizons, gives new emotions, inspires and re-charges for new achievements. Summer - and even those silk-warm days of autumn - are great times to go on a long-awaited vacation.
It doesn't matter what kind of vacation you select: a weekend in a new city, a week with all-inclusive, an all-inclusive trip - changing places, surroundings and people is a “useful stress” for your body and mind. Especially now, as many of emerge from lengthy lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
If you are now in the process of switching to a healthy diet, travel is also a great opportunity for losing weight. On vacation, there is a great opportunity to replace the emotion of enjoying food with the emotion of new experiences.
Go on excursions, swim, play group games, go to discos, meet new people! (But of course while always maintaining Covid-19 safety protocols, especially mask-wearing and social distancing). In other words, learn to satisfy your food appetite with informational and emotional food.
If on the beach - play volleyball, swim, dive and go crazy, build sand castles with children.
Building sandcastles while on vacation is perfect thearpy!
Plan your day - saturate them as much as possible with events that are interesting both for yourself and for your company.
Think of food as the essential fuel for new experiences, discoveries of the world and yourself, and not as food-pleasure. Plan one evening on vacation for a gala dinner and indulge in some of the local favorites. Do this at the beginning of the rest.
In order to usefully spend your vacation, relax mentally and physically, and do not bring home as a souvenir extra pounds of fat and a ton of disappointment. Here are some simple rules to follow:
Choose foods and dishes that are close to your diet and include ingredients that are familiar to you.
In stores, carefully read the ingredients on the packaging, and choose products with the least amount of harmful (or unfamiliar to you) components.
On the packaging of the product, study the amount of sugar and nutritional value per 100 grams: Energy value - calories - Energy - Kcal, Proteins - Proteins, Fats - Fats, Carbohydrates - Carbohydrates or carbs. Pay attention to the weight of the product and evaluate the benefits / harms before deciding to buy it, and even more so - to eat it.
In the restaurant, give preference to lean meat and vegetable dishes. Ask the waiter not to add oil / sauces to the dishes. Ask to bring the salad dressing separately (if you are in another country and the waiter does not understand - say the word DIET and ALLERGY - then he or she will most likely become more attentive to your order)
Choose for breakfast - oatmeal or muesli (preferably whole grains), bran bread (rice, oat), low-fat cottage cheese, omelet with vegetables (without oil), salads, any eggs, cereals: rice, couscous, durum pasta, fruits and berries are limited and selective (do not forget about sugar)! Replace desserts with dried fruits and fruits.
Lunch - low-fat soups, vegetable salads, any meat (not fried), boiled cereals, fish.
At dinner, spoil yourself with any seafood + green vegetables, avocado.
For two evenings during the vacation, indulge in a cocktail: 50 grams of wine with 100 grams of water + grapefruit, lemon - pieces or fresh juices, 30 grams each. Do not ruin a vacation day with a vicious hangover!
Consume only pure sauces - olive oil, mustard, balsamic vinegar.
Use health sense when ordering dishes while on the road. When ordering salads, ask the server to place the dressing on the side. Credit: Y. Baranska
I don't like to talk about taboo, but I will provide the red list - or items and things that are prohibited!
Desserts, croissants, pastries, pastries, etc.
Honey, jams, fruit stuff
Fatty meat - lamb, pork, any fried meat
Fatty traditional local dishes
Any alcohol (and in cocktails too)
Sweet drinks: lemonades, cocktails, milk drinks, syrups, iced fruit teas with sugar - there is sugar everywhere!
All sauces
If you really want something sweet and tasty on vacation - eat - grapefruits, lemons, green apples, nuts and seeds (a handful). Make berry cocktails with mint, water and ice - on your own, without sugar, Before lunch, you can have a little popcorn or sorbet (ice cream with fruit juice, no sugar).
The main thing - remember: Man is not created for food, but food is for man! Fill yourself with clean and healthy food to have the energy and strength to enjoy life in every highlight.
Have a pleasant and healthy rest for your soul and body! And remember - above all else - stay safe and remember the Covid-19 safety protocols of: frequent hand-washing (minimum 20 seconds), wearing a face mask as much as possible in crowded settings and maintaining social distancing (at least 6-feet or 2-meters apart).
Balance and harmony are important to maintain on the road….