5 Tips for Healthy Eating on Vacation
The world is my oyster…except I don’t like oysters! But I do love the world, and over the past several years my husband, Mick, and I have become quite the globetrotters! All that being said – we do our best to not let our Healthy Eating Slip!
These past 24 months alone, we’ve been blessed enough to visit places like Africa, Dubai, Ecuador, The Dominican Republic, Mexico, France, Bora Bora, Italy, Hawaii, Jamaica, Canada, Germany and The Maldives. The climate, the people and the food are all so unique and beautiful in their own way. I love to soak up the views, talk to the people and try the local cuisine. You simply HAVE to eat a soft pretzel at the Hofbrauhaus in Germany and there’s no way you’re leaving Italy without trying some pizza.
So how do we stay on track when out of our routine? Can you even think about healthy eating on vacation? It can be a bit tougher when you’re not sure what’s on the menu for dinner, or if you’ll have the time and space to workout.
Here are 5 things I do on vacation to stay on track…
[All of these things help me stay as close to my healthy eating routine as possible no matter what surprises come my way]- I stick to my intermittent fasting routine. Even if I’m literally across the world, I adjust my eating back into the 11am to 7pm eating window. It might take a day, day and a half to get it there but I feel so much better if I’m only eating within those 8 hours.
- I bring my iPad and I have seven, 30-minute workouts from Beachbody On Demand (BOD) uploaded on it. I keep the same ones because I know they don’t require any equipment, don’t need much space and the jumping is minimal (yes, I’m conscious of the people below…lol). My favorites right now are PiYo, Focus T25 and Core De Force. There is NO WAY you can’t find 30 minutes to workout each day, come on now!
- I bring packets of Lono Life Bone Broth, Bulletproof Coffee Instamix and Shakeology (see My Favorite things!) with me. At home, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t have my bone broth and Shakeology. My Bulletproof coffee is a treat here and there but if my lunch wasn’t satisfying or big enough, I’ll add the Instamix in to my cup o’ joe for some healthy fats.
- I have a travel blender I’ll bring for both my Shakeology and Bulletproof coffee but I always check to see if the hotel has one because I’d rather not bring it if I don’t have to.
- Let’s face it, portion control doesn’t exist on vacation…even I blow it there. There is just so much to try! But because of this, Mick and I not only stick to our 8 hour eating window but we really only eat out for breakfast and dinner. Our schedule consists of us getting up early to watch the sunrise, work for an hour or 2 on our laptops, workout and then eat breakfast as late as we can (which is usually 11am local time). After that, we relax and explore. We end up having an early dinner, around 6pm, and we turn in kind of early. Because of that I pack healthy snacks. My favorites are macadamia nuts, grass-fed beef jerky, seaweed, almond butter packets and baby carrots. These are great mid-afternoon with my Shakeology and/or bone broth and certainly tide me over until dinner.
Making Healthy Eating Work for you on Vacation
As far as WHAT to eat for breakfast and dinner, that’s easy….SHARE! Share the naughty foods you want to try with your travel buddy. Don’t each of you get the French croissant or Hawaiian sweet bread. Instead order one for the both of you and just have a taste. Worst-case scenario, you’ll have eaten a half of one but that’s much better than a whole one yourself.
Aside from that, try to keep your carbohydrates on the lower side (especially those containing sugar) and eat plenty of vegetables. I guarantee you’ll love how the locals there take their farm fresh produce and make it…this ain’t your Mom’s frozen bag of corn, peas and carrots.
It’s a Big World out there. Explore.
