How to Lose Weight on Your Next Holiday
When you take a vacation, you subject yourself to the potential of serious weight gain. Leaving your diet behind can be a tough choice to make when you’ve been working so hard towards the body that you’ve only dreamed about until recently, and the last thing you want to do is ruin a good thing. So rather than gaining the weight that normally comes with a holiday or other getaway, here’s a few ideas to keep you on the right track and actually lose weight while you’re away from home.
Run in the Morning
A mile or more of running in the morning before breakfast is going to kick start your metabolism like nothing else. Consider it a pre-burn for your day. By getting rid of fat or stored energy, you’ll be saving yourself a little bit of trouble when it comes time to consume the calories. You could substitute a nice long swim for running as well if the blue water is too tempting to skip out on.
Take Your Meals with You
Believe it or not, you can pack your meals if you’re on a diet. Save part of your suitcase for the various meals that you’ll need to last you for the length of your trip. We know this might not seem ideal to some, but if you’re truly looking to keep your carbs low and your calories down is to dodge most of the food that’s available during a holiday.
Cut out the Appetizers
If you must eat out during your holiday, make sure to minimize how much you eat. Restaurants at tourist-friendly locations generally have very large portions regardless of whether you’re eating an appetizer or main course, so do yourself a favor and skip out on the appetizers altogether. If you must eat something before your meal, go for a salad with a light dressing and either chicken or pepperoni. Keep the cooked meats off of your salad at all costs.
Ditch the Bread
Another way the restaurants get you at a holiday destination is to serve up warm bread. Bread is the enemy of your diet and it’s loaded with carbohydrates, which will quickly turn themselves into stored energy, or fat. Keep away from the bread and let your mouth water for your main course. Yes, the temptation is tough to resist, but the reward is well worth holding out for.
Easy on the those Exotic Drinks
The umbrellas and nice color might look good to you, but those exotic frozen drinks that are generally served in a tall glass are loaded with sugar and bundled with lots of calories. You’ll get just as much taste out of a gin and tonic with some sweetened lime juice, and you’ll be cutting out everything that’s absolutely going to turn your diet to a wasted of time.
Hit the Gym
If you’ve got downtime at your hotel that you’re staying at, see if they have a gym for guests. A few minutes on the treadmill or hitting the weights is going to pay off big. Normally during a holiday, we don’t do much to get our cardio levels up, and this is the perfect combatant of weight gain for you. No need to spend your entire holiday locked in that little room, but you’ll like the results of a few visits.
Take Advantage of Excursions
Rather than laying on the beach all day, try out excursions like four-wheeling or jet skiing. Getting your heart racing a little bit is going to contribute to keeping your metabolism rushing, allowing you to get rid of the fat that’s building up with every meal you eat.
Sarah is a travel lover who likes architecture, luxury boot camp trips, and photography.
