If you’re gearing up to go on a holiday, there’s no question that you’re looking forward to relaxing and easing the stress of your everyday life. With this, you may also be thinking about really enjoying yourself and indulging in a few food treats or fancy beverages to make the most of your time away.
But, if you’re not careful, those treats and beverages can really add up and before you know it, you’re returning home with at least ten pounds packed onto your frame.
Since most people don’t want to come home and instantly have to move onto a diet, the following tips will help ensure that you not only enjoy your vacation but prevent the standard weight gain that goes along with it.
Let’s take a quick look at what you should keep in mind. Even if you can implement just a couple of these, you’ll be coming out ahead.
Choose Your ‘Cheat’ Ahead Of Time
First things first, as a general rule while you’re on vacation, you should aim to choose one food that you will cheat on per day ahead of time. It’s unrealistic to expect you to stick with your diet 100% while you’re on holiday as most people simply will not do this, but by limiting yourself to just one indulgence per day, you’ll help curtail the weight gain that occurs.
If you can stick with healthy choices throughout the day and treat yourself to that one thing you’re really craving, you won’t end up feeling restricted and you’ll still be able to enjoy yourself with your weight in tact.
Try and vary your selection each day so you can continually try something new.
Be Careful Of The Mixed Drinks
One place that you do really need to look out for as far as hidden calories are concerned are the mixed drinks. While straight liquor with diet soda won’t be all that bad and come in at around 70-100 calories per serving, a fancy cocktail type of blended drink can easily top the charts at 400-600 calories or more.
It doesn’t take much knowledge to realize that this is simply just going to be too much as far as maintaining a good diet and body weight is concerned so you’re better off going without these.
The more basic you can keep any alcoholic drinks you do consume, the better. If possible, also alternate between one alcoholic drink and one non to really keep the calorie intake under control.
Get Choosey With Your Protein
Second, the next thing that you must do is get choosey with your protein. It’s going to be vital that you are consuming enough protein while away on holiday but remember, not all proteins are created equally.
Especially when dining out you really have to watch because seemingly innocent protein sources can be loaded with fat and calories.
Fish for example is generally an incredibly healthy option to choose for your protein source but when dining out, it’s often either fried or baked in butter.
Grilled chicken breasts will usually be the safest bet so go with this or opt for a lean grilled steak but request the smaller serving size available.
No person really needs to have more than 3-4 oz of meat in one meal so if you’re sitting down to a 12 ounce steak, you can rest assured you will be consuming too many calories.
Keep Pasta In Its Place
Another area to keep an eye out for is pasta. While pasta, when chosen with lower fat sauces such as tomato sauce can be an alright addition to your diet plan, the problem here comes with the serving size.
Pasta dishes are quite popular to be served up while on holidays since they are a favorite for many but if you’re not careful, you can easily consume well over 800 calories in pasta alone.
Do not underestimate how much you’re eating here – it will add up. Swap half that pasta for grilled or steamed vegetables and you’ll be far better off.
Finish Off With Some Fruit And Ice Cream
If you plan to indulge in some desserts while on holidays, which most people do, again, think basic.
Rather than going for the fancy cheesecakes, squares, or cakes, choose some fruit with ice cream. While it may not be quite a decadent as the former selections, it will come at just a fraction of the calories and still satisfy your craving for something sweet and tasty.
Pizza Perfection
Finally, one last food that you may decide you want to dig into while on vacation is everyone’s favorite – pizza.
Pizza is notorious for being high in calories and fat and is something that can definitely add inches to your waistline. If you choose wisely though, it doesn’t have to be that bad.
The two places where the most calories are hidden when it comes to pizza are in the cheese and the meat toppings.
Opt for ham, sliced chicken, or shrimp over pepperoni, bacon, or ground beef, and then request for a lighter sprinkling of cheese to reduce the calories there.
The crust can also be a place where calories lurk so if you’re given the option, always choose the thinnest crust available. It will contain the fewest calories and carbs so be least detrimental to your diet plan.
So there you have all the top things to remember as you go about your holiday. If you can maintain a positive state of mind and make healthy choices whenever possible, you can still fully enjoy your time away from the ‘real world’ and not have to come back to a diet plan in order to shed what you’ve gained.
