Vacations are fun.  But if you’re not careful you can come back heavier than you were when you left. Fortunately, taking time off from your busy schedule shouldn’t have to mean taking time off from your fitness routine as well. There are so many different ways that you can continue to stay healthy on vacation.

Keep Moving

Avoid major vacation mistakes like sunbathing poolside in a lounge chair the whole day, or zoning out in front of the flat screen in your hotel room for hours. Stay active, and you’ll find that it’s easier to get back to your exercise routine when you return from vacation.
To make it easier to stay healthy on vacation, look for a hotel or resort with a fitness facility or  walking and biking trails – and use them generously. Avoid the hotel elevator and walk the stairs up to your room. Plan a daily post-breakfast walk around your hotel. Plan some fun family activities such as hiking, outdoor games or sports like volleyball, golf or tennis. If weather doesn’t permit you to go outside, drag your family to the hotel gym.

Eat Right

The temptation to binge and eat all the wrong foods is excessive while on vacation. Do your research beforehand to check out the kind of dining options your hotel offers. That will help you plan your dining. A spa resort, for instance, will offer plenty of healthy dining and snacking options for guests.

While you are out sightseeing, pick up healthy foods like fruit and baked (rather than fried) snacks and stock them in your room, instead of ordering fattening munchies from room service. Clear out your hotel minibar of all the fatty, fried, overpriced junk, and stock it with fruit, and nuts instead.

Make eating out an experience by itself. Use your pre-vacation time to check out restaurants that are located close to your hotel, and walk briskly to these spots every day for at least one meal on vacation.

Use the 80/20 principle while eating. Make 80% of your meal as close to your regular healthy eating habits as possible, and reserve 20% for a special treat that you can indulge in. So go ahead and enjoy that heavenly slice of chocolate cake, but make sure that the rest of the meal is calorie controlled.

Use Hotel Fitness Facilities Liberally

Check out your hotel’s pool and gym, and use these every day. You don’t have to pack in a grueling workout, while you are on vacation, but you can squeeze in at least half an hour on a treadmill in the hotel gym. Make swimming every day part of your daily fun quotient, for yourself and for your family.

Check Out Exciting Activities Outside

This is one more reason why you need to plan extensively before you go on vacation. Check out exciting classes that you can take out while on holiday. Look for salsa classes, or kickboxing sessions. If your resort offers scuba diving or snorkeling classes, sign up!

Cut Down on the Booze

Cut down on the amount of alcohol you consume limit your calories and stay healthy while on vacation. That tempting Margarita can contain more than 700 calories, adding to your holiday weight gain problem.

Ultimately, it is important to remember that you are on vacation. Don’t be too hard on yourself, if you are unable to work out as much as you normally do. As long as you’re doing some exercise to remain active, you are much less likely to see the effect of that unhealthy lifestyle when you return.

So keep moving, treat yourself while eating a healthy diet overall, and you will find that you return from vacation feeling refreshed, and rejuvenated, instead of bloated and lethargic!

Here’s to a fit and fantastic vacation!

*Every individual is unique. Your results and progress may not be the same as our other clients. Results vary based on your starting weight, activity level, eating habits and your adherence to our program.