My family and I just got back from a 6-day vacation in the Bahamas.
Wow! What an amazing trip!
Although the vacation was incredible, I am so happy to be home.
So happy to…
Sleep in my own bed
Cook my healthy food
Be back into a good routine
And most of all… love on my fur babies… lol.
Even though I have written countless times about how to stay healthy while traveling, it's a topic we see in the New Life Promise community so often that I felt like it was worth just touching upon some of the best tips for not completely derailing your health efforts.
So, in no particular order, here are a few tips for how you can still enjoy your vacation and travel, while maintaining your healthy habits.
Eat breakfast in the room if possible. We stayed in a small condo so we would have a kitchen for the week. When we arrived, we went straight to the grocery store, and even though healthy food was more expensive in the Bahamas than in South Carolina, we probably still saved hundreds of dollars by not eating breakfast at the resort. Even if you don’t have a full kitchen, most hotels now have a mini fridge and a coffee maker where you can boil water. A great travel breakfast may be some oats with a scoop of collagen powder. Or an apple or banana with almond butter and coffee with collagen in it. I mention collagen because it's a great, easy way to get in some extra protein. This is the collagen powder I use => Click Here for collagen
Be sure to sleep. I am really great about getting to bed on time at home and getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night, but that’s not as easy when we’re traveling. On Sunday night, we were up very late watching the Super Bowl and my body still woke up fairly early the next day. By 10am I found myself constantly snacking and I couldn’t figure out why until it dawned on me that I was exhausted and sleep deprived. I told my husband to go on ahead to the pool with the boys and I would catch up after a good nap. Sure, you don’t need to be super regimented or strict with your sleep times on vacation, but realize that sometimes we feel increased hunger and cravings because we’re sleep deprived and tired.
Be mindful of portions. You can still enjoy nice dinners and new foods when you’re traveling, especially if you’re mindful of your portions. We went out to dinner almost every single night, and I ate several things I wouldn’t typically eat at home, but I was mindful of the amounts. For example, we went out for burgers one night, and I got a burger with tomato on a gluten-free bun with a side of fries. As is typical at most restaurants, my mountain of fries looked like it was enough for 3 people, and although my kids ate every last one of theirs, my husband and I both ate some from my serving and then we threw out the rest. We also ate at a Japanese restaurant one night where we all tried a lot of new foods and I didn’t worry about what the ingredients were. I just ate what felt like a good portion for me, and I didn’t overeat. So no, you don’t have to miss out on nice restaurants and the whole experience… just be mindful of the amounts and portions.
Drink a lot of water. Drinking water becomes a bit more challenging when you’re traveling because you may not have access to water as easily as you do at home. I certainly had to be sure that I had purchased plenty of water in the morning so we all had enough for the day. I don’t normally have to think about this so much when I’m at home because I’m just in a natural routine of filling my large mason jar with water and drinking all day. But here I was out of my routine which required a bit more forethought.
I am certainly not suggesting you drive yourself crazy trying to follow every health principle you may do at home, but I am suggesting you maintain a mindset of health and do your very best.
If you're looking for meal plans that include foods that are both healthy and delicious, look no further than the New Life Promise plan!