Monday, February 27, 2012

Keeping Healthy Habits While On Vacation


California has beautiful mountains, lovely views, and delicious red wine. California also has beautiful self-serve frozen yogurt shops, lovely desserts, and delicious coffee shops. All of these combined can make healthy eating habits on vacation difficult to keep.



            I recently came back from a trip out to California for Brandynn’s (muffin #2) bridal extravaganza. I always find it hard to maintain healthy habits while on vacation but I try to balance it the best I can. Now, don’t get me wrong, I visited Yogurtland (self –serve-frozen yogurt? SIGN ME UP) at least four times during the six days I was there. Every night we enjoyed glasses of red wine and bottles were polished off, quickly. At one event there was a chocolate fondue fountain that had banana bread and Vanilla Wafers to dip, and as you might guess, I was ALL over it.  But, I knew that if I allowed myself to over indulge, I would regret it when the stomach bloat hit and the lethargic sugar crash came.

            Finding a healthy way to balance your exercise and eating habits is not an easy feat. It has taken me an entire year to develop these habits, and it has taken me five years to lose 36 pounds. Will six days of eating cause me to gain back 36 pounds? Absolutely not. But I know what works for my body and healthy habits are the way to go.

In the morning Brandynn and I would wake up before everyone else and lace up our running shoes. We would finish 4-5 miles and get back to the house just as everyone was waking up. If I did not fit in my run in the morning, I would never have gotten the chance to fit in my exercise. I made sure that it was a priority and part of the daily agenda. There was one night in particular where I had copious amounts of red wine, and when my alarm went off at 7:30, I hit snooze and slept a wonderful extra hour and had taken the day off from running. After all, I was on vacation, and I was enjoying myself.

There were many nights of blueberry pie offerings and brownies being put out on display, but I knew that I was not hungry and I turned them down. Brandynn always made sure to add salads with every meal that her family prepared and I made sure to get my greens in every day. I felt that even the small choices make a big difference.

I am not an expert and I do not claim to know the secrets to healthy living, but I know what works for me. What are your thoughts on keeping healthy habits while on vacation?

4 comments:

  1. This is such a very good and relatable story. I cannot help but accept that this is my every day story. It is very difficult making choices between the healthy and the delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eating healthy on vacation (and wedding events) is always difficult, but I don't think any diet plan should restrict your opportunity to enjoy local delicacies.
    I think it's great that you went for runs in the morning (and I think it's great that you took a day off, too!). I love going for early morning runs on vacation - I actually find them even easier and more enjoyable than running at home because of the change of scenery.

    Also, I totally agree with you about not eating when you're not hungry! Perhaps easier said than done, but I try to live by that advice, whether or vacation or not.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was just in California myself two weeks ago. What part did you visit? I was in San Diego, with a trip up north to Santa Monica.

    ReplyDelete
  4. While I'm not a terribly conscious eater, I still feel you on this one. Whenever I go away, it's like a free license to eat everything in sight! I think it just comes from wanting to sample the local cuisine as well as having tons of new restaurants you've never been to/can't get at home. I always spend too much money and eat too much!

    ReplyDelete