Summer holiday’s and over indulgence more often than not go hand-in-hand, and why not? You’re taking a relaxing break from the norm and daily routine, it’s a time to treat yourself and try the local delicacies. Seeing the sights and enjoying new and wonderful foods are all part of the experience. Kick back and relax and forget about home for a week or so. If you’re like the rest of the general public there is always that fear that you may potentially pile on the pounds as a result of the holiday excess and this will most likely stop you from enjoying yourself and your food.
Having just come back from my summer holiday I know this feeling all too well. My approach was to enjoy myself and not go off my usual eating habits too much by making wiser choices in the restaurants, allowing myself treats such as ice cream and pizza when I fancied it. We also did a hell of a lot of walking and swimming as our form of gentle exercise. There was no way that I was hitting the gym on holiday, but I generally enjoy being able to move and exploring the local boutiques and hiking were perfect for this. All in all I think I managed to maintain a pretty healthy balance whilst on holiday and there are a few things that helped me along the way, which I share below:
Dedicate a section of your plate to veggies
Sectioning off your plate into three parts for protein, vegetables and carbohydrates can help increase your consumption of vegetables whilst on holiday. Allocate half of your plate to vegetables or salad and then a quarter to protein and the other quarter to carbohydrates. This way you can still enjoy all of your favourite foods in reasonable amounts, but still get a veggie packed and nutritious meal to boot.
Make healthier choices at breakfast
It’s very tempting to get carried away with the buffet breakfasts and go up several times for more helpings. I tended to alternate my days where I would opt for lighter breakfasts consisting of fruit and yoghurt and on other days I would check out the continental breads and cheeses for balance. This way I got the best of both worlds over the two weeks and didn’t feel like I was missing out. Also, starting the day with a healthy breakfast means that you are already on the right path to a good day of food with treats included.
Portion control
Let’s be honest, when on holiday it is very easy to let those portion sizes slide. I found that the portions on holiday tended to be larger than my regular portions at home and on the odd occasion I couldn’t quite finish all of my food. I’m all for giving your body what it needs, but listening to your body also means knowing when you are full and eating consciously. Of course still enjoy the food on offer, but remember to keep your portions in check as you may end up eating more food that your body needs.
Be realistic
Going on holiday is no time to diet and lose weight; it’s time to have fun! I’m a firm advocate of a healthy balance and believe that being restrictive and banning certain foods can lead to gorging on unhealthy foods later on. It’s more about maintenance and not going too overboard, but still remembering to enjoy yourself too.
Stay hydrated
More often than not, when our bellies rumble we automatically think that we are hungry. However, hunger pangs can also signify thirst. Before reaching for a snack to quench your hunger try drinking a glass of water first to make sure that you are not thirsty. Obviously if the hunger persists then reach for that snack. Additionally, drinking water over fizzy drinks will cut down your sugar intake massively, keep you hydrated and keeps your skin looking radiant. You can also add a slice of lemon or lime to jazz it up a bit. But, don’t forget to treat yourself to a cheeky cocktail…or three!
Remember to eat snacks
You should never ignore your hunger pangs, do check before eating a snack that you aren’t actually thirsty first. Having a healthy snack such as fruit, nuts, Greek yoghurt or a smoothie and help you to maintain stable blood sugar levels and prevent you from overeating on your next meal.
Keep moving
Even though I didn’t hit the gym whilst on holiday I still felt better and comforted by the fact that I was doing a lot of walking and swimming. I wasn’t exactly pushing myself with either of these, but the gentle exercise seemed to help and, of course, it was nice to maintain some kind of fitness level whilst away. Exercise can come in many forms whether it’s playing tennis, hiking or water sports. On holiday, you will be having so much fun that you won’t even realise that you’re exercising.
The most important thing is to enjoy yourself and have fun! There is no point worrying about piling on the pounds on holiday as you might as well have stayed at home. I found myself following many of these tips and found that they really helped me keep some kind of perspective whilst I was away – eat what I want but make healthy choices too. Ideally the key is to balance things out with lots of water and veggies to mitigate the blow of all that delicious food.
Are you going on holiday this summer? Are you conscious about what you eat on holiday or do you just go with the flow?
I tend to just go with the flow when I’m away and worry about the pounds afterwards, but I will be using this as a guide next time. Great post, thank you!
Thank you for writing such an informative post Jemma. I am going on holiday for two weeks towards the end of September and I am what you would consider a “healthy eater”. However, I do find myself slipping into “bad food habits” on holiday. I don’t tend to fret about it since I do a lot of walking when I travel abroad, but I’m always open to some methods to maintain disciplined.
I tend to just scoff lots too but next time I am away I will follow some of your tips.
Great post Jemma!
I used to take holidays as an excuse to gorge on all the foods that I considered ‘bad’ when back home and ultimately came back feeling absolutely awful – not a good idea. Now, I always take the chance to seek out new, local cuisine and enjoy a couple of drinks but, like you say, always with balance and I always try and be as active as possible – it makes holidays SO much more enjoyable!
Hope you had a lovely holiday Jemma! 😀 Love your exotic looking cocktail!
It’s portion sizes I try and control while I’m away. I tend to get sucked into eating the same as everyone around me, when normally I am the chooser of food back at home! I don’t deprive myself of anything while I’m away though. And know that even though I probably won’t be running so much (I’ve promised I’m not taking my running trainers on honeymoon in a fortnight’s time!) I’ll still be walking everywhere, swimming loads and probably getting some dancing in too!
Great tips Jemma and fantastic looking food, I want to face plant into that ice cream! I particularly like the tip about filling half your plate with fruit/veggies.
wow all the food looks so yummy! the cocktail looks great.
Sophie
xx
http://www.pocockins.co.uk
I try to make healthy choices for main meals but then splash out on the extras, like puddings or ice creams. I think holidays should be about enjoying yourself and enjoying food and drink that you wouldn’t normally get at home. I don’t want to miss out on exciting food experiences. But also I don’t want to go home feeling lethargic and bloated – so it’s about balance and spreading those naughty foods over the holiday rather than consuming them all in one day 😉
Great tips! I find that I crave a lot of fresh fruit in hotter weather but still want the odd treat as it is a holiday after all! Trying to think about how I want to feel when I get back (healthy and refreshed rather than sugar-ed out!) helps me avoid going crazy with the breakfast buffet every day but I do let myself indulge on the last day as hotel breakfasts are my favourite – it’s definitely all about balance! x
keep moving is what we try to do, but also relax at the same time 🙂 and do our best to stick to our normal eats even while traveling the best we can with some room for fun! xo
great tips and the food looks yummy!
You’re right portion control is really something to keep an eye on. It’s my biggest problem!
hi jemma! i feel the biggest challenge is finding good veggies! but it’s still worth it to take trips!
Great tips! The snack tip is key for not overeating!
I think for me portion control is an issue, one minute I am having small enough portion next minute I am hammering it down. Great tips and welcome back
Ah! I love holidays but the food can definitely get overwhelming. I love the get up and move advice, it is so true!
We went on holiday in June and were very naughty. It was our first ‘proper’ holiday together where it was just us two so we drank lots of cocktails and ate lots of delicious foods. Although, it was Croatia, so the foods we ate were healthy and nutritious!
Katie <3
Love these. It’s soooo hard to make good choices while on vaca!
Great post! I’ve already been on holiday this year and was finding it I was eating more than I should. However, I would always make sure I eat something healthy for breakfast (together with some other ‘unhealthy’ foods) and when I was having a buffet dinner, I started with a small bowl of soup, followed by lots of salad and then one healthy dish for the main meal.. You definitely have to be disciplined when you are on holiday to stop yourself from overeating and having a lighter breakfast one day and another day trying something more ‘heavy’, it’s definitely something to consider in order to stay healthy. And if you eat more than you should, exercise is a must! Swimming, cycling, walking, I did it all! 🙂
All of that food looks amazing. It would be easy to eat healthy all the time with food that looked like that!
oh my gosh that all looks so delicious – Fruit for breakfast is my favorite because then I have more calories later in the day for cocktaaaails!
Great tips! Love that you still indulged, but made some smart choices to make up for it!
It’s all about balance. All of the food looks delightful!
Great tips on how to be healthy on holiday! I love how you talk about portioning off your plate. I think too many of us eat way too much protein and carbs and not enough veggies.
It’s definitely a good idea to not go overboard or limit yourself too much on holiday. I personally try to strike a balance, as I used to be very all-or-nothing and found that it led to (surprise) some yo-yo-y results for me.
These are all wonderful tips! We all think it’s hard to eat healthy but still enjoy ourselves, but it’s not true!
these are awesome tips for being smart about eating while on vacation! thanks!
I’m using these on my next vacation!
I love to splurge, but so need to try eating healthier!
Thank you for sharing! Awesome tips!
One of my favorite things to do on holiday is to take classes wherever I’m staying. When we were in Cabo I took water aerobics and water zumba classes since we were in the pool anyway!
I’m awful when I’m on holiday portion control goes right out the window every time 🙂
I always struggle while I am on vacation! Looks like these are some better alternatives to what I normally choose!
Everything looks so good! I try to eat the same while I’m away. I can be a challenge though, for sure.
The breakfast one is so hard to do while you’re on vacation. I wish french toast and eggs benedict weren’t so good!