How to Avoid Gaining Weight on Vacations

Written by Splurgerina

August 15 2010
In: Health & Wellness
Tags: advise, carrying healthy snacks, drink water, eat your breakfast, gaining weight, guidelines on not gaining weight on vacation, holidays, how to, how to avoid gaining weight on vacation, sharing dessert, spliting dessert, tips, tips on keeping weight off during a vacation, Tour, travel, Vacation, vacation weight, walk instead of taking a cab, walking

Hey, everyone! I’m sure we all have incidents where we’ve had a wonderful vacation and all is right with the world, until we come back home and decide to weigh ourselves. Oops! :S That’s exactly what happened to me; I gained a pound. True story, people! And I know it might not sound all that drastic to some people, but it is for me because I just HATE working out, and it just gets that much more difficult for me to lose weight. So, in my interest and in the interest of other people who have similar tragedies to share, I’ve asked our go-to fitness girl Tanvi to share with us some tips on how to keep the weight off while on a vacation. Take notes, everyone!

And special thanks to Tanvi for not only agreeing to do this, but also for doing so in the blink of an eye! Isn’t she just darling?!?

Kisses,

When Splurgerina asked me to do a Guest Post on How to Avoid Gaining Weight On Vacations, I thought to myself, “You are asking me? That has been the story of my life forever!” But then I thought hard and realized, “Wait a second! There are certain ‘guidelines’ that I do set for myself.” Now I am not saying it’s a 100% foolproof plan but it has a 90% success rate [in my experience] if followed diligently.

Carry healthy snacks along with you – If luggage weight allows, pack a few healthy snacks in your bag [protein bars, vegetable chips, etc] to fulfill that mid-night craving which somehow attacks in double force when there is a mini-bar involved! [or is it just me?]. If you have luggage-weight issues, then try and pick up some imperishable groceries from a local store at your earliest convenience.

Walk! You heard me, WALK! – Well if you are a tourist then you might as well use your two legs and eyes to explore the city and for sightseeing [instead of taking cabs]. However, if you are out on business, you could hit the hotel gym or head out for a run at your convenience. Don’t be mistaken, it will take every ounce of ‘motivation’ [...and more] in your body to do that when away from home.

Make sure you eat your Breakfast – If you thought it was imperative that you ate your breakfast in your daily life, it is even more crucial that you eat breakfast while on a holiday! While away from home, it is more likely that you would reach for the ‘unhealthy’ choices before the ‘healthier’ ones. Therefore, you must satisfy your hunger first thing in the morning. At least then you will have a chance to say no to that ‘bagel/muffin/fruit cake’, whichever your eyes land on first.

Split the dessert – This rules applies even in daily life. Share your dessert with anyone you can find – colleague, spouse, parents, sibling etc. If you’re single – then even with a stranger. Well, anyone-would-do! This way you would be able to have desserts everyday but only half the calories, at least while you are on a holiday!

Drink Water – Well, a lot of times we are actually thirsty while our brain is listening to our heart [which is ‘always hungry’] and thus, it confuses us. Therefore, if you have had a meal within the last hour and then suddenly you smell/see french fries and feel hungry again, do yourself a favor – Have a big glass of water. It will only take few minutes and you will get a chance to re-analyze your decision on stomach filled with water.

Now my great advices, in no way imply that I am always bang-on, and/or that I never gain a pound on vacation. But I promise you that I try with everything I have got and I am successful 8 out of 10 times [unless I am visiting my Indian relatives/family who can only express their love via feeding me!]

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