Vacation Eating Strategies

As you know from reading last week’s article, I just had a vacation. In fact, I’m actually still on that vacation. I always say that the vacation doesn’t end until you get home! As I return home to the “normal” routine, I can’t help but think about the challenges I just faced on the vacation. While I have always understood what my clients have been dealing with during holidays and vacations, I suppose I was more in tune with them during this one.

What was I in tune with? If you have ever been away from home, with family and friends or both, you know what challenges I speak of. Now add the prospect of a diet or other change being made and you can see how difficult things can be.
Let’s discuss some specific aspects of vacation to shed some light on the challenges. Let’s also look at some practical strategies that can help you keep things going in the right direction. After all, no one wants to regret going on vacation.

Eating out

Eating out can present a major challenge for anyone. This applies to vacations and everyday life, so let’s get right into some of the strategies:
Menu: What should I look for?

1. Look at the ingredients- Checking the menu for ingredients (and descriptive words): Fresh, Lean, Whole-grain, Grilled, etc- this will help you choose foods that are made from valuable ingredients and prepared in a healthy manner.

2. Look for ½ or lunch portion offerings- this can keep portions and calories down. As we have discussed many times, it is all about portion control. The biggest problem we run into at restaurants is the amount of food given to us, which brings us to the next point (below)

3. Order off the menu- if possible, try to order from the menu as opposed to the buffet. Although, this may feel like a “better deal”, it is much more difficult to stick with the plan when we are in that situation. The more is available, the easier it is to go for it. Ordering from a menu makes that decision for you and with options 1 and 2, you should be in good shape.

Actions: What else can I do to make my meal more practical?

1. Share something with a friend- We are enjoying the company of friend and family, so why not enjoy the meal WITH friends and family. We’ve all seen the portions and know all to well that we could eat half (or sometimes less!) of the meal and still be satisfied. Sharing is a great way to keep things under control and helps you all team up to set a standard. By doing this you are adding them as a support system. Not only can they empathize, they can physically help you too.

2. Box it up- If you are not able to come to an agreement on what to share, or are not with a group, simply ask the server for a box. Now, some of us can stop eating when we get half way, but others need to have the decision made in advance. By splitting your food before you eat, you make the decision before the taste and habit have taken you further than you wanted to go. It is much easier to stop eating when the food is gone. Plus, this way, you get another meal out of it. No matter what the food is made up of (healthy or unhealthy), spreading the calories out over two meals makes a great deal of sense.

3. Scan the buffet and plan your trip(s)- Buffets offer us great choices. They also offer us great challenges. It is very difficult to keep things reasonable when there is more food available…more good food available…and lots of it. One thing that has helped me is to take a quick look at the offerings before I have a plate (and a serving spoon!) in my hand. Once I have seen what’s available, I can decide what I want and more importantly, how much of it. This takes a restraint and practice, but once you get used to it, it really is satisfying to accomplish. You know you aren’t going to starve and you paid either way, so stop thinking about the value of getting as much food for the money and look at it as a set price and your health and personal goals being the most important aspect. When you look at it that way, being healthy and fit is more valuable than an extra plate’s-worth.

These tips are fresh on my mind because I just went through it. It wasn’t my first time, so I was prepared and have been practicing for a while, but that doesn’t mean that it was easy. As I mentioned earlier, I completely understand what my clients are dealing with. For that reason, I wanted to relay my own experiences to you. Hopefully they can help make it easier for you next time. More importantly, I hope you can look forward to your next holiday or vacation instead of dreading the decisions or consequences. After all, we are supposed to relieve stress with vacations, not cause more.

What are your strategies? If you have your own strategies, we would love to pass them along to others. Please share your experiences and strategies that have helped you keep things on track.