It’s vacation time! Good friends, fun activities and lots and lots of delicious food. But can you enjoy yourself without moving that number upwards on the scale?
With a little planning, you definitely can!
Just got back from our annual reunion. Six families, 19 of us in total, rented a beautiful 6 bedroom home. It was three fun days of catching up and of course, a constant barrage of delicious food.
In the past, I would have easily gained 5 pounds. But not this year.
Here is what I told myself to do:
Stick To Your Eating Philosophy.
I did not give myself permission to overindulge. The healthy eating program I learned from Enara Health is my “forever” eating plan. Just like breathing, it’s not optional. I don’t get to take a vacation from it when I go on vacation.
Plan Your Healthy Meals
And healthy eating doesn’t mean the food I eat doesn’t taste good. There are lots of delicious healthy alternatives to traditional high calorie treats that I can enjoy instead. And I’ll make doubly sure healthy foods are available because I’ll bring them myself!
Treat Yourself Wisely
I tell myself that I can eat anything I want so I won’t feel deprived. But I don’t have to/won’t make a meal out of an unhealthy food. My strategy: I won’t taste these foods if I am really, really hungry. I’ll eat them only when I am not so hungry so portion control is possible.
Enara Health also recommends weighing yourself daily, so you can make sure you stay on track.
Some of the healthy dishes I prepared and shared were BBQ chicken with bottled sugar-free sauce, oven roasted veggies, cauliflower crusted pizza and a flourless garbanzo bean chocolate cake. All foods were tasty, and they kept me full and satisfied. I did sample some of the other treats, but kept portions small.
My reward? I stepped on the scale the morning after our return and my weight gain was zero!
But what if you don’t cook, or if you are eating in restaurants? There are strategies for take out foods and eating out as well, but those will be topics for another day.
Happy Vacationing! ?
