Don’t you love a vacation? I know I do! Here’s the problem with vacations though, I seem to get off track with my healthy eating and exercising and then it takes a while to get back on. Take spring break for instance, I was in Florida for 2 weeks and I NEVER EXERCISED ONCE! I also ate like a person who’d never eaten food before, with lots of binge eating. Anyway, when I came back home I jumped back on the bike and resumed my healthy eating habits, but in my estimation it took a MONTH to get back to the level at which I was exercising before I left. And, I had gained 4 pounds which took at least that long to lose. 

So on this vacation which I am currently enjoying as I write this, I resolved to continue my healthy ways while having a fun vacation, and still savoring the treats I like.

Drink water!

One of the most important wellness tips I can give is to remain hydrated. Flying on airplanes, hotel rooms with air conditioning or heat blasting out, laying in the sun, drinking alcohol and coffee, are all dehydrating to the body. Water is the healthiest way to rehydrate without adding needless calories to your day. Also, I drink water before my meal comes which fills me up so I don’t eat as much. In addition, I drink water when I’m feeling “hungry” because sometimes that signal you’re getting isn’t hunger but instead is thirst, so I’ll drink a glass of water and if I’m still getting the signal I’ll eat something healthy.

Meditation time is important while on vacation!

Another healthy vacation tip is about spiritual health. For me when I’m on vacation with my family, I seem to spend almost as much time being of service to everyone as I do when I’m home. Believe me, I don’t mind, but if I don’t get my time of quiet peace and reflection while on vacation I tend to be crankier than usual. So as shown in the above picture, what works best for me is to get up a little earlier than everyone else for my quiet time. I drink my coffee, have some prayer time, and soak up the peace of my beautiful surroundings. What a perfect way to start the day!

Start with a healthy breakfast!

Make sure you don’t neglect your breakfast while on vacation. Get some healthy protein and go light on the carbs which will help you have the energy to do all the fun things you want to do. My girls are eating eggs, bacon and fruit in the above picture, which is one of our favorite breakfasts. It’s tempting to start the day with Belgian waffles or stuffed French toast but those breakfast choices, besides containing hundreds of calories, are all carbs which will give you very little energy or nutrients. If you love breakfasts like that you should definitely order it, because I am not into deprivation especially on vacation. I’d just order that for the entire table to split and have a few bites along with your main entree of eggs and bacon, or yogurt.

Take medications and supplements!

Another important tip is to make sure to take your medications and supplements when traveling. I take thyroid every morning, in addition to other supplements, and it’s really important for me to both remember to bring them and to take them every morning. That way, when I return from vacation I’m not going to get sick which wouldn’t be a very good welcome home!

These are some of the healthy things I make sure to do when I’m on vacation. Stay tuned for Healthy Vacation tips part 2 coming at the end of the week!