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Are Vacations and Weight Gain Synonymous?
Tips for Battling Culinary Temptations While Away
Even if you plan to simply read by the pool at the hotel, you will be hard pressed to find one without the poolside snack bar or restaurant with servers who are more than happy to deliver the goods you crave without your having to lift a finger. Simply put, vacation culinary temptations abound in seemingly overwhelming proximity and proportions.
The average weight gain on a weeklong cruise is 8 pounds, though most of us have experienced vacations on dry land that have yielded the same or greater results. Anytime your daily routine is interrupted and you are confronted with the allure of foods you don't normally eat, doled out in larger portions than you are used to, the weight you lost the first part of the year will find its way back.
So how does one battle the bulge on a trip and win? Certainly we are not all destined for the same routine each year – gain holiday weight, exercise and diet to lose holiday weight; gain vacation weight, exercise and diet to lose vacation weight.
Judi Sheppard Missett, Jazzercise Founder and CEO, offers the following tips:
- Take your own healthy snacks along. When hunger strikes you won't give in to temptation.
- Drink lots of water. Soft drinks, alcohol, iced mochas, etc., pack a big punch when it comes to calories.
- Order smart. To limit fat, choose entrees that are broiled, steamed, braised or roasted. Ask for your salad dressing on the side, and request a spritz of lemon on your vegetables rather than butter.
- Plan your splurges. You deserve to have some fun – just don't overdo it. For example, make healthy choices at breakfast and lunch to compensate for that mid-afternoon ice cream sundae.
- Weave exercise into your day. Use the hotel stairs rather than the elevator. Sightsee by foot. Play in the pool.
