How To Maintain Your Weight Loss Results While on Vacation?

​The summer season is the perfect time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones and go on vacation to rest and recharge and take a break from your work life. But it can also be a difficult time for people who have struggled with their weight in the past or are currently trying to maintain their weight loss goals.

Factors that can contribute to your inability to keep up your healthy lifestyle choices include;

• The temptations of high-calorie foods in hotel buffets
• Parties where alcohol flows freely
• Readily available street and beach food and drinks
• No time or capacity for cooking or food planning

This blog post will help you find a way to enjoy your time away while minimizing the risk of gaining weight. Let's dig in.

Remember, You're on Holiday!

This means you're meant to be resting, participating in fun activities, and generally doing things that relax you. If you keep stressing about food and exercise throughout your time away, you won't be able to enjoy it or come back rested.

Two weeks out of 52 won't make such a big difference unless you let it. So feel free to ease up a little bit, lower your expectations towards your eating and workout regime, and allow yourself to enjoy everything around you. Accept that you probably won't lose much while away, and you may even gain a little. Finding the right balance will be the key, and in the below tips, I will share a few strategies to help you chill out while ensuring you stay in the weight maintenance phase.

#1. Stop Eating When Satisfied (Not Full)

This might feel hard to do, but it won't be too challenging if you can keep your focus on your body's hunger cues. One way to ensure you notice when it's time to stop eating is to go very slow, chew your food thoroughly and take some break now and then.

#2. Book Active and Passive Recovery Activities

The great thing about going on vacation is that they will have a host of things for you to do, both active and passive recovery activities. While you may not feel like working out on holiday, you can ensure your body gets plenty of movement by organizing activities you enjoy while still being active. Think of tennis, hiking, swimming, surfing, dance lessons, or any other options they might have in your hotel.

Don't forget to pamper yourself, either. Spa treatments can be a great way to help you relax and rejuvenate. A refreshing massage, aromatherapy, or soak in a thermal bath are all ways for you to let go of all your worries.

#3. Let Go of Stress and Anxiety Around Weight Loss

I get it. You worked hard for your results, and you don't want to screw it up by gaining back a lot of weight. Guess what, unless you overdo it massively, a week or two won't make much of a difference.

Just try to be realistic and understand that while you might not be eating perfectly while away and you might spend more time lying on the beach or next to the pool, as long as you prepare for your return and don't let guilt and shame get you, you'll be back at seeing results in no time.

#4. Be Smart About Buffet Meals

When you go on an all-inclusive holiday, you'll have an endless amount of food, snacks, and maybe even drinks available to you to nibble on throughout the day. Besides focusing on tip #1, you can also make it a point to only eat at mealtimes. 

Even then, take one round around the buffet, shop wisely, fill your plate once for mains, and don't go for a second serving. On that note, if there is something you enjoyed and you decide to have some more on one occasion, don't beat yourself up for it.

#5. Choose Your Drinks Wisely

Many people don' realize that liquid calories are even a more significant factor in gaining weight on vacation. Alcohol is one thing, but even mocktails can pack many calories from sugars, so try to focus on quality rather than quantity. If you're thirst, choose diet sodas, soda water, or other low-calorie beverages and leave the tastebud fireworks to special occasions only, like a lovely meal in the sunset or a chilled drink on the balcony where you savor every sip.

#6. Re-consider Food Logging

​If it gives you some assurance to keep logging your food and doesn't stress you out, feel free to keep it up. However, try to increase your daily calorie allowance to a maintenance level. Otherwise, you might get frustrated by how many things you may need to leave out.

If you can, though, I would recommend skip logging altogether for the duration of your vacation. This way, you'll remove an expectation and allow yourself to take it easy.

Conclusion

Vacations are for a change of scenery, letting go of everyday frustration and stress, and enjoying some time away from your everyday life with people you enjoy spending time with. The weekly task of food planning, food logging, ticking of workouts, and focusing on your weight loss journey might just come under some of the stress you want to let go of for a week or two. So, if you feel like it, just do it. You can pick up the line where you left it off once back.