During this time of year it seems like many people stress out about their vacations. They don’t want to back track on all of that progress that they have made during the first half of the year. The words “weight loss” and “vacation” aren’t usually used in the same sentence but we see it happen all the time with our clients! The key is to have a solid plan of attack for pre, during, and post vacation. Below you will see my golden rules of vacation weight loss. Many of our clients have used these as a guideline for a fun and healthy vacation.
Rule #1: HAVE FUN….you deserve it! You need to recharge your batteries and have fun with family and friends. Please note that “have fun” is not equal to “eat as much junk as you possibly can”. Focus on enjoying the weather, events, and people you are surrounded by. THAT is what a vacation should be about.
Rule #2: Set a damage control goal of not gaining more than 2-5 lbs while you are gone. That range is very manageable to deal with once you get back and your momentum will build quickly.
Rule #3: For the 2-4 weeks leading up to your vacation you should be extra strict on your diet and fitness regimen. You cannot head into a vacation on a downward spiral or you will put on mega LBS and it will be hard to recover from. So get your mind right and focus on building momentum pre-vacation. If your focus is continued weight loss I would recommend doing no cheat days or meals during that 2-4 week pre vacation stretch.
Rule #4: Check your weight before you leave. It is also a great idea to do some measurements and/or get a body fat test done.
Rule #5: Check your weight and measurements when your vacation is over. We suggest that all of our clients schedule their post vacation weigh in checkpoint with us BEFORE they leave. That way they are already committed to it. This will allow you to assess the damage or celebrate your vacation weight loss victory.
Rule #6: Focus on protein, fruit, and veggies while you are on your trip. These are things that you can find anywhere. You might not be 100% “on plan” compared to your normal regimen but if you focus on these core three food options you won’t see a caloric surge. Are you going to have some cheats in there????….most likely…and that is OK. Just fight it out one meal at a time and choose the best possible option in front of you. REMEMBER….you are not entering yourself into an eating contest….be sensible! A great “damage control” strategy would be to limit yourself to one cheat meal per day while on vacation. A great “maintenance” strategy would be to limit yourself to one cheat meal every other day while on vacation. A great “weight loss” strategy would be to limit yourself to 1-2 total cheat meals while on vacation.
Rule #7: You need to stay active, and the more active you are the better your chances are at seeing some weight loss or at least maintaining. For “damage control” you should work out for 10-15 mins each day. For “maintenance” you should workout for 25-30 mins each day. For “weight loss” you should shoot for 45 or more minutes each day that you are away. The KEY to the workouts is to do them FIRST….ideally before everyone else wakes up. We all know that there is a 0% chance of you getting in a 45 minute workout after a day filled with chasing your three year old around Disney World! If you want a great resource for some workouts that you can do anywhere and anytime, as long as you have an internet connect, check out our online fitness website HERE. These are awesome 15-30 minute bodyweight workouts that will crank up your metabolism and the instructor is super cool…………….
Rule #8: Once you return you need to go back to being super strict with your nutrition and fitness plan for the next 2-4 weeks. If you do happen to gain weight, give yourself twice the amount of time to take it off compared to how long you were on vacation. So if you were on a 10 day vacation and gained 5 lbs give yourself 20 days to get back to your pre vacation baseline. That time frame will allow you to take the pressure off of yourself and not feel like you have to lose it all at once when you return. If you put too much pressure on yourself you might just continue to slip up and end up gaining even more weight.
If you have never checked out our comprehensive Vacation Survival Guide we would love to send you a copy for FREE. Just email Trish Surfus (trish @wemeltyou.com) and she will send you your free copy!
So if you want to have a great vacation and still see some weight loss results just follow the rules above with your plan of attack for pre, during, and post vacation.
