Calories don’t count when you’re on holiday, right?
We’d all like to think that but unfortunately, calories do very much still count when you’re on holiday.
If you’ve ever returned home after two weeks away weighing more than you did when you left, you’ll be all too aware how much this is sadly true.
Still, no one’s saying you can’t enjoy yourself on holiday. Holidays aren’t cheap and there’s no point spending all that money on flights, hotels and activities just to starve yourself and be miserable.
This is especially true if you’ve paid for an all-inclusive holiday. Let’s face it, we’re sure you didn’t book it with ‘all-inclusive lettuce and water’ in mind!
So, how do you stick to your diet when you’re on holiday?
If you’re self-catering in a static caravan or lodge, such as these ones from Sunrise Holiday Homes, sticking to your diet is a bit easier. You can plan your meals and know exactly what you’re eating, unlike if you’re in a restaurant being tempted by rich dishes smothered in sauce and decadent desserts laden with sugar and cream.
However, you’re holidaying though, there are ways to stick to your diet without sacrificing your enjoyment.
Here are a few ideas for you:
Plan ahead
If you’re camping, it’s easy to stick to your diet. Easier, anyway. If you’re going to be cooking all your own meals, plan ahead and make a list of tasty, but healthy, meals and snacks and buy all your ingredients before you set off.
A self-catering hotel or chalet also means you’ll be looking after the meals yourself and keeping out of temptation’s way in the hotel’s restaurant.
In fact, if you haven’t booked your holiday yet and were thinking of going full-board, you could take temptation out of the equation altogether and go self-catering instead.
If you are going full-board or you’d planned to eat out for every meal, don’t feel you need to stick to salad for every meal. Plan to mostly eat healthily but allow yourself one treat meal a day, every other day, once a week – whatever works for you and won’t leave you feeling deprived.
All-inclusive is a tricky one. You’re paying a premium to be able to pig out on food and drink and not taking advantage of this seems like a waste of money. But there will be healthy options available so take advantage of those instead.
Cut down on alcohol
Speaking of drink, you might have booked all-inclusive so you had endless alcohol on tap. You might think the whole point of a holiday is to get as wasted as possible and you start drinking as soon as you get to the airport at 6 am.
Alcohol is 100% empty calories and won’t be doing your diet any favors at all. Not only are there all those empty calories, when you drink your willpower goes out the window and you’re more likely to eat even more calories through unhealthy food.
If you really must drink alcohol, cut back by alternating each alcoholic drink with a glass of water or only drinking alcohol with your lunch and dinner.
You can also save calories by choosing slimline tonics to go with your gin or vodka and avoiding sugary cocktails altogether.
If you do decide to abstain throughout your holiday, not only will you have thousands of calories to eat instead, you’ll remember more of your holiday and have more energy to enjoy fun activities.
Exercise
You know those fun activities we just mentioned? Apart from fun activities such as lying on a beach reading a book, you can take part in activities that will burn lots of calories.
There are countless ways to move and burn calories on holiday such as hiking, if you’re in a rural area, or walking everywhere instead of getting a bus or taxi if you’re in a town or city.
Your hotel might have gym and fitness classes you can use for free and your holiday rep will be able to let you know of any excursions you can join in with.
If you’re by the sea, you’ll be able to go paddle-boarding or kayaking and most places have a cycle hire scheme that will allow you to burn calories while you’re exploring the area.
As you can see, a healthy holiday doesn’t have to be boring. With a bit of forward-planning and activities to look forward to, you can easily stick to your diet while you’re away and you may even lose weight instead of putting it on!
