Health Coach Q & A
Do you have any ideas for maintaining on holiday/vacation? I’ll be going away for 11 days.
We're so glad you're thinking about this. While there can be some challenges to maintaining weight loss while on holiday/vacation, there can also be a lot of opportunities! Here are some tips for maintaining while on vacation
- Keep logging your food. Even if you only have access to the internet once a day, such as while you’re in your hotel room, logging can keep you accountable and help you make better choices.
- If you’re having breakfast at the hotel, look for healthy options like whole-grain cereal, egg whites, peanut butter on whole-grain toast, and fresh fruit. Watch out for bacon, sausage, croissants and other pastries, and sugar condiments like jam and syrup.
- Order the way you normally would at restaurant - looking for lean proteins, salads with light dressing on the side, seasonal vegetables, and small servings of plain potatoes or sweet potatoes.
- Watch portions at restaurants. Consider eating only half of what you’re served, and leaving the rest or splitting with someone.
- Drink tons of water!
- There can be so many opportunities to be active while on vacation, whether walking from museum to museum, taking walking tours, or signing up for special classes like kayaking.
- Have mindful snacks: eat only when hungry, and choose nutritious options. Local fare can be fun and healthy, but if you can’t find nutritious prepared food (say, you can only find fried foods), opt for fresh fruit or vegetables.
Being on vacation is a great opportunity to test what you have been practicing. It also has the benefit of taking you away from the kitchen, so there’s less chance of mindless snacking, Also, it can make exercise fun and exciting.
Here are some blog posts that may help.
https://www.lark.com/resources/eating-well-and-losing-weight-while-on-the-road
https://www.lark.com/resources/find-time-for-fitness-while-traveling
https://www.lark.com/resources/how-to-stay-fit-when-traveling-for-business-or-pleasure
How about when it is cloudy, but not raining. Can you still get Vitamin D if you go outside?
That's a great question! It depends on the season. In summer, when radiation can be high despite cloud cover, you can still make active vitamin D. In winter, you're not likely to make much vitamin D. There just isn't enough intensity on your skin to trigger the reactions in your body to make the active form of vitamin D.