So you’ve decided to go on vacation, and perhaps you’ve taken a look at some french riviera vacation rentals and booked your time away. Now what? Chances are you’ve also been on a bit of a diet, trying to eat healthy, as you wish to look and feel good while you’re away. But how can you stick to your healthy diet when you’re on vacation, and resist all those delicious temptations you’re going to be faced with? It’s easier than you think.
How to Eat Healthy While on Vacation
Try to Resist Eating Too Much
Many people prefer to eat out while they’re on vacation, however, this is where we tend to pile on the pounds.
I know what it’s like, some restaurants and cafés offer you huge portions, but it doesn’t mean you have to eat everything on the plate. Take some of the leftover meal back to your villa or hotel room and enjoy it later if you must.
You may also want to think about opting for smaller portions from fast food restaurants as this will help to keep the calorie count a little lower.
Cook Meals at ‘Home’
A really good way to stick to your diet is to cook meals at home, and by home I mean in your villa. It’s likely that your villa will have a kitchen and an oven and/or a microwave, so you may want to use these to your advantage.
When you cook a meal yourself, you have a better idea of what goes into the meal, and how many calories are in it. You will also be more aware of the amount of fat, sugar, and salt that your meals contain too, and this is where you could save a few calories.
Of course, you don’t have to cook for yourself every day, but it wouldn’t hurt to make a habit of it.
Use a Smaller Plate
Let’s imagine you’ve visited a restaurant that offers an all you can eat buffet. You’ll have the choice of filling a huge plate or a smaller one with some very tasty foods…
The trick here is to opt for using a smaller plate as when it’s full your brain will think you’ve eaten a lot. Trust me, this trick really works, and it could save you at least a few hundred calories.
If you are given a huge plate of food, or there isn’t a plate size to choose from, then try to spread your food out a little bit so it looks like you have more. This is a good trick to use too and it can help with your diet.
Eat in Moderation
While it is important that you enjoy yourself when you’re in the sunny French Riviera, or wherever you decide to go, remember, you’re on vacation! You shouldn’t be afraid to treat yourself now and then, as you are on vacation after all.
You simply need to remember to eat everything in moderation. Have a few bites of that delicious looking cake rather than eating the whole thing. It’ll make the cake much more enjoyable and leave you with fewer regrets.
1. It’s easy to overdo cereals at breakfast, especially if you have large bowls. Measure out ½ cup of muesli or 1 cup of flaked cereal to keep portions in check.
2. At lunch and dinner fill half your plate with vegetables or salad, a quarter with lean protein like chicken or fish, and the remaining quarter with quality carbs such as whole grains, sweet potato or brown rice.
3. Healthy fats can be included by roasting vegetables or drizzling salads n olive oil, or sprinkling nuts on top of a breakfast bowl.
4. Serve your food in the kitchen and pack up the leftovers so you’re not tempted to go back for seconds.
5. If you’re craving something sweet, opt for a piece of fruit if you haven’t hit your 2 serves yet, or naturalyogurtt with honey or enjoy a couple squares of dark chocolate.
Have your Five a Day
Not only should you enjoy your five portions of fruits and vegetables when you’re at home, but you should also have them when you’re on vacation too.
Having your five a day will make you feel better and it will also make you feel fuller too. Not only will you feel fuller and be less likely to splurge on calories, but you’ll have eaten plenty of fibrous foods that are high in antioxidants and vitamins. This means you are less likely to fall ill when you’re on vacation, and that can only be a good thing.
Only Eat when you’re Hungry
An excellent way to stick to your diet is to only eat when you are hungry. I know how tempting it is to have a few portions of fried chicken, or an ice cream when it’s offered to you. However, this is where you could be making a mistake…
If you only ever eat when you are hungry you’re less likely to have a few too many calories. This could be your saving grace and help you to keep those unwanted pounds off.
Stop Eating When you’ve had Enough
My grandmother always used to say “You should always leave the table feeling like you could have eaten just a little bit more”. This is a tactic that I often use, and I have found it to be ideal when it comes to cutting down on calories.
If you’re not sure when you should stop eating, think about when you feel comfortable when you’ve had enough to eat, without going over the top. This is where you could avoid putting on those few extra pounds.
Always Aim for the Healthier Option
An easy way for you to cut down on those calories is to aim for the healthy option.
Healthy options often come in the form of salad, and those salads often come with dressings. It’s the dressings that tend to be full of calories, so you may want to avoid those. If there are other healthy options on the menu you might want to give those a try too.
We can all potentially stick to our diet if we try hard enough, we just have to make a real effort not to have too much to eat at every meal. Simply take leftovers home, cook your meals if you can and only eat when you’re hungry. Opt for healthy dishes, and stop eating when you’ve had enough. When you can do all of this it’s likely that your attempt to stick to your diet will be amazingly successful!