Holidays are deserved and often too rare occurrences, which is maybe why we can go slightly crazy when that time of year rolls around. The suitcases come out of hiding and the sense gets left behind.
It’s unbelievably easy to do real damage in the few weeks that we take away from our normal routine each year. Living a clean lifestyle, however, means that we’re used to having our cake and eating too. Every day we get to eat nutritious meals without compromising on taste and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same whilst we’re away.
This blog series will traverse a range of holiday types in the hopes of revealing easy to avoid pitfalls and ensuring that you still have an enjoyable experience abroad.
The first of which is the weekend city break
Britain is fortunately placed with hundreds of exciting city destinations just a hop, skip and jump away. A few short hours after work on Friday could find you sipping on wine and nibbling delicacies in a European bistro.
Sounds perfect and it is but these five tips will help keep you grounded and stop Monday morning rolling around with a headache, bloated belly and a couple of extra pounds in your luggage.
1. Try to learn basic phrases
Chances are your weekend trip won’t be to an English speaking country. It’s useful to take a few moments on the plane to learn some basic phrases and food-related words. That way your best friends of menu scanning and substitutions don’t need to get left behind. The UK isn’t alone in the trend of clean eating and it’s not difficult to find places that will cater for your decisions. It’s just easier to choose a good restaurant having scanned the menu before you go in than picking a place randomly only to find there’s nothing but pasta.
2. Take snacks
When you’re only away for a few days it’s likely you won’t have easy access to good snacks. These can be lifesavers when it comes to not only sticking to your diet but preventing decisions made in hunger which, like those made under the influence, are rarely good. Protein bars, a pack of biltong or some nuts are perfect choices to keep your fuelled during your sightseeing ventures and also mean you don’t have to keep stopping in overpriced city stores for essentials.
3. Keep active
Let’s face it – you’re not going to the gym on a weekend trip away. You’ve got a limited amount of time and you want to make the most of it. So walk through the park instead of taking the bus, run up the tower stairs instead and using the lift and get involved in a local activity. I always wear a pair of lightweight runners which are not only perfect for staying on my feet all day but also mean I can easily throw in a sneaky morning run. It’s a wonderful way to explore a new city.
4. Don’t eat on the plane
Although European flights aren’t normally that expensive there is an inbuilt desire to make the most of the holiday and free on-flight drinks where provided. Why waste the calories in an atmospheric-less lead pencil when you could enjoy a glass of wine or two (or…) later on. Again, over-indulging in this respect is likely to lead to poorer food choices later and leave with you with less energy for your trip.
5. Portion control
Short trips can sometimes be difficult for portion control because you don’t think you can do that much damage in a weekend. This flawed thinking is a major cause of yo-yo dieting where you wipe away the abstinence of the week by the sins of the weekend. So be sensible. Of course, you’re going to want to try the local dishes but you don’t need to try platefuls of every single one. Try to have a good breakfast at the hotel, a light salad for lunch and then you can relax a bit for dinner. Do your best to maintain good habits you’ve developed at home like avoiding the bread sticks, passing on the heavy desserts and sugary drinks. Sharing is another good way of having treats without blowing your calorific budget.
Tune in next time for my review of the dreaded all-inclusive packages and the simplest ways to stick t
Love
Danielle