My recent vacation to Hawaii places this topic fresh on my mind!  I had a fabulous time.  I was able to accomplish all that I wanted!  I relaxed, exercised, ate well, indulged some, and played hard.  The good news is that I also avoided weight gain!  HOORAY!!

We all know that vacationing can pose challenges when trying to remain fit and healthy!  For many of us, vacation time means taking a break from exercise and nutritious eating.  Unfortunately, our bodies don’t really care where we are and just because we are on vacation doesn’t mean that the rules of nutrition and fitness do not apply (bummer, right!?).  I’ve done it all while on vacation; I’ve gained weight, lost weight, and maintained.  I pretty much get how to accomplish any of these 3 options.  My preferable option is to maintain while on vacation because I think it offers good balance.  I HATE gaining while on vacation because every time I do, I look back and never say it was worth it (the extra food, lack of exercise, etc. that pack on the food leave me feeling regretful and icky).

So, to avoid weight gain (whether you’re visiting relatives, relaxing on the beach, or exploring new places), here are some simple tips to consider when going on vacation.

1.  PLAN AHEAD FOR EXERCISE.  Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean that you need to take a break from exercise and nutritious eating.  Before I go anywhere, I always check to see what kind of work-out facilities are available for me to use (whether it be in my hotel or at a local gym in the city).  If no work-out facilities are available, I pack my own gym.  A resistance band can do wonders while on vacation and it hardly takes up any room at all!  I also look for local running/walking/biking trails as these are usually strategically placed in beautiful areas ( I love new landscape for my runs) and tend to be much safer to use (versus running in a strange city that I am unfamiliar with).  While in Hawaii, I did indeed pack my resistance band.  I also ran along a paved trail that stretched from Laie to Kahuku.  It somewhat bordered the beach; it was wonderful!

2.  BE PREPARED.  Be prepared by taking healthy food with you.  However you decide to travel (car, airplane, train), be prepared by packing healthy food for the actual travel portion of your trip.  Once you get to your destination, continue to pack healthy snacks with you as you go out-and-about.  You’ll always want to start each day out with a full and nutritious breakfast and then pack easy and simple snacks with you to eat during the day.  Healthy snacking during the day will help to regulate your blood sugars and it will reduce over-eating at main meals.  Having your own healthy food options will save you from eating whatever is available (which is usually NOT healthy).    During my Hawaii trip I packed my suitcase with protein powder, oatmeal, meal replacement bars, jerky, almonds, and organic fruit leather.

3.  WATCH YOUR PORTIONS.  Regardless of being on vacation or not, portions still matter!  Watch your portion sizes to avoid weight gain.

4.  AVOID EATING-OUT DISASTERS.  If you follow the tips I’ve already given you here, you should come out just fine! I was fortunate enough to stay in a house with a full kitchen while I was in Hawaii, so I was able to eat a lot of my meals at home.  If you have that opportunity, take it!  Try to find balance in eating in and dining out.  I’m not going to lie, I think my favorite dinner meals were had at the beach house.

5.  INDULGE IN MODERATION.  If you’re like me, you want to have some “fun eating” while on vacation.  None of us like to feel deprived, right!?  I particularly like to taste local cuisine and try eating at places that I cannot find at home.  While in Hawaii I allowed myself one food indulgence (or cheat) each day.  That seemed to keep me happy without feeling too deprived.   I also tried to focus more on the daily experiences and building memories with my family.  Other ideas on how to keep your “cheating” in moderation include possibly having one scoop of ice cream instead of the sundae, or split that decadent dessert with a travel companion (I tried both of these ideas while in Hawaii).  Usually a small taste will satisfy most of us.

6.  ENJOY YOUR DESTINATION.  Wherever you go, find ways to enjoy your destination in a healthy and fit way!  I mean, why not make the food and the exercise fun, right!?  For nutrition you can take advantage of local fruits (like I did in Hawaii with Pineapple and Mango) and local food that is best in that location (such as seafood if you’re by the sea).  For exercise, depending on your destination, you can run/walk along the beach, go kayaking in the ocean, take advantage of local trails, plan a morning stroll to a farmer’s market, rent a bike and go for a scenic ride, find a local yoga/pilates/zumba class, etc.  This article has several more ideas on how to to find fun ways to get your exercise in while on vacation.  While in Hawaii, I did plenty of this!

SO – whatever you do or whatever destination you land in, shoot for success!  You can still find a lot of ways to have fun on vacation without gaining weight.  If you ask me, that’s a win-win-win!

Every Friday I plan to do a “Friday Feature” where I will do a non-recipe post, yet the post will be something related to the health industry.  It might be a fitness or health tip, a book review, a restaurant spotlight, etc.  This first FF post is a restaurant spotlight.  Before we review the restaurant, let’s go over some basic tips to consider when eating out.

Eating Out 101
Here are some helpful tips to consider when placing your order at restaurants.

• Remember to eat a reasonable portion.  Most restaurants serve double or triple the recommended portion amount.  To avoid eating everything in front of you, as for a to-go box to come out with your meal.  When your meal and to-go box arrive, immediately place half of the meal in the to-go box to eat at a later time.
• Food combinations are important to consider.  A healthy meal will generally consist of a portion of lean protein, a complex or starchy carbohydrate, and vegetables.  When looking for meal options, be sure to look for something that meets this criteria.  Beware of added complex or starchy carbohydrates as most restaurants sneak these in where they can (for example: chips & salsa, bread baskets, popcorn, rice, black beans, etc.).  We generally should only eat one complex/starchy carbohydrate per meal.
• Avoid extra oils and butters.  Most restaurants cook EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) in oil and/or butter.  Did you know that before a steak is served and nice slab of butter is placed on top of it to melt as soon as it comes off the grill?  This is the case with most items on any restaurant’s menu.  SO, when placing your order be sure to remind your server that you would like no butter/oils on any part of your meal.  And, if possible, have your meats grilled.
• Avoid dressings, condiments, cheeses, etc. that are packed with calories and fats.  Ask for reduced fat or fat free dressings/condiments and always order dressings and condiments on the side so you can control how much you really eat.
• Get used to making special requests.  Study the descriptions of menu options and be ready to tell your server what to leave out of the dish.  You may need to order a Southwestern salad without cheese or tortilla strips (remembering to ask for a vinaigrette dressing on the side).  You may end up ordering a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayonnaise.
• In summary, order smart by eating the right portion size for you, staying within your calorie limits, and following the proper combination guideline.

Now. . . on to our restaurant spotlight of Rumbi Island Grill.
Rumbi has some fabulous healthy options that allow us to stay within the guidelines above.  I took my beautiful mom to lunch earlier in the week and we made great choices.

My mom ordered a rice bowl.  At Rumbi you have your choice of meat (steak, chicken, or shrimp) and you can actually order brown rice with it.  Hooray!  As you can see, it comes with vegetables too.  The only semi-scary part about the rice bowls is the sauce.  So, in following the guidelines above, always request the sauce on the side and use the very least amount you can while still enjoying the meal and the flavors.  You’ll want to make note that, true to restaurant form, the serving of the complex/starchy carbohydrate (rice) is much larger than the typical person should truly consume.  So, eat half of the rice and take the rest of it home.  Rumbi even has to-go boxes right on the condiment bar, so you can grab one before you start eating, place half of the rice in the box, and then gobble up what is left in your bowl.  Genius!

I ordered this Voodoo Chicken Salad.  Ordering salads can be scary.  They always seem like the perfect thing to order, but most restaurant really know how to add fat and calories to salad to make them really taste awesome.  When I order salads I get very picky.  Like most things, I read the entire description of the salad so I know what to ask the server to leave off it.  In this particular instance, the only things on this salad that I needed to be removed were the tortilla strips.  I then asked about the dressings they offered.  Even though most of the dressings on the Rumbi menu say they are vinaigrettes, I wanted to be sure they were reduced fat or fat free.  Come to find out . . . they only have one dressing that fits this requirement.  It was the Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette.  I ordered that one (on the side of course) and I loved it!  Last, but not least, I reviewed my salad to make sure I had a lean protein, vegetables, and a complex/starchy carbohydrate.  If I count the pita wedge as my complex carbohydrate, then all requirements are filled.  The pita isn’t preferred as it is white, and it’s not very big.  So, when I really want to get picky and know I have truly satisfied my food combination requirement, I ask to have black beans added to my salad and Rumbi happily obliges.  This is truly one of my very favorite salads at Rumbi.

Now that we know all the ins and outs of restaurant ordering (and we know of a fabulous restaurant we can go to), let’s make tonight a DATE NIGHT, shall we!?