4 Tips For A Healthy Vacation

Hello Summer, sunshine, flip flops and vacation time!!!

Many women see a vacation as a break from their routines, they want to be more relaxed and carefree. For some that can also include taking a break from their healthy eating and exercise routine. Summer vacation spells breaking free, indulging and having fun and that’s great but it does not have to come on the expanse of your health.

Whether your vacation is local or far, short or long and anything in between, the following tips can help you make it a healthy vacation with a few easy adjustments.

1. Focusing on health is focusing on pleasure.
The first adjustment is to your mindset. The attitude that you can either be healthy or have fun on vacation is simply not true, you can have both! In fact, feeling ill because of many unhealthy choices will decrease your enjoyment of your vacation while making healthy choices will infuse your vacation with a sense of joy!

2. Cruise into health.
Cruises are a popular way to experience world travel, they are fun, more affordable and allow you to sample many places in a short period of time. Many women fear the ‘all you can eat’ buffets at cruises that result in big weight gains.
But cruises can be treasures of health:
~ Long decks for morning and evening walks and watching the sunrise and sunset
~ Fully equipped gyms and classes
~ Dance parties every night
~ Sit down restaurants with world cuisines, reasonable portions and many healthy choices
~ Staff that is eager to cater to every special need and request
~Shore excursions that involve a lot of walking.
So don’t deprive yourself of a special drink or a special treat, just balance it out with lots of fresh produce and activity and have fun!

3. Local fairs and festivals.
Living in New York, summer is prime time for street fairs and street foods. One of my favorites is the San-Gennaro Festival in Little Italy at the end of every summer. There’s a stage with live music, amusement park delights like a giant wheel and spinning tea cups, lots of street food and a dozens of Italian restaurants with enclosed curb-side, garden-like sitting.
~ Street food is a wonderful way to sample local and ethnic cuisines. Look for dishes that are loaded with veggies, many stands will serve up grilled vegetables and stir fried.
~ Festivals have many opportunities to be active by walking, dancing and playing games, so participate and have fun.
~ Enjoy people watching, the decorations, the activities and the ambiance. Remember that food is just one aspect of the event so don’t focus just on that.

4. Hotel Stays
When you visit location that are far from home hotels are a popular and convenient option. But that also means no kitchen and all meals are eaten out. You can still be the happy-healthy tourist by incorporating the following:
~ Call ahead and ask the hotel to have an EMPTY fridge in your room, that way you will avoid the empty calorie and overpriced selections and you can fill up the fridge with produce and healthy picks from local markets.
~ Ask the hotel if there is a fitness room or if they have a connection to a fitness center, it can be a nice way to stay active if you like gym workouts.
~ Google vegetarian, vegan and organic restaurants in the city you are visiting. You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy a plant based healthy meal.
~ Sign up for walking tours, they are a great way to connect with people, sight-see and get loads of activity while having fun.
~ Visit local farmers markets. You can find delicious and fresh produce and local delicacies to take back to your hotel room, to snack on or to enjoy in a picnic.
~ Enjoy the food! Don’t deprive yourself of local specialties, eat and enjoy! When I travel I will usually have one luxurious meal in a restaurant every day and the rest will be healthy snacks, cafe-salads, takeouts, and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Happy Summer and Healthy Travels!
xoxo
Rachel