How to Lose Weight on Vacation

If you're planning to take a vacation, and you're in the middle of trying to lose weight, how do you stick to your weight loss plan and still have a good time?

I'm in the middle of a vacation right now in Honolulu, HI, typing this from my hotel room, having just watched the sun rise.

Here are the problems associating with dieting on vacation...

• You're in unfamiliar territory, you don't know where all the health food stores are, your favorite restaurants are not around, you may not even have a rental car to get around with.


• You want to do everything while on vacation, including eating at the best restaurants, and drinking plenty at the bars.


• You and your family (or significant other) tend to stay together the whole time, meaning you have fewer options as you negotiate on what to do, and where to eat.

Ideally, here are some tips for planning your vacation around your weight loss plan...

• Travel to places that encourage you to walk. I found that here in Waikiki Beach, the hotels are located on the main drag, and the main drag is chock full of shops, cafes, restaurants, beaches, activities, and places of interest. You don't really need a car here, everything is within walking distance. The other tours and activities have shuttles that can pick you up.
  
  Look to vacation in metropolitan areas, where there's an abundance of things to do, and everything is within walking distance. The Las Vegas Strip, the Gas Lamp District of San Diego, the Waterfront Park area of Seattle, etc.
  
  On the other hand, if you vacation at a resort that is located far from civilization, you'll end up stuck at that resort, and won't find yourself doing much walking. Even though the resort claims to have hiking trails, and a fitness center, the reality is that your vacation time is limited and your family and/or significant other will draw you away from your exercise time.
  
  
• Don't rent a car. Many hotels have shuttles that pick up from the airport, and take you back, and some of them will take you to other popular tourist spots. Before booking a room, find the hotels that have these shuttles. If you rent a car, you'll find yourself driving everywhere, and won't think about what's close by.



• Keep yourself busy every day with activities. As long as you're busy doing things, you won't think about eating. But as soon as you find yourself not knowing what to do, your thoughts will immediately turn to eating and drinking. Do a lot of guided tours, and walking tours. They seem to take up the most time. Read, "Boredom Can Create Weight Gain".

Here are some weight loss tips after you've arrived at your destination...

• Get eight hours of sleep each night. You'll want to stay up late, which is fine. Just make sure you sleep for eight hours. A 200 pound person can burn about 625 calories just sleeping for eight hours. Put up the "Do Not Disturb" card on your door, and close the curtains. Read, "How Many Calories Do You Burn Sleeping".


• Do a lot of drinking. You'll want to drink anyways, so just do it. Liquids will keep you feeling full. More than likely, you and your family will dine out frequently, but at least you'll have less space for food.


• Beer is the best alcoholic beverage for dieting. Beer has the least amount of calories compared to wine, hard liquor, and mixed drinks. If you can help it, stay completely away from wine and mixed drinks. Both of them have higher amounts of sugar. On the other hand, beer has little sugar, mostly complex carbs, and is lower in alcohol. The higher the alcohol, the higher the higher the calories.


• Always avoid desserts. Stay away from sugary foods and drinks. Sugar is perhaps the biggest enemy of dieting. Not only does it add calories, but it causes your body to stop burning fat. Eat fresh fruit instead, which will satisfy your sweet tooth, but at a much lower sugar content, higher fiber, and more vitamins. Read, "What is the Best Fruit for Weight Loss".

Don't go into a vacation planning to lose a few pounds. If you do that, you'll only end up doing it at the cost of your family's enjoyment. Instead, get all your money's worth from a vacation.

But if you vacation in places that encourage you to get out and walk, and explore, and stick to the tips above, you can actually lose weight on vacation without thinking about it. Even if you just break even on weight gain, or just gain a few pounds, that's still pretty good considering you had a ton of fun on your vacation.

Don't think of vacations as a time to lay down and do nothing. Think about it as a time to explore and experience. See all the sights, do all the tours, and stay busy at all times. The more you're busy, the less you'll think about eating.

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