How to Prevent Weight Gain on Your Next Vacation

It can be hard not to gain weight while you are on vacation. All you want to do is eat everything in site. Moreover, smells from bakeries might be luring you with the seductive scents of sugary, doughy baked goodness. I mean, isn’t that the point of going on vacation? Yet, if you are serious and diligent about staying on a diet it is important to do so even when you are on vacation. This might be devastating news, but researchers say that on average vacationers gain at least a few pounds of weight or more depending on where they go. Let’s hope it’s not Austria – the strudel capital of the world. Here is how to prevent weight gain on your next vacation.

For one, make sure to plan your meals accordingly. If you know you will be going to a specific region it is important to research all of your food options, from the hotel buffet to local restaurants. It might be hard to find diet foods for weight loss in some parts of the world, but if you do some pre-planning and look up menus on online, it will hugely reduce the risk of you slipping up and putting a huge, fatty wrench in your diet.

Next, always carry snacks and water on you, especially if you are doing a lot of sightseeing. One of the easiest ways to mess up your diet and gain weight while you are on vacation is to go a few hours without eating and having to rely on whatever food options are around, which is usually not the healthiest or leanest. In any case, by sure to keep a bag of dried fruit or nuts so that you can keep up your caloric intake and energy levels, because you don’t necessarily want to pass out either.

Also, stay away from hotel temptations. Hotels are designed to temp you with their food and snacks. This can be from advertisements next to the bed for room service specials, the all you can eat breakfast buffet or even large sized boxes of candy in the minibar. Instead, take part in the other things the hotel has to offer, like the spa, sauna or, best of all, the gym. Your hotel might also have a yoga or Pilates class you can take.

Lastly, if you are faced with having to go out to dinner, always ask the server for the smallest portions of whatever goes on your plate. Of course you can still indulge once and a while, but make sure to do so in moderation. Instead of getting a desert for yourself, get one that the whole family can share so that you only have a few small bites. Also, be sure to leave the restaurant immediately after everyone is done eating. If you are on a diet you might be tempted to indulge a little more if you stick around, just because you are on vacation. However, if you want to stick to your diet and not gain weight, make sure to have an excellent escape plan from every restaurant you go to.