Video | Spread Out Eating | Increase Physical Activity | Beneficial Mindset | Treats on Vacation? | Conclusion

Travel can be tricky when you’re trying to lose weight. Now that my husband and I are empty-nesters, we find ourselves traveling more often. In this post, I’ll share three tricks we use to keep our weight on track while traveling. 

Weight Loss and Travel – 3 Tricks I Use [Video]

In this video, you’ll learn…

• The benefit of intermittent fasting while traveling.
• Helpful mindsets that keep you on track.
• Steps to take towards a healthy diet year-round.

Three Tips for Travel Success

Successful weight loss requires a lot of focus, but when you travel, you lose your normal routine.

To stay on track, I find it helpful to limit my focus to three areas, spreading out my eating times, increasing my physical activity, and holding onto a beneficial mindset. 

1. Spread Out Your Eating

Spreading out my eating has proven to be very helpful. It allows my blood sugar to drop to a low level, which is a state that favors fat burning.

When possible, I limit my meals to two a day. The two meals I choose to eat will vary.

For instance, if I’m staying at a hotel that offers a complementary breakfast, I take advantage of it, eat a large, low-carb breakfast and then wait until dinner to eat again. If it works to skip breakfast, I have lunch and dinner only for that day. 

This idea of spreading out your eating occasions is commonly referred to as intermittent fasting.

If you wish to incorporate this strategy into your vacation, you will find it much easier to do if you follow a low-carb, high-fat diet for at least a few weeks before your vacation starts.

This way of eating stabilizes your blood sugar, which prevents cravings as well as that intense hunger that comes on quickly and practically forces you to eat.

While you still may experience some hunger when you spread out your meals, the hunger will come on gradually and then taper off so you never feel out of control.

2. Increase Physical Activity

I also like to focus on increasing my physical activity. I don’t mean hitting the gym while I’m on vacation, I simply mean focusing on moving more.

My favorite form of moving while traveling is walking.

Wherever we are, my husband and I make a point of walking to destinations whenever possible. It is the best way to see the sights, whether you’re on a beach, in the woods or touring a new town.

For example, my husband and I often visit my mother-in-law and stay at her home. In the mornings, we go for a long walk to a favorite coffee shop.

It takes us at least 30 minutes each way, which is a great way to get our bodies moving. It is also the perfect way for my husband to reconnect with the wonderful Midwest town that he grew up in.

3. Hold onto a Beneficial Mindset

There is nothing more important than having a beneficial mindset when you are on vacation.

Your mindset has the power to make you overeat or keep you on track. 

For instance, if you go into a vacation with the mindset that, “I am on vacation, so I deserve to splurge,” that’s fine, but you will have a lot of work to do when you get home.

Instead, if you go into your vacation with the mindset, “I’m leaving my options open, but I want to feel good,” you give yourself some flexibility without feeling trapped by your diet.

That focus on feeling good while traveling has been a godsend to me.

Special Treats on Vacation?

If you follow my blog, you know that I follow a low-carb diet.

If you do the same, you have likely experienced the wonderful side-effects that come with the diet that includes very manageable hunger, a noticeable reduction in joint pain, and restful sleep.

I don’t want to lose those things while I’m on vacation, so I allow special treats, but only if they are a true desire.

For instance, when my husband and I visit the beach, we enjoy Kohr Brothers ice cream (it’s actually frozen custard). We can only get it at the beach, we love it, and we eat it guilt-free. Because it is a single indulgence that is included as part of one of my two meals for the day, it doesn’t impact how I feel overall.

This same philosophy can be used when you are not in control of what is being served.

For instance, on our last visit to my mother-in-law’s, she proudly served us a strawberry and rhubarb pie. Typically, I would have passed on the dessert, but it was a show of love. I knew that because I was eating only two meals and walking a lot, I was able to be gracious and flexible without feeling bad. 

Conclusion: Weight Loss & Travel

Being able to travel is a blessing and it does not have to derail your weight loss plan.

You will feel your best when you prime your body for success and that is done by eating a low-carb, high-fat diet when you are in your normal, at-home routine.

If you’re not sure how to do that, I invite you to learn about my Freedom Health Program, where you gain an understanding of the diet and get all of the meal plans, recipes, and tools you need to make it work in your life. Thanks for reading and I will see you next week!

About the Author

Dr. Becky Gillaspy, DC graduated Summa Cum Laude with research honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1991.