Afraid of gaining weight on vacation? Don’t be

Many of my clients tell me “I’m terrified of gaining weight on vacation.” They say every time they go on vacation, they gain weight and always regret it.

Is this you? Do you worry ahead of time about vacation weight gain only to have your fears come true?

Some of the beliefs that go into overindulging on vacation…

1. We think that eating and drinking will enhance our experience. In reality it just dulls everything.
2. We think that vacation is our one change to indulge. In reality we are GROWN ASS ADULTS who can indulge any time we like.
3. We think it doesn’t “count.” But…your body doesn’t know if you are vacation, it just sees extra calories.
4. We think we can deal with it when we get home. But, that vacation “let down” we feel is often because we put a lot of junk into our bodies and our feelings of emotional distress associated with the weight gain.
5. We think we have to eat and drink as much as possible if we have purchased an all-inclusive vacation because we either don’t want to waste money. The truth is that that money is already spent whether or not you eat AND your body doesn’t care how much you spent it just sees extra calories.
6. We think that if we worry about it ahead of time we will figure it out when we get there. But worry, stress, anxiety and fear are not a substitute for taking action. In fact, those stressful feelings are more likely to lead to overeat and over-drink.

Instead of worrying about what might happen – TAKE CHARGE

Plan ahead. Decide ahead of time at least 5 days prior to your vacation whether you want to lose weight, stay the same or if you are ok with gaining weight (and how much exactly you are ok with) and then…

MAKE A PLAN: decide ahead of time what you are going to eat, when and how often you are going to have a treat whether it’s dessert or pasta or an alcoholic beverage. Write down and commit 100% to your plan. One tool that will help you stay on track is a travel scale. Commit to weighing yourself as often as you do at home. I got one like this for myself but there are loads of other ones out there. Before your trip test the scale against your home scale. Checking in with your weight regularly should lead to NO SURPRISES when you return home.

And remind yourself why you are on vacation…

Most of don’t travel because we want to eat or drink fancy drinks. We go on vacation to spend time with special people, to see new things and to take a break from our regular lives.  If you take charge of your food and alcohol consumption by planning ahead you will feel much more in control and are much more likely to get the results you want.

Wherever you go whether it’s vacation or stay-cation, have a wonderful time!

I will be back after labor day with new blog posts.