I'm on vacation!

Aahhh! Finally! The end of the school year is upon us, summer is quickly approaching and it's time for vacation!

As a child my family often went on vacation with my "cousins." We typically went to the beach and when the cars were unpacked and the condo was set up my uncle would announce, "I'M ON VACATION!" As the years went by we grew to realize this translated into "I am taking on the least amount of responsibility as possible so don't bother me with petty stuff." After all, isn't this what vacation is all about-to unwind, decompress, relax and HAVE FUN!

Along with all of this, a vacation is a great time to consider self-kindness; a time to stop beating yourselves up over, what else,  food stuff-what you should be eating, should not be eating, blah, blah, blah. 

When you are getting ready for vacation, consider these things to help you get through without having to "go on a diet" when you get home.

PLAN. The #1 best thing  you can do when preparing for vacation is to take a little time to plan and prepare how you will take care of yourself, including what you will eat. You've already started by reading this blog. Excellent!
If you'll be cooking on vacation, consider some simple meals and snacks:

• tacos-Simple, yet fun! You can have black beans, fish, or traditional tacos. Add salsa and you have added a vegetable. Add guacamole and you have a great fat and a super taco!
• kabobs-Stab some marinated chunks of meat on a skewer with pineapple, bell pepper pieces, and mushrooms. Throw it on the grill and BAM a great, easy meal.
• dehydrated foods-beef jerky is a fabulous snack packed with protein; dried apricots is a great snack that will give more nutrition than candy, you get the idea.
• baked chips-you need something to scoop up the salsa and guac

If you are not going to be cooking, avoid the buffets, limit fried foods (if you can't possibly avoid them share the friedness with whomever else is at the table), and split entrees with someone. After all you don't want to eat until you are stuffed and you can't bring it home to eat it later.

KISS-Keep It Simple, Silly! While planning is good, keep it simple! After all you are going on vacation so you can get away from the hustle and bustle of your daily routine.

Hunger. When you get to your destination, let your hunger guide your eating. Consider the hunger scale: on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being ravenous and 10 being so stuffed all you can think about is lying down and falling asleep, let this guide when and how much you eat.  Grab something to eat when you get to about a 3 (don't let yourself get too hungry), and stop eating when you are about a 6. Remember it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal that you are no longer hungry.

Alcohol. Drink with caution! Not only does alcohol have a significant number of calories, sugar, etc. The most detrimental thing about drinking alcohol is that it breaks down your inhibitions to other things you may eat. A handful of chips turns into a 1/2 a bag, then the next thing you know you are headed down a path you'll wish you hadn't started.

This is the beginning of the vacation blog series. I'll be blogging about specific vacations-beach, cruise, mountains, you get the pictures. Check back in a few...