How to stay balanced on vacation
It’s vacation time. You’ve been dieting for months, maybe you cut out bread, alcohol, sugar or you’ve been only eating plants. Maybe you haven’t eaten at a restaurant in two months because you needed to have unquestionable control over what went into your body. But you're here now — the food and drinks are flowing and you are still not happy with how you look in your bikini, so you say “fuck it” because what’s the point?
That used to be me. I would let anxiety over the vacation consume me until I got to a meal where I ate something “bad” and then I decided the whole trip was a wash, and I should just do whatever I wanted. This is living in extremes. Not indulging for months so that you can indulge for 7 days will not make you feel good. It will likely cause a rapid gain of any weight you lost prior to the trip and leave you feeling depressed afterward. Now, I try and maintain balance in my day-to-day life no matter where I am. Here are a few tips from my last vacation, where I didn’t restrict myself from anything I wanted, but I also didn’t overindulge once.
Alcohol:
For me, summer is particularly hard when it comes to drinking frequently. Between 4th of July, my birthday and other summer trips, I feel like someone is always handing me some rooftop rose or a mimosa. This used to give me grave anxiety, because I always had rules around drinking my extra calories. Now, I realize it’s fine. Maybe in my 20s I will always gain a little bit of weight in the summer because of alcohol, but when I want to give myself a little peace of mind on a vacation here’s what I do.
Pick a couple of days to not drink. I drink in my daily life in NYC, so it makes sense to take some time on vacation that’s simply about relaxing. This is also good for active/excursion trips because you don’t want to be drunk for a hike or a snorkel, and you’ll be tired after— so don’t force a party if you don't feel like it!
Pick a few days to join in on the day drinking — but keep it light. It’s tough when everybody starts having fun and drinking during the 3pm happy hour, because I panic about how many calories I’m drinking. So on these days, when I start early, I usually pick a vodka soda or vodka diet-something. I want to be clear that this is NOT me using a behavior, it's managing my own tendencies. If I try and keep up with people who are drinking sugary drinks, it can sometimes backfire on me and i'll feel the need to skip a meal.
Pick a few days where you just have 2 drinks at dinner, and have whatever you want. On the nights I did this in Mexico, I had the restaurant's specialty margaritas, tried a mojito and a pina colada. This can give you the opportunity to try higher cal drinks (the ones I would normally have steered clear of in my eating disorder,) but it equally gives you the opportunity to try a part of the culture where you are visiting (i.e. a Guinness in Ireland or some Sangria in Barcelona) without going overboard.
Food:
Try the thing. If you’re in Paris: get the cheese and bread (and wine!), Italy: pasta and pizza, Mexico: enchiladas — you get the idea. Try out the thing that the city is best-known for. This is a part of the cultural traveling experience!
Mix in some of your healthy “go-to”s. My last trip, I definitely tried the thing, but I didn’t try the thing three meals a day every single day. I had some chicken caesar salads for lunch, smoothies, egg white omelettes, and yogurt and granola at breakfast, and one night I got veggie sushi because that’s just what I wanted. Balancing out the more indulgent meals with meals that make me feel like I'm caring about my body and giving it good nutrients, helps to not go overboard on either end.
No matter what meal you’re eating, whether it’s the chips and guac or an omelette, stop when you’re full. Portions are much larger at restaurants than you would make yourself at home. Remember that it’s not wasteful to leave food on your plate if you’re done— in fact, it’s a form of self care.
Exercise:
Listen to your body. This particular week, I went to the gym almost every morning, but some days I went for 20 minutes. I did the elliptical, the treadmill, squats, and the stationary bike so that I was mixing it up everyday. There was no agenda, I just did what I felt like. And I did it because it boosted my mood!
If you know you’re going to be walking a lot, skip the gym. Walking is great exercise, and it's been a huge part of many of my vacations! Don’t force yourself to get up just because you *have to* make it to the gym. Sleep in and walk it off later. If you’re eating balanced meals walking is more than enough to maintain you.
Make it fun! One day in Mexico my entire family (80 year old grandpa and 12 year old cousins included) did the “aqua aerobics” class that the resort was offering. It was hilarious— and my arms actually were sore afterward.
I'm not perfect, but these tips helped me from using behaviors on my family trip, and I think they’re just helpful in general even if you aren’t prone to disordered eating— so I thought I would share!