Healthy Holiday Vacations

Many people are on holiday vacation right now. Whether you took advantage of your vacation days or you have a job that accommodates a holiday break, you are probably enjoying some down time. While it is great to take advantage of vacation days and devote a lot of time to relaxing and catching up with friends and family, holiday vacation is not a good reason to slip into unhealthy habits.

Healthy Travel Tips

Perhaps the holiday season has brought you out of town. Being away from home makes it easy to splurge on your diet and to avoid your exercise routine. Do yourself a favor and don’t do either.

• Exercise
  • Stick to your routine. If you are used to going to a gym, then try to do the same on vacation. Book a room at a hotel that has a gym. If you are staying with loved ones, try to see if your gym has locations or partnership agreements with a gym where you are going.
  • Get started early. You probably have plans during vacation. Make sure that you get your activity in by doing it in the morning. Beginning the day with exercise helps to set the tone and it gets it out of the way before your plans take precedence.
  • Be resourceful. Maybe you can’t get into a gym. You don’t need one to take a jog around the neighborhood or to do push-ups or sit-ups. There are plenty of ways to be active without the help of a personal trainer and a row of treadmills. Get outside, find a park or a basketball court and start moving around.
• Diet
  • Don’t’ cheat. You still have to watch what you eat even though you are on vacation. Being away from home makes it a bit harder, but that is not a good excuse to let fast food constitute the majority of your diet. Order salads with vinaigrettes on the side, skip fried foods, and try to get a healthy home-cooked meal in as often as possible.
  • Don’t snack. Lots of baked goods and snacks will probably be making their way around. If you have a seasonal favorite, give it a try, but don’t snack consistently through the day and then eat regular meals on top of it; calories will add up faster than you can count.

Healthy Holiday Stay-cations

A lot of us are still at home, and we just don’t have to work this week. If you are home, it is considerably easier to stick to a healthy routine or to take advantage of your time off to begin living a healthier lifestyle.

• Start something new. With all of this extra time on your hands, you have plenty of opportunity to check out that bike trail you’ve been thinking about or take time to find a gym. You also have time to experiment with some healthy meal recipes that you can use year round. Also, hopefully it’s not a new activity, but if it’s been a while since you’ve had a medical check-up take advantage of your down time to go see your doctor.
• Eat at home. This is the easiest way to accurately count calories, fat content and the other factors that contribute to a healthy meal. If you are doing some last-minute shopping, or making returns as the case will be next week, have a sensible meal at home before you go out. Quick-service restaurants and mall food courts are not the best places to seek out nutrition, yet those are likely your destinations when you are out and about.
• Stick to your plan. If you exercise regularly, don’t let it go by the wayside. A New Year’s resolution tomorrow is not as good as a work-out today. If you don’t have to work, you have plenty of time to keep to your exercise schedule. You know you always feel better after a good workout.

We hope that everyone is having a happy and healthy holiday season. Take advantage of your time off to be healthy and to learn more about your neighbors. There are multiple holiday celebrations going on right now, so why not take some time to learn about the traditions and customs of another cultural group right here in Hillsborough County? It will be a great way to expand your personal knowledge and to find out more about your community.

Sources:

Daily Running Tips.com

Burn My Belly Fat.com

The Life Co.com

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