Vacation

How do you eat when you are away? What is your exercise intensity when you are away from home? Do you take advantage of the sunshine and warm weather and play as many sports as possible? Are you the person who lays on a chair all day and drinks margaritas, eats and soaks up the sun?

I think there should be a happy medium. I know lots of us may feel like we work so hard at home that we just need some time to do nothing. I agree with you, but this should also be a time to eat the foods from the region you are visiting and get some outdoor exercise. It can be hiking, skiing, golf, tennis, jogging, swimming or even surfing. How about basketball or climbing Dunns River Falls?

I hear so many people tell me that they can't wait to have some drinks by the pool and relax. Those drinks at the pool will change your cravings and usually for the worse. I look at a vacation (when so many meals are eaten out) as an opportunity to have someone else prepare any better option you have ever wanted but didn't know how to prepare. Think about it, have any type of chicken, beef or fish grilled, baked or broiled. Try fresh sauces and have extra vegetables. Ask for no bread on the table when you are out. The drinks you have before ordering actually stimulate your brain to crave carbs and sugar- so you eat the bread. Then you eat more bread. By the time you get dinner you have eaten empty crap and you are too full for the reason you picked that restaurant in the first place. If you are really hungry when you sit down, ask to order salads and appetizers immediately, so that as soon as the hunger hits you have something better to eat than bread.

Make a promise to yourself to get some form of exercise each day, but pick something you love. Then it's fun and not work. Try something you have never done before. You can even choose to walk all over the town you are in and enjoy what you see. You get it. Oh and remember to drink a lot of fresh water throughout the day. Usually, we confuse hunger with thirst.

Try these few tips and I bet you come back from your vacation re-energized and really rested. It will be hard for you to feel stressed if you try these simple ideas. A vacation can be a blessing and a good way to eliminate cravings. Remember you have access to healthy and fresh choices at every meal, so stay away from the sugary crap (since it only encourages you to eat more crap!) If you must drink, choose wisely as to not cause even more bad food choices. Oh and the heat and alcohol is a double whammy to your body. Love your LIVER and your LIFE and de-stress with colorful foods, and fresh air, sunshine and fun activities.

TIP of the day: You can look at your vacation as a time to indulge and sit around or as the opportunity it is to LIVE LIFE to the fullest and have every food option you could imagine at your fingertips. Choose your restaurants wisely and enjoy the palette of foods, colors and tastes that the world has to offer. Enjoy and please come back rested.