Jet Setting Tips to Keep You On Track

Traveling is one of the fun things we get to do in life. Vacations are wonderful, and they are definitely a great time to allow yourself to be a little bit lax with your diet and exercise if you are really needing a break from the regimen. BUT...they surely don't have to be. We could think of a million reasons why we are going to "put our diet on hold" for some period of time for another. I hate to break it to ya...that just gets you nowhere. Instead, why not do your best to stick to some principles that will keep you from feeling like you need to be wheeled into your room on a luggage dolly at the end of the day. Here are some of the things I do to stay on track when I'm away from home.

- Pack snacks. I always plan ahead when I leave for trips because you never know what is going to be available to you. It is better to be prepared! My standards are almonds, Larabars, turkey jerky, apples, and other nuts. Breakfast is usually the hardest meal when you are traveling, so I plan on eating the things that I bring instead of going for a stack of pancakes or something else that is likely to start my day on an insulin rush.

- WALK. You may not have the opportunity to exercise wherever it is that you are going. If you can. AWESOME. In fact, it is very possible to do squats, planks, push ups, lunges, sit ups, heck...even burpees in your hotel room. But, if nothing else choose to walk. When you are doing your sight seeing, strap on a good pair of walking shoes (yep, be that tourist) and get your walk on. You will burn a ton of calories as you get to enjoy your sights, and it will help to make up for your lack of exercising.

- Remember your moderation. It is pretty easy to make every meal like Thanksgiving when you are eating out on vacation. There are oftentimes restaurants that you are dying to try along the way, and a lot of crazy delicious food can sometimes me a lot of crazy outrageous calories. Instead of gorging all the time choose to share meals with the people you are with. This way you get to try a little bit of everything without going calorie crazy. You can also remember that you don't HAVE to fall into peer pressure while eating out. While I was in NY, the people I was with had a long list of eateries that they wanted to stop at...The Donut Plant, The Shake Shack, Max Brenner, and on and on...and guess what, I never ate at any of them...GASP. I know, crazy right? I was pretty sure if I would have, the chances of me feeling sick the whole day were fairly high, so I opted out. I actually managed to stay very close to my Paleo eating while I was gone. If I couldn't find something on the menu that suited the way I wanted to eat, I didn't just give in. The good news is that at almost every place you go to eat you can usually modify your meal to make it healthy and worthy of your hard working body. With that being said...it is totally fine to have some meals where you let loose and enjoy. Life is to be enjoyed! Just try to avoid being gluttonous.

- Drink a lot of water. I always notice that my water consumption drops a TON when I am traveling because it isn't as easy to grab a drink when you are nowhere near a drinking fountain or sink. Bring a water bottle with you and fill it up whenever you can. When you do stop to eat, be sure to drink a full glass of water first before you eat.

- Try for healthy eateries. Some of the best places I've eaten are fun health food spots. Try to find some fun local healthy options!

- Don't kick yourself. If you do feel like you go overboard, don't let it ruin your trip. Simple pick yourself up, start over, and move forward with the desire to do better. What's done is done, but there is always a new day with new decisions!