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It was the road trip that got me. We weren’t camping but staying at hotels, lodges and once, slept in a Tee Pee. The plan was to drive with our millennial kids who were moving across country while exploring as many National Parks as we could. The trip was blessed with great weather, an early peak season with manageable crowds, flowers and wildlife galore. My problem became apparent as the trip rolled into the second week. Eating out on vacation had pounds sneaking up on me.
Road trip temptations.
Aside from driving an average of two to six hours daily, we stayed active. There were hiking trails aplenty and in the National Parks we walked, climbed and traversed for hours. I have the dusty boots and callouses to prove it! We lugged our minimal luggage in and out of the car most every night. Getting out the door early meant trading my 30 minute floor-Yoga routine for rest-stop stretches and Drivetime Yoga.
No s’mores in bear country. One night at Under Canvas, Yellowstone.
The eating out conundrum
Along with a regular exercise regime, I usually eat one full meal a day with lots of veggies, fruit, water and tea the rest of the time. Hiking, the great company and new cuisines led to a pattern slip. I ate more bread and shared 3 meals. By the end of the journey I was uncomfortable. Don’t let that happen to you!
Irresistible Smoke n’ Man and his BBQ wagon, Union Creek Cabins near Crater Lake.
“Eating out while on vacation can be tricky. You want to enjoy and ‘let loose,’ but you also don’t want those unwanted calories and pounds to sneak up on you,” says Kristi King, registered dietitian with Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital.
A tree in a tree – Redwood National Park.
Here’s my and Kristi King’s tips for eating out on vacation:
- When possible plan ahead. Check out restaurants near your destination to get an idea of the local cuisine and menus. We used Yelp reviews when we could and grabbed quick lunches in grocery store deli departments. Each of us could choose what they wanted.
- Renting a house or condo? Does your hotel suite include a kitchen? Plan to have some meals at “home.” It saves calories and money.
- Allow time to prepare meals. Too often we’d roll into a destination already starving and settled for the easiest and quickest meal. It was a recipe for weight-gain.
- Eat your biggest meal at midday. Prices are better and you won’t go to sleep with a full tummy. That can make you restless and gain weight.
- Leave time to meet the locals: Ask people or use Apps to find grocery shops or a local farmer’s market as soon as you get there.
- Order half portions at meal times or, better yet, split the meal with the family. This works well unless you end up as we did – splitting entrees and sharing. I ended up with more on my plate than usual that too often included grains, potatoes and fried food.
- Be seriously active: Get out of the car to sight-see, swim in the ocean or hotel pool, or find other fun activities such as hiking and biking that will get you moving and burning calories.
- Cruising? It’s become much easier to be active on-board and burn off the sumptuous buffet calories. Take advantage of classes. Start counting steps with easy Apps. Take active shore excursions.
- Limit alcohol. Have fun but it’s too easy to pour in calories by ordering fancy drinks and allowing yourself ‘just one more.’ Consider sharing a drink with your travel buddy!
- Drink water, lots of it. I carry a refillable bottle and the National Parks have filling stations full of local, fresh, spring water. Stop using plastic bottles and when you don’t have another option, dispose of them responsibly.
- Don’t deny yourself: A good rule of thumb is to limit local treats to one per day.
- Relax: You’re on vacation! Don’t obsess about calories. Enjoy the local cuisine and allow yourself small amounts.
If only I’d followed my own advice! It’s live and learn. Now we’re home it’s back to the regular eating schedule and lots of exercise.
Enjoy this post? Here’s more about keeping your diet on track while vacationing.
How do you keep from gaining weight when eating out on vacation?
Ah, food! I have a very difficult relationship with it and I always gain when I go on vacation. Great tips, Elaine. If only I could follow them.
Perhaps one of these ideas at a time would help. Thanks.
Great advice. It’s so tempting to have treat after treat because you’re on vacation.
I know! As much as I travel though, I’m seriously putting the brakes on those travel treats!
Just what happened to us in Manila, especially since every day there was an event where food was aplenty! No matter where we go or how we travel, pounds come sneaking in! It’s one of the perks! Then we shed them off between trips.
I love your attitude that eating and lots of great food are one of the perks of traveling.
We walk everywhere yet the pounds still sneak on. The best advice you have given is to have the big meal in the middle of the day
Glad to hear you’re so active. I don’t get what happens to our metabolism as we travel but it does seem to slow down. Good luck with managing.
Dear Elaine,
We were on a food travel trip to Portugal last year. Every time we ate, the hoses would give us a sample of every local dish. When we returned home, we started the 5:2 diet. That worked well and when traveling we can mostly stay on it because it requires two days a week of 500 calories. The rest of the time, you can eat normally.
Great idea. I’ll have to try it. I heard once that the way Jane Fonda (remember her?!) stayed skinny was to fast every other day. I like taking your tip of eating 500 calories better!
I am so guilty of doing this…eighteen months on the road and I have now had to return home to a strict diet to lose more than 10 kilos! If only I could have taken advantage of your tips! Having said that, we had a fantastic trip with many new taste sensations that I wouldn’t have missed…well worth the month or two of dieting!
Isn’t it a conundrum about wanting to eat everything (well, most anyway) when you’re exploring the world?! I don’t regret a mouthful either.
I find that I lose weight when I travel. Not having constant access to snacks, plus walking a lot and drinking more water, really help.
Very true about not having access to constant snacks and drinking a lot of water is a help. This one road trip, traveling especially with a pair of 20-somethings, challenged that. Their metabolisms demanded regular feeding! Those were the days.
Loved your tree pose! It’s interesting, sometimes all of the food we eat and try on our different trips gets to me and makes me feel uncomfortable. Other times when we are more active, it seems easier to handle! I swear by two meals a day and sharing a dinner.
Thanks, I’ve a large collection of tree poses taken around the world. Leaking them out there gradually. Sometimes it’s true that trying new foods, especially in cultures very different than our own, can lead to discomfort. I travel with a bottle of Wellness Formula and it helps. Your plan for two meals a day and sharing dinner sounds like one I need to adapt.