Healthy Highway!
It’s the word that gives us two feelings. Excitement! and Fear! Vacation. The situation that can break a diet or make a diet! Vacations are about stepping out of the normal lifestyle and treating yourself to happiness! When we leave vacation I want to bring back souvenirs, a tan, the sunshine, but not the extra pounds! I just recently vacation with my family in Florida. I made sure that my vacation started with health and ended with health.
Deprivation on Vacation? I don’t think so! I made sure to make my trip just as enjoyable as my meals. I took notes and came up with ways to stay healthy and leave the pounds in Florida. I even managed to lose a pound. The goal of vacations shouldn’t always be focused on losing but maintaining. Most people who travel end up gaining a whopping 5 to 10lbs in one trip. I found ways to avoid and reconstruct their mistakes! I hope you find this healthy and have a great vacation.
So it’s the night before my vacation. I want to make sure I pack accordingly. I packed what was most important first that way I made sure it fit.
First on the list:
Tennis Shoes.
Two pairs of work out shorts.
Workout Tank and T-shirt.
My Ipod + Charger.
Two sundresses.
Two pairs of jean shorts + 1 pair of jeans
6 Different tops.
Flip Flops and Heals
(Don’t forget to leave a little bit of space for shopping)
Yes, clothes are VERY important to pack but so is food. This is a HUGE part in staying healthy on vacation. The night before make a grocery list of all the healthy foods you want to munch on. This will even save you money instead of spending ridiculous amounts of money at gas stations and restaurants.
Here is what I packed in my Cooler and Snack bag.
Chobani Yogurt for each day I was there.
Flavored Water
Grapefruits
Apples
I popped a large bag of air popped popcorn for the road.
I brought my own sugar free coffee creamer for the hotel.
Boiled eggs.
Sugar Free Jello Packets.
Fat Free Salad Dressing
Bags of Vegetables.
Rice cakes.
Don’t forget to pack brown paper bags to pop your popcorn in the microwave at the hotel or gas station.
Packs and Packs of Sugar Free gum!
Chai Tea Bags.
The drive from Iowa to Florida is about 17 hours. Well with the Bladders in our car….18 hours:) To be sitting in a car that long with only my iPod, books and games on my phone I could get really bored. I don’t know about you but a false hunger can come with boredom. I decided to keep the coffee at decaf and pull and ALL nighter the night before the trip, that way I could sleep in the car. I made sure to have my breakfast in a travel bag for 8am. (2 egg whites, grapefruit, and Chobani Yogurt) I wasted about 10 hours in the car sleeping. Otherwise I know I would have eating the entire cooler! No one is perfect.
It is very important to keep yourself busy on the road. Other than sleep I packed books on health to keep me motivated! I packed my ipod with TONS of songs that were relaxing and also energetic for my work outs. I brought along my cell phone for texting and games and some string for bracelets.
Bathroom breaks are a must on a trip! So is facing the snacks in the gas station. If you must have something sweet go for the fat free candy like Twizzlers, gummy bears or dried fruit. Also if you are craving chocolate go for a chocolate granola bar that is low in fat and high in protein vs. a chocolate bar. Or a small bag of trail mix with chocolate pieces. Avoid drinking the cappuccinos from the dispenser and go for a black coffee with on container of half and half or your own creamer from home. Some gas stations fortunately carry fresh fruit or vegetables and some unfortunately don’t. Flavored waters are a good choice for beverages also. Choosing a bag of chex mix or pretzels is a better choice than choosing a bag of potato chips. It’s all about “smart choices”
Always choose the right beverages that are low calorie, low sugar and low carbohydrates. You want to stay hydrated!
Before checking into the hotel we decided to grab some dinner. Since it was fairly late at night I decided to order something light. We decided to eat at Nero’s Grill in Nashville. When I go to restaurants I am definitely not against customizing my orders to the way I want. I ordered the Lettuce Wedge Salad and asked for my eggs on the side so i could separate the yoke. I also had them add onion, pepper, carrots and cucumber. I had them put Fat Free Italian dressing on the side. I also ordered a cup of their white bean soup. I ordered an unsweetened Ice tea with lemon. To avoid taking in too much sodium i ate my soup with a fork so the broth was left behind.
After a twelve hour drive we stopped in Nashville for the night. My dad didn’t want to be tired when we arrived to Florida. I had brought in a change of clothes, tennis shoes and my food cooler. Here is where I added fresh Ice to my cooler. When I woke up in the morning I did a fast 45 minutes work out in the fitness room, and went to breakfast. The hotel offered boiled eggs, fresh fruit and oatmeal. This helped me stay on track. I grabbed a few extra apples and oatmeal packets to take on the road too shhhhh:) I made sure to repack my cooler and add fresh ice and was ready to hit the road!
Around 12 everyone in the car were grouchy, tired, and hungry! I wanted to stay healthy so I convinced everyone to avoid a greasy fast food joint and to settle for a healthy sandwich or salad at subway. I ordered a 6 inch turkey sub on honey oat with all veggies and yellow mustard. I split the sub with my mom and at an apple for my side. I ate just enough to get me until happy hour at the hotel.
About 5 hours later we had made it to Florida! After being in 39 degree weather back at home I was so excited!!! We checked into another Embassy Suits in Destin.
The hotel was absolutely beautiful and such a blast! It was located right on the beach, right next to the grocery store and the outlet mall! It had Morning breakfast provided, also 5pm Happy hour with appetizers a pool and a 24 hour fitness room. (no excuse not to work out)
It was 5pm but that didn’t matter! I was craving the beach! I hurried to the room and through on a bikini and went down to walk the beach with Karlee. We spent an hour or so walking the beach miles down and back. We knew we had to go out for dinner with the family so we got in a little extra workout.
Dinner time! I want to keep my food light and healthy because I know that tomorrow I’ll be on the beach and I want to stay healthy and not bloated. We decided to eat at Carrabba’s Italian Restaurant fortunately on their website it gave nutritional information to help me make up my mind. I ordered no noodle chicken soup (77 calories, 1g carb 14g protein) house salad with fat free Italian on the side with grilled shrimp (145 calories) Grilled Mixed Veggies (50 calories) Carrabba’s serve Bread and Oil before dinner ask for a small house salad to come out early so you can munch on a healthy appetizer while everyone indulges in bread. My Family ordered Breaded Calamari as an appetizer and I ate my salad instead. At the End of the dinner we all decided to split a desert. They Ordered the Dessert Rosa (404 calories) My trick was to wait until everyone was finished demolishing this delicious desert and stealing the last bite. That way I couldn’t keep digging in since there was none left. The Restaurant was about a half mile away from the hotel. Even though I didn’t stuff myself or overeat I wanted to walk home so my food could start to digest before going to bed.
Take advantage of the Hotel fridge! You will save yourself lots of money and lots of lbs. Fill it up with fresh fruits, salads, healthy lunch meats, vegetables, salsa, etc. Just because you are in a hotel doesn’t mean you cant eat as healthy as you would at home. If your hotel doesn’t provide a breakfast bring instant oatmeal packets and grapefruits.
The hotel had and amazing 24 hour gym! I woke up around 7 am and hit the gym for an hour. I walked/ ran on the treadmill for a good 30 minutes then did some strength training on the mats.
After a good morning work out I went back up to the room to shower off then headed downstairs for breakfast. The hotel provided a breakfast buffet and they had a chef for the omelet bar. I wanted to still focus on starting my day with a healthy breakfast so I talked to the chef and let him know I was going to be staying for 8 days and that I eat boiled eggs every morning so if he wouldn’t mind making them for me. He had absolutely no problem with that(of course I tipped him) I brought down my sugar free syrup and sugar free coffee creamer from the room and started my morning off with 3 egg whites, a packet of oatmeal , and a grapefruit. The Buffet had a huge basket full of fruit so after every morning breakfast I grabbed several apples, melons, and Florida oranges to pack into the beach cooler! The breakfast buffet of coarse had bacon, sausage, hash browns, donuts, sugary cereal, pastries, muffins, granola, sugary yogurt, sugary juice. These are the foods I avoided as much as possible. The best choice of cereal was the cheerios and skim milk. I still stuck to oatmeal to start my day off right.
I kept ingredients to make my own fresh salads for lunches or dinners in the hotel fridge to save me money and keep me on track.
Remember to stay away from the beach and pool concession stands! 95 Percent of their foods are full of fats, sodium and processed. It’s very important to pack your own meals and snacks.
Spending the day at the beach can be VERY tiring and work up a huge appetite! My mom and I went to the grocery store before the beach and packed our basket and cooler with…..
Fresh Fruit cups. This was a healthy way to stay hydrated and keep full.
Air popped popcorn!
Celery with raisins and a small amount of peanut butter! This gave lots of energy and a bit of protein.
My brother is really good at making sushi and he is a vegetarian so he and his girlfriend Karlee made sushi raps and packed them up for our beach lunch one of the days.
We packed cucumber slices and fat free hummus as well.
One late night on the beach we brought Sweet corn from Iowa to grill. It was absolutely delicious. I sprayed mine is 5 calorie butter.
The Sunset was absolutely gorgeous by the fire!
Eat before you get too hungry.
When you feel hungry, naturally you’re vulnerable to eating whatever you can get your hands on. Plan to have your snacks handy.
I spent my time on the beach to burn extra calories. I played Frisbee and other beach games with my family for hours! I definitely worked up a sweat and worked on my suntan!
Karlee and I used our creative skills to build sand people (Very Appropriate I Know:) BUT! Believe it or not we were burning lots of calories buy using our arm muscles to build and dig and carry the sand.
Karlee , my brother and I spent hours walked up and down the beach digging for sea shells. This definitely wore me out! If this didn’t burn calories then I’d be shocked. We found lots of pretty sea shells and lots of cute boys:) Not that they cared any.
Joining or starting a game of beach volleyball allowed us to meet lots of new people, stay active and of coarse have fun!
I took plenty of long walks on the boardwalk. It was so peaceful and beautiful in the morning. The last night I was there I ended up seeing a pool of dolphins jumping in the sunlight. I felt like I was on a movie set.
The second night after we spent the day at the beach we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe! I ordered a Ceasar salad without dressing and Fat Free Italian on the side, No Cheese, no bacon, added onion, peppers, cucumbers. (Originally 604 calories, but since I customized it It was only 144 calories) My family Ordered the Brushetta as an appetizer and I ate a half of one of the slices (45 calories) My brother ordered the All Natural Veggie Burger/without mayo or a bun (170 calories) It was delicious.
In Destin I officially found my absolute favorite place! 32 Degrees!!!! It was like a healthy dream! They had so many flavors of frozen yogurt. It tasted EXACTLY like ice cream. OH and did I mention most of the ice cream was fat free and sugar free and if not that it was low in fat. The flavors were endless and so creative. The first night I had the Sugar Free/Fat Free Strawberry (64 Calories a cup). I topped it with all different kinds of fruits and I snuck in a couple chocolate chips. My brother loaded his with all the toppings he could. They had more toppings than you could imagine. From pop-tarts to cereal! It was nuts! I think every town should have one of these!!
Several of the mornings after I worked out in the gym I went down to the beach to do yoga! It was sooo peaceful. If I lived by the beach I would do this EVERY morning. I plan on doing that this summer.
Of coarse taking runs on the beach was always fun! It really worked the calves and gave me a break from the normal activity in the gym. This also helped me get a nice tan. The best part was if I was all hot I could just jump into the ocean!
Destin Florida had a huge shopping center. Karlee and I left the car back at the hotel and walked to the shopping center around the stores and back. This was a fun way to stay active without realizing it.
The Embassy Suits offers a free 5-7 happy hour with appetizers. I always took advantage of the free fruit and chex mix and veggies. I ate tons before going to to dinner with my family.
The third night we decided to try out the famous Pompanos Joes! They are known for the best seafood in Destin! I didn’t want to deprive myself from that so my mom decided to split a meal in half with me! This way it also splits the calories. We ordered 1/2 lb snow crab legs with rice, beans, side salad , grilled veggies and hush-puppies. The meal all together is a total of 705 calories. Since we had split it up I ended up eating around 350 calories and felt completely stuffed! It was definitely a treat!
Karlee and I decided to take a surf lesson. We were constantly trying to find ways to stay active since we were eating more than usual.
Winn Dixie grocery store was right up the road. One of the nights my family wanted to go out for pizza and drinks. I wasn’t feeling up to it so I decided to stay behind and I walked a half mile up the road and bought fresh Italian blend lettuce, onions, fat free dressing, fresh shrimp and apples. I went back to the hotel and Made myself a nice fresh dinner. I even had left overs for the next day’s lunch.
The weather was so nice during the days that I decided to take advantage of the outdoor swimming pool and swim laps. It’s one of the best exercises for your body.
Being on vacation can make our sodium intake rise from all the restaurant and processed foods. Drinking water to flush out the sodium and to stay hydrated is very important while trying to lose weight. Take water everywhere you go, and also order it in every restaurant you eat at. 
Many nights I would get the munchies and feel like eating everything in site. So I would use the paper bag i brought fill it up with popcorn kernels and tape the edges. I microwaved for about 2 minutes and added sweetener and raisins. This is a must for hotel stays.
I kept Chobani Yogurt in the hotel fridge that I had brought from home for a high protein snack. I usually ate one with fruit and salad for my lunches.
Splitting your meals and desserts saved me money and calories! I usually am full when I am half way through a meal but continue to eat just because it’s in front of me! My mom loves to share meals with me because she likes the concept of saving money and reducing calories as well! Restaurants tend to serve portions that are way to large!
I made a huge jar of homemade salsa to flavor my salads eat with pretzels on the trip. I stayed away from the fat filled sauces at restaurants and from the grocery stores.
Our friends visited us from Pensacola and we all decided to go to Olive Garden for a nice sit down dinner. Olive Garden is full of sodium and processed foods so its VERY hard to stay healthy. I Ordered the soup and salad deal. The minestrone soup is 100 calories and I ate it with a fork to reduce the sodium in the broth. I also ordered a salad without the croutons and cheese and dressing on the side. This saved me a total of 460 calories. I was also stuffed at the end of the meal. It’s VERY hard to say no to the yummy bread sticks but its a must!\
We decided to go to the Gulf Breeze Zoo! There are absolutely no food or drinks aloud brought into the park. It was hard trying to find something healthy but I ended up buying a large unsweetened ice tea, banana and a bag of pretzels to keep me until dinner. Walking the zoo definitely was a great work out.
I took my favorite magazines to the beach to keep me occupied so I wasn’t munching on unnecessary foods.
My family are huge seafood fans so we ate at Poppy’s Hammerheads Bar and Grille. I ordered the Garden Salad with fat free italian dressing (140 calories) and then ordered a cup of black bean soup (78 calories)
Okay so whats spring break without going to a club and dancing the night away!? All I had to do was stay hydrated on water and skip out on the alcohol. Tc and Karlee sipped on amaretto a low fat liquor all night! We danced until we were drenched with sweat! Gross I know! haha
The trip was filled with restaurants which if you don’t dine smart can be a disaster and take a huge slump in your diet habits. We ate here at the Marina Cafe the last night we stayed and I ordered a Specialty Salad Romaine, cucumbers, red bell pepper, radishes, grape tomatoes, ginger vinaigrette (210 calories) I ate a very low calorie meal because we were hitting up 32 degrees yogurt bar for one more indulgence:)
There were many nights when my family wanted to go out for ice cream. I didn’t want to deprive myself so I went along and made sure to ask about their nutrition because most of the time the workers know which ice cream is low in fat or low in sugar. Also instead of using a cone ask for a small cup with only one scoop. Also sharing can reduce calories and allow you to eat just enough to take care of that sweet tooth.
Don’t over eat.
Just because you are on vacation does not mean that you have to gorge yourself. Get something good but don’t overdue it.
Order food that is grilled.
Instead of eating fried chicken, order the grilled. This will usually cut the calories in half.
Eat healthy sides.
Substitute your french fries for apple slices. Or have carrot sticks instead of mash potatoes. There are usually healthier choices than ones that normally come with the entree.
Even though you are on vacation sleep is still very necessary and important. It helps your appetite and strength! Vacation activities can take lots of energy and if your body doesn’t restore itself through sleep it will restore itself through food causing you to be hungry. 
Walk, rather than drive, and give yourself a vacation from the car. If you stay at a hotel, ask the staff for a map of the area. They can often recommend scenic walks or nearby attractions that you can reach on foot. When you walk rather than drive, you will get to see a different side of your destination. Going out to eat will have a built-in workout. And walking with your friends and family can give you time to bond and exercise. Be sure to bring comfortable shoes and socks.
Well after 8 days I was so sad to leave! I had the most amazing time in Florida! It’s a wonderful place!
The last night I made a trip up to Winn Dixie and bought some healthy food for the car ride home.
Before we hit the road i made sure to have a big healthy breakfast full of fruit and high energy food. I also snagged some fruit from the buffet for the trip ride home to save me money. Shhhhhhh:)
For lunch on the car ride home my family stopped at a gas station and bought their foods to eat and I stuck with Fresh Strawberries, Chobani, and Granola.
I also snacked on my fruits and veggies when I felt hungry in between meals.
For dinner my brother wanted to stop off and get a cheese and bean burrito at taco bell. Since I know taco bell would wreck my healthy eating pattern I packed a peanut butter and banana sandwich for dinner. I ate some celery and trail mix as well. Even though we were in the car I continued to drink plenty of water to make sure I was hydrated and cleansing my body from all the sodium I had taken in earlier that week.
We drove straight through the night instead of stopping. 3 am and we had returned to Iowa. How depressing…………
Well it’s the day after Vacation. It’s 9am I just woke up and am about to step on the scale. I hope all this hard work in planning paid off. Vacation was fun even if I didn’t lose weight or even if I gained weight. But here it goes……..
Even though I was eating more than normal I ended up losing weight! See all does pay off in the end with a little hard work!!!
I hope this guide will help you stay healthy on your next vacations!!!:)
—————————————————————————————-
Since I will be on the road for about 22 Hours on my way to NY I just bought some Fruit/Veggie wash for the car! That way I can attempt to clean off some gas stations fruit!
When you are hanging out at the hotel eating seems like a good boredom cure! Before you go crazy on the snacks try to relax with a cup of hot tea. For hot water I used the hotel’s Styrofoam cups and microwaved them. Tea packets are easy to keep with you.
Making a big bowl of salad can get messy for traveling so I brought a purchased bag of lettuce and cut the bag from the side. No dishes and No Messes.
We stopped at Wendy’s for lunch. I ordered a Side Caesar Salad with/out Cheese and Fat Free French on the side. Since I was there I asked for a couple extra packets of dressing for the car ride later or for the hotel room.
Of course my favorite low calorie snack. Jello and Carrots. I made a small container the night before and put it in the cooler for the trip.
With that same bowl I used earlier for my jello I added raw carrot chips and a packet of sugar free jello (Strawberry). It was a yummy snack and allowed me to reuse a container.
