Fitness and Health - One Day at a Time

Eating Healthy on Vacation

Well I just took a golf trip to South Carolina with three friends. Needless to say, my lifestyle of eating healthy on vacation was not viewed the same by my friends. Instead of forcing my friends to follow my guidelines of eating healthy, I adjusted my eating habits to where they wanted to go out to eat. Eating healthy on vacation was a challenge, but I did manage with a little help from previous posts that I had made.

Eating Healthy on Vacation – Fast Food Restaurants
We were generally in a hurry on our way to the golf courses so we ended up frequenting several fast food restaurants. By following the Eating Healthy a Fast Food Nutrition Guide post that I made on 3/6/06 I made our visit to McDonalds and Taco Bell into a healthy meal. I ordered a premium grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad with water at McDonalds. When we stopped at Taco Bell I had two fiesta chicken burritos with a glass of water. So I survived the fast food restaurants by following my Eating Healthy a Fast Food Nutrition Guide post. But how would I fare at the traditional sit down restaurant?

Eating Healthy on Vacation – Sit Down Restaurants
Dick’s Last Resort was the restaurant we choose to eat at the first night we were in town. It was actually quite entertaining as the theme was the waiters gave you attitude and were rude to you the whole time you were there. I know you’re thinking that this does not sound like a good place to eat, but it was actually quite entertaining. Well to survive Dick’s Last resort I used the List of High Protein Foods post that I had made earlier in the month that gives you lots of options on eating healthy that include a substantial amount of protein but are low in fat and calories. The only option on the menu that worked for me was the baked salmon with a side of rice and a side salad to replace the traditional fries that originally came with the meal. Throughout the rest of the trip we ate at other local restaurants where I again had to utilize the List of High Protein Foods that were low in fat and calories to assist me in eating healthy on vacation.

Eating Healthy on Vacation – Eating Five to Six Meals a Day
Normally I am accustomed to eating five to six meals a day. This would be hard for me to do since most people, including my friends are used to eating the basic three big square meals a day. I figured this would happen to me while on vacation so I again utilized a previous post, Meal Replacement Shakes and Bars to assist me in getting the five or six meals a day that I was used to in my diet. In my conclusion of the Meal Replacement Shakes and Bars post, I opted for the protein shakes based on price and convenience. However, I did not feel this would work for me on vacation because I needed a protein shaker that would have to be cleaned after each use and access to water or milk to mix my protein shakes. Instead I opted to bring with me a case (12) of meal replacement bars from Myoplex that I had purchase for $15.00 at a local Vitamin World. I could have one of these bars after breakfast during golf to keep me from pigging out at the restaurant we would stop at when we were done golfing. Having a meal replacement protein bar about two to three hours after we were done eating would also hold me off again until we went out to eat later that night.

Using those previous posts enabled me to eat healthy while on vacation. If this post was helpful let me know and I will comment on how I got in my daily exercise and workouts while on vacation as well.

posted by Oshburg @ Wednesday, March 29, 2006