Last week my family took a trip to Washington D.C. One of the things that concerned me was having my fitness routine disrupted. I know that vacations can really set you back.
One of the important things that you need to remember when taking a vacation is that the same rules apply. If you eat healthy at home you should eat healthy on vacation. If you exercise at home you should exercise on vacation. It may take some creativity to do this but for the most part, I believe it is possible.
I would love to say that I followed the same rules but I didn’t. It’s not that I overate. In fact, I probably ate less than usual because we were so busy. However what I did eat wasn’t the healthiest. Muffins from the hotel lobby, hotdogs from street vendors and usually fast food for dinner. Twice we had a sit down meal in a restaurant. Instead of choosing something healthy I went for the fried chicken tacos at one restaurant and a hearty breakfast at another.
Obviously I didn’t practice what I preach. However exercise was something I was forced to do. Getting around D.C. requires a lot of walking. In fact so much walking that at the end of the day my legs were cramped and my feet were throbbing.
I still wasn’t sure what was going to happen when I stepped on my Wii Fit Plus balance board when I returned home. I was a tad worried. It has a tendency to be a little too honest.
However I was pleasantly surprised to see that I actually lost about a pound and a half. I guess the walking burned the calories I ate. It made me realize that if I had really tried to eat healthier I would have had even better results.
Maintaining fitness on vacation means enjoying your time away but keeping within the new lifestyle you have adopted. Fitness really should be a lifestyle, not something you do once-in-a-while. So if that is the case then you need to take advantage of every opportunity that you can.
It might mean utilizing a hotel’s workout room or swimming some laps in the pool. It may mean taking a walk or foregoing the escalator, elevator, bus or whatever you can to get in some extra steps.
I will admit this isn’t easy. The temptation to just let loose is there. However it’s very discouraging to come back from a vacation and feel like you have to start all over again. Thankfully my balance board didn’t scream at me for not being on it a few days. It did, of course, remind me that exercising everyday is important.
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