During holidays, it’s very tempting to forget about your diets and eat what your short-term cravings are telling you. This often results in consuming more fast food, more carbs, and more fats than you would at home.
We all want to return home feeling rejuvenated and refreshed from our holidays, so why would we make it so difficult to return to your food diet?
Healthy food on holidays can be as delicious as it is back home. It’s just the discipline that is hard to maintain on holidays. But trust us, it doesn’t have to be too difficult.
In this post, we share the 3 best tips that will make it a lot easier to keep eating healthy without having to make any sacrifices on your holiday. Even better, we give some tips to avoid those short-term food cravings that will make you feel less good afterward.
1. Say no to fast food at the airport
Access to food is limited at airports and travelers often end up paying high prices for unsatisfying and unhealthy food. That unsatisfying sandwich of $10, might help a bit to resolve your short-term cravings, but you will clearly know that you overpaid for that very average sandwich.
It’s actually a reason why many travelers end up at a Burger King or McDonald’s when spending time at the airport. It’s probably no one’s preferred choice, but at least you know what to expect for reasonable prices.
So how can we consume healthy & fresh food, without paying extraordinary prices?
To start with, eat a good healthy meal before you head to the airport.
Think of meals that include healthy fats like avocados. This not only provides me with a large supply of vitamins and nutrition for the day, it also takes away the hungry feeling for the largest part of the day.
Second, bring a few healthy granola or muesli bars. These are easy to fit in the hand luggage and give me enough energy to last for several more hours. Besides that, drink plenty of water. This helps you to stay fit and energized during the journey and also takes away the hungry feeling.
And last resort: Bring chewing gums. If your flight has almost reached the destination and you are becoming very hungry, chewing gum will help you to get through the last hour. It may sound silly, but at least you won’t have to buy that high-carb sandwich.
Make sure you treat yourself to a good meal once you arrive at your destination though!
2. Dine like a local and research healthy dishes in the country you are going to travel
Not all countries are known for healthy meals, but within each country, there will be a selection of healthy meals. Finding a healthy, and at the same time mouthwatering, curry in a country like Thailand won’t cost you much effort.
If you decide to spend your holidays in Greece it will be a slightly different story. You will need to search a bit further than the regular restaurant on the corner of the street. Most of the dishes on a restaurants’ menu are based on meat and don’t come with the vitamin-rich veggies you were craving for.
Nevertheless, do a bit of research and you will get to know the traditional Greek dish Moussaka is made from eggplant and often comes with many vegetables as a side dish.
3. Search on Google Maps for healthy restaurants
Back in the days, you would likely use a guidebook to show you the best restaurants in town. You would choose one of the few recommendations and cross your fingers they serve healthy food.
While some of us love to travel by using a guidebook, the advantages of using your phone to search for restaurants are undeniable. TripAdvisor can be a great source to start with, but to find the most healthy food options, use Google Maps.
Instead of just searching for the best restaurants, Google also allows you to use keywords like “healthy food”, “healthy meals” or “vegan”. Or even better, search for a specific meal like “Moussaka”. Google Maps does a fantastic job in showing those restaurants of which reviewers used these keywords to describe their meal.
Summing it up
Eating unhealthy for a couple of days doesn’t need to be a big deal. If you are going away for a 2-3 week holiday, it will be a different story though.
It takes 21 days to create a habit. And if you consume unhealthy food on a regular basis during your 3 week holiday, it won’t be easy to switch back to your healthy diet overnight.
Once your body adapts to this behaviour for a 2 or 3 week holiday, you are very likely to have some extra struggles when coming back home. With the tips shared above, it should be a lot easier to avoid those struggles from the beginning. And return back home like you hoped for.
Released from all the worries, rejuvenated and healthier than ever.
