Balance in the Capital
The whole healthy living plan gets significantly more difficult when traveling… especially when celebrating. But thankfully all that accountability of the Get Well Challenge helped me at least attempt to stay on track!
I was a little disconnected over the weekend since I didn’t bring my laptop with me, but I have to admit, it’s kind of nice to spend a few days away from the computer. I spent the past weekend in DC celebrating Lindsay’s birthday, and we managed to squeeze a lot of activity into the weekend.
I’ve seen three types of eating strategies for traveling:
1. The “I’m-on-vacation-so-I’m-breaking-all-the-[imaginary]-rules“. This is the type of trip where you eat until you’re sick and you tell yourself that the diet will start as soon as you get home. You literally just eat because you “can”, not because you really want something.
2. The “I’m-not-going-to-have-any-fun” where you literally can’t relax. “Sorry guys, no wine for me, I’m taking an 18 mile jog tomorrow!” Even if you do taste some amazing local cuisine, you can’t enjoy it because it’s not “healthy” and wasn’t on your “plan” for the trip.
3. The “I’m-going-to-enjoy-everything-in-moderation” is the one I’ve really worked towards. It is possible to have fun, relax, enjoy food and drinks, without ruining any progress you’ve made. It’s about making trade offs and truly enjoying the splurging.
How does #3 actually look?
I enjoyed plenty of wine and good food, but I only ate what I really wanted. It meant I got a light salad rather than a sandwich because I knew there would be pizza later. And that jumbo slice? of course it was delicious but split with Lindsay, I didn’t spend the walk home feeling like I was sick! Have you ever had an “unwich” from Jimmy Johns? It’s basically a sub wrapped in lettuce instead of bread. They’re delicious! It’s little swaps like that which can really add up!
We also decided to plenty of active things to do. I might not have gotten in a run over the weekend, but we went on a long bike ride around the city, walked around downtown, and spent an afternoon picking apples. Even unofficial exercise still counts as exercise! This weekend gave me a chance to work on the calorie counting while still making room for the things I loved!
I’m heading to New York City later this week, so hopefully I can continue a balanced approach!
I like this post. It’s a no brainier for me. I’d go with option 3 because that’s how I eat now, and I love it. I feel crappy when I over indulge or make the wrong choices repeatedly, so that’s certainly not how I want to feel on vacation.
Great post, Liz! We travel a lot and it’s all by car. I’m always struggling with this issue. As long as we keep trying, right?!?!
Option #3, for sure!!!
That’s pretty much the plan I stuck to throughout our honeymoon. After three weeks on the road, I didn’t end up gaining any weight despite the ‘not so normal’ food choices. I tried to stay as active as possible and didn’t beat myself up for eating unhealthy because I tried to do it in moderation 🙂
DC is one of my favorite towns – I go there often for work. I always take time to walk or run through the sites.
I definitely relax the “rules” when on vacation, but do still try to make good choices when I can, and indulge when I want to. It definitely is hard to keep that balance, but you’ve gotta enjoy it all too 🙂