Holidays and visiting people can be tough! Not only the travelling part, but once you get there, there are so many temptations and disruptions to your normal schedule! There's a lot of planning and participation in the meal preparation that is necessary for making it through visits and holidays unscathed.
I managed to make it through the holidays this year not only without gaining weight, but with actually losing weight! In my life, that is completely unheard of. So, I'm going to tell you what I did to help ensure myself that.
Nothing crazy. Just small changes, and conscious activities that made my recent trip home more survivable.
First things first...
Don't make excuses before your vacation starts. What do I mean by that?
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| PLAN AHEAD - Pre-airport workout |
I didn't leave for the airport until 1:30 pm before my holiday started. I could VERY easily have lounged around all day, lazing away my last afternoon before I flew home. But instead...I got my workout in! Not just one workout, but two! Insanity Max 30 and Dirty 30... It burned sooooo good!! haha
Next, the airport...
We all know that there are abundant temptations at the airport! You could very easily enjoy some fast food, a burger, too many drinks...etc. But, instead, you could continue your healthy trend!
I believe that if you're consciously looking for healthy options for yourself, then you will find them. No matter where you are! Including the airport! I got this delicious greek salad with grilled chicken and tons of vegetables at a SPORTS BAR. Do you see what I mean? I found the options that had grilled meat, chose the salad that had the least amount of unhealthy add-ons, and had a vinaigrette dressing that I asked for on the side! I ate the whole thing and it held me over for the rest of my travel day! Talk about healthy eats! :-)
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| Greek salad at the aiport |
When I finally arrived at my parents house for the holidays, one of the first things I did was ask my mom when she was going grocery shopping. Now, my parents eat pretty fricken healthy and they're very supportive of the new lifestyle I have adopted. I totally understand that sometimes it's not that easy for people, but you can make every effort to ensure that you have the healthiest possible things available to you. So, I helped my mom write the grocery list and then went shopping with her! We got tons of yummy things that fit right into my eating plan and diet, and...I threw in a little treat for them too...which I'll get to in a bit.
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| Mom and my trip to the grocery store the day after I got back from school! |
Something else you can do...either by yourself or with a fellow active friend...is to get outside and do something active! Instead of meeting up for drinks or dinner ever single time you meet up with someone, get outside!
I was able to spend a lot of time this holiday with a good friend of mine from high school--Rachel! And she took me on one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on to Rattlesnake Ridge! I don't know if I can really put into words how amazing this was, other than to just show you some pictures!
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| At the first viewpoint |
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| My awesome hiking buddy |
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| Lookout from third viewpoint--Sooo beautiful! |
Fit Friends are the best! Thanks again, Rachel!
Now Christmas inevitably means lots of goodies, snacking, treats, and BIG DINNERS. Now, I'm not about to tell you don't enjoy these things. I certainly did. But one thing you can do to put yourself in a good position is to portion your dinner properly! Check this out - I snapped a pic of my Christmas Eve dinner because I was SUPER proud of myself! Not only was the dinner healthy (bravo mom and grandma), but I loaded my plate up with vegetables, and ate less of the carbs! I even went back for seconds on the salad! I call that a win!
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| Christmas Eve dinner meant lots of SALAD, wild rice, cornish game hens, and family to open presents with! |
Now, I kind of teased you before with what extra little things you can do to really help yourself maintain healthy habits. Do you know what that is?? COOK! Cooking for your family is not only a great way to maintain your healthy lifestyle, but it also introduces them to the lifestyle and takes a little bit of the cooking pressure off of them! Sweet deal, right?!
We're a super Italian family - so my dad and I made our family favorite kashkatelles! Not the healthiest thing in the world, but AMAZING!
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| Family favorite - Kaskatelles from Great Grandma Noni's cookbook |
I also had my parents help me pick out two recipes that they wanted to try! Basically, I let them choose from a number. But ultimately they ended up choosing some of my absolute favorites that I'm sure you recognize!
First time I cooked, we made Paleo Phad Thai, which you know I've featured before! My parents had actually never had spaghetti squash, so not only was this a great opportunity to make them one of my favorite recipes, but also to introduce them to a new food!
And I don't know everyone...I don't know if they liked it...haha
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| Paleo Phad Thai - my parents devoured this recipe! :-) This is just the chicken with the cabbage mixture (I use cole slaw mix) |
I also made another recipe, which I'll share in the next post! :-)
The holidays, and trips home on vacation, are totally survivable from the perspective of maintaining your progress! Make small switches...and be consistent in those things! Don't get lazy and continue to be conscious and as healthy as possible on your next trip or over your next holiday and I promise you'll maintain what you've worked so hard for!
Until next time,
