Nutrition Hacks While On Vacation

Don’t let your diet ruin your vacation. Plan accordingly.

Depending on the length and location of your vacation, there are a couple things you can do to quickly turn your nutrition on the road from detrimental to advantageous.

Hack #1: Get to the Grocery Store

Many hotels have a fridge and a microwave, and if you’re not sure, just ask! IFBB Pro and fitness model Steve Cook recently uploaded a video of him showing how the hotel he was staying at brought up a microwave to his room for no charge, offering this as a tip to fitness individuals who travel frequently.

Stocking up on certain items at the store to bring back to your hotel will help keep you from making any decisions you might regret in the morning, like hitting up a convenient, yet greasy, drive-thru window.

Not only does a grocery store allow you to take control of your macro and micronutrient intake, it can also be relatively easy on the wallet, giving you more bang for your buck.

Hack #2: Use Your Smart Phone

There are hundreds of apps that can help you count calories, macros and exercise.

There are several successful smart phone applications that you can use to help you on your quest to eat healthy, tasty food on the road.

Apps like MyFitnessPal allow you to track what you eat during the day so you can monitor your calorie intake. Especially considering that many people underestimate how many calories are actually in their food, apps like this are extremely handy and should help you make better food choices.

If you want to have a night out on the town and dine at some local eats, you can use apps like GoodFoodNearYou and Urbanspoon to check out information about the restaurant as well as read up on the menu so you can make healthier decisions. HealthyOut is yet another app you can use to locate healthy restaurants and already prepared meals at grocery stores.

Whether you’re standing in the hotel breakfast line, eyeing a restaurant menu, or strolling down the aisles of the grocery store, protein is always a great go-to option.

Protein will help repair muscles and is also known to support satiety and help regulate several weight-loss factors.1

Here’s a quick look at some high-protein foods that you can snack on throughout the day or throw into your meals while on the road:

Hack #4: Drink Water, Not Calories

If eating healthy meals is one of your goals while enjoying your vacation, don’t end up drinking your calories.

Water has so many benefits for your general health, make sure you are always drinking enough.

You’d be surprised how many calories are in a 12 oz. can of soda, juice, or other sugary beverages. Drinking a couple glasses can quickly add up and put you over your calorie goals, so sticking to water is your best bet.

Drinking water throughout the day is also a good idea because oftentimes, you may be mistaking hunger for thirst. By staying hydrated throughout the day, you’ll be able to prevent unwanted snacking so that you can get most of your calories from the meals you want.

Hack #5: Meal Prep

Depending on the logistics of your vacation and travel, meal prepping is an excellent option to stay on track. Though it may not be the most convenient option – as it definitely requires some preparation and more thought than these other hacks—the benefits definitely outweigh any negatives.

While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying yourself on vacation and occasionally indulging, having a couple meals prepped in the fridge is a super convenient way to get the right amount of macronutrients throughout the day. There are several meal prep bags that make bringing multiple meals on the road easy, and you’ll be glad to have them when other healthy options are out of reach.

Enjoy Your Vacation & Balance Your Goals

There’s no reason you can’t have a great vacation and still keep up with your nutrition goals, whatever they may be. From weight-loss or maintenance to bulking up, you can put these nutrition hacks into practice to keep the results coming.

So keep these hacks in mind the next time you travel. Do you have any other nutritional hacks that you use while on vacation? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

10 Best Protein Bars

There are a lot of protein bars on the market. We dug through them all to find which bars were the best,

See Which Protein Bars Are The Best »

Exercise Snacks: Treat Your Exercise Like You Treat Your Food

See the benefits of exercise snacking

Learn more about exercise snaking »

Protein Recipes That Actually Taste Good

Protein is the key nutrient for building muscle hitting your daily protein goals without overloading on fat or carbs can be a challenge, especially if you want something delicious.

See Some Delicious Protein Recipes »

Infused Water For Weight Loss

Summer is finally upon us, which means the season of bikini bodies is officially here. Can drinking fruit infused water help shed fat?

Read More About Infused Water »

Stefan R. Wilson is a marketing professional, as well as a freelance author for nutritional supplements. He is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah and holds a BS from Brigham Young University. Stefan's expertise resides in the field of supplements to be used by athletes and bodybuilders while training.

Follow @stefrwilson

 Follow on GooglePlus

REFERENCES

1. Douglas Paddon-Jones, et al. Protein, weight management, and satiety. Am J Clin Nutr May 2008 vol. 87 no. 5 1558S-1561S.