Has your summer been a vacation from healthy eating?  Let’s face it, there are no vacations from waistline management.   Healthful eating is a full-time job – when we snooze on the job, guess what happens?  We miss out on vital nutrients, overeat too many unnecessary calories and wind up with love handles (as my husband affectionately calls it “back bacon”).  So steering a healthy ship  requires proper fuel and a good course.  A plan does help, but this does not mean that your can’t let the wind guide your sails a bit (especially when you visiting family, friends or in another country).  With a decent working knowledge of what you’re eating for the day and overall calorie and activity level to work with, you will do fine.   

Plan the course of your day:

  • Do not skip breakfast — enjoy fruit, a whole grain and some protein (i.e., low-fat yogurt, skim milk or an egg) 
  • Fill up on veggies at snacks and lunch.  Bring baby carrots,  edamame and cut up peppers for snacks and have a protein-packed salad at lunch.
  • Eat often, but not much.  It’ s ok to eat every 2  -3 hours as long as you’ve got a calorie plan (100 – 150 calorie snacks) and meals range from 300, 400,  500 calories for breakfast, lunch, dinner, respectively. 
  • Sip green tea throughout the day  – it’s great to assuaging your appetite and getting in the health-promoting polyphenols, too.
  • Design your life around activity — schedule in regular walks, visits to the gym and/or exercise videos…it will do wonders for your metabolism  and mood.

All of this adds up to total wellness.  So, with the fal season returning – you’ll fit nicely into last year’s clothes without a problem!

What’s your secret to keeping the pounds at bay when the world is in vacation mode?  I’d love to know…