How to Stay on Track on Vacation

We go on vacations, trips and family events, but how can you be sure that you are staying on track with your goals while not in your normal environment?

In this blog I broke down 3 parts that will help guide you through the trip so you can come back and still be moving towards your goals! Remember, these are just my suggestions, I am not telling you how to live on your vacation, but I am hoping this may help keep you focused and motivated. Make you think of things a little differently while away from your regular program!

Making a Plan

Before leaving for your trip no matter the reason, if you still want to be sure you are moving forward towards your goals you need to have a plan. What I suggest is to sit down and write out every day you will be there and make a list of 3 things for each day that you will do to continue to help make progress. Things that you already do at home but you will just be doing them somewhere else! For example 3 things that I do so you can get a idea are;

1. Drink water first thing when waking up (8-16 oz with my hotel breakfast).

2. Hit the hotel gym, go for a walk in a new place or do a quick workout in the Air B&B for at least 30 minutes before starting the day.

3. Choose a side at each meal that is veggie or fruit based and focus on quality protein.

Simple. Easy. Effective.

*Be Fit Tip: find a local hiking or walking trail, this way you can explore what the locals enjoy about nature in their area while also getting some movement in!*

Keeping it Simple

Nobody wants harsh restrictions on what is supposed to be a fun time, however, your habits and goals should be fun and something you want to continue to work towards. Keeping it simple and making choices that you can control is the important thing to focus on.

Ways you can be simple in your approach to vacation is easy;

-set yourself up for success: bring your favorite gym clothes so you want to go walk or exercise.

-hydrate, its okay to have fun but hydration is important both for the hangover and for the goal success.

-find simple movement during the time you are there, extra movement like walks on the beach, hitting a dance club and/or walking around the local mall or shopping center are easy ways to add extra movement.

-try going to bed at a reasonable hour too, rather than staying up until 1-2am every night, find a balance, maybe go out 2 of your 5 days there and 3 of those days you are in bed before midnight.

We want it to be as easy as we can make it, effortless and as fun as possible. These are things you hopefully already have as a habit in your daily life- so don't forget to make time for those habits when not at home.

Giving Yourself Grace

It will not be rainbows and sunshine the whole time, after all it you won't be able to control every single thing that happens. Give yourself a big heap of grace in the sense that you are repairing, resting and relaxing your heart and mind to go back to normal life. If you just implement the little things here and there on your vacation, you wont need to "get back on track" when you return home after!

Grace doesn't mean you completely abandon your habits and schedule and say "ope well I guess I'm on vacation so I can do what I want because of grace" (It does I guess but friends...) it actually means "I am going to try as hard as I can to stick to my routine and to my goals but if something happens that does not align with that, it is okay, I can always try again at the next meal, next day."

In all, you always have a choice, you get to choose everyday how you want things to go! Making it simple and easy for yourself means you don't have to think as much and get to just enjoy the trip! Make a plan, Keep it simple and Give yourself grace and you will have the most success!