Ahhh, the sun, the sand, the bottomless drinks and all you can eat buffets!  Sounds like the perfect environment…for weight gain.

Many of my clients go away at some point over the course of the winter, and MOST come back feeling relaxed, refreshed, and very guilty!  Generally you tend to forget about your fitness goals when you go away, but you are reminded of them as soon as you step on the scale when you get back.  Even hitting the weights again can feel like starting from scratch and recovering from a workout can hurt just as much as day one.

So how do you survive such a trip with minimal impact on your body and psyche yet still enjoy yourself? I will provide a few tips that should help you go away, enjoy yourself and come back with no regrets.

First off lets cover your eating habits while away.  Most resorts will have food available around the clock, which makes it easy to stick to meal frequency rules.  You should be eating every three hours you are awake, this will keep your metabolism elevated and prevent your body from slipping into famine mode. It is best to eat often, this way it will prevent you from gorging yourself on the three major meals a day.

If you have retained anything you read so far, you should know what to eat by now.  Just in case, I will give you a couple pointers. Focus on having a protein and carbohydrate with each meal, generally the fat will take care of itself when you are in a restaurant environment.  Look for lean meats, such as chicken breast, beef and pork tenderloin, and most seafood (generally the fat found in seafood is healthy).  As for carbohydrates, you can have vegetables, whole grains, and fibrous fruits. Try to stay away from refined carbohydrates found in bread, pasta and sweets.

For many it isn’t a holiday without a cold drink in your hand or if you are like me, a cold drink in each hand!  In a perfect world, you wouldn’t consume any alcohol as a couple drinks can put you in a catabolic phase for a few days.  You will also have a hard time controlling insulin levels consuming sugary drinks all day.  If you are going to be indulging, just make sure you stay hydrated by consuming a glass of water for each alcoholic beverage you consume.

Now lets discuss your activity level.  If you are like me the only time you will want to move is when you are getting another drink or going to eat.  I am lucky in one way, I have become addicted to working out and really miss it if I don’t for a couple days.  So I tend to hit the gym almost daily while away anyway.  However, studies have shown to maintain your present level of muscle mass you only have to train your muscles once per week.  This can all be done on one day if you wish or spread out.

You can go to the gym on your resort for 20 minutes three times over the course of the week and get the job done.  You can take an hour mid way through your week and hit the major muscle groups. For example, just focus on your legs, back and chest.  Perform two big basic movements, three sets each for your chest, back, hamstrings and quadriceps.  Shoot for concentric (when you lift the weight, or contract the muscle) failure by about the twelfth rep on each set.  This should be enough to keep all your muscles in good shape for the time being.

To help burn off some of the excess calories you are bound to ingest, try to stay active.  I know how nice it is to just lie there and soak up those rays but by just going for a walk along the beach in the morning or the evening you can burn some extra calories.  Making the most of your time by going on tours hiking or snorkelling will help burn some calories and keep you away from the buffets and bar a little longer.

Following these tips won’t impact your vacation too much and you will have an easier time getting back on track when you return. Then again, you could always throw caution to the wind and say to heck with it all and kick back and have a blast.  Just don’t come back and feel guilty when you find that you have gained ten pounds or moved up a pant size or two.