I am sitting inside Timberline Lodge, Mt Hood, OR a mere few hours before we will pack our bags and start our final trek back to our home of Wenatchee, WA after two weeks of Travel! I have been thinking about what went well and what could have gone better during our trip. I find that vacations just like the rest of life are experiences that we are always trying to refine and “do better” the next time around. The purpose of this blog is to tell you tips and tricks of what to eat and feel healthy while also balancing a healthy lifestyle with indulging a little more than usual.
I have been working my Detox program, 28 Day Pandemic Detox that I will launch soon! It encompasses eating a vegan diet that also excludes meat, dairy, processed foods, gluten, refined sugars, and alcohol for a month! I held out strong and completed over 40 days of this pretty strict diet that helped me loose 6 lbs, have glowing skin and feel more energetic and positive than I have in a long time. My neighbor commented the day I left for my trip, “Ashley you look so good, what have you been doing?” I replied, “I have been eating more veggies and exercising more!”
Despite having accomplished a lot of health feats in my past including losing a total of 30 pounds in my 20’s and keeping it off, traveling is a whole other beast to conquer when it comes to good health. The worst part about vacation is feeling like you reversed all hard work you put in to lose weight before vacation. Here are a few tips that helped me along the way to feel healthy, but also “let loose,” and enjoy some of life’s pleasures during vacation!
1. Buy groceries for breakfast and lunch
I know this one may seem like a drag but eating out for every meal gets old anyways. On my recent road trip my husband and I brought oatmeal, almond butter, and berries for breakfast. When we woke up at our camping area we made some warm coffee and oatmeal to start the day. We would go off to a morning hike, long boarding down a paved trail, or paddle board in a lake. About 1pm we would make a giant salad with kale, tomatoes, cucumber, and some lemon and hummus for flavor. This would fill me up usually until dinner around 5pm or 6pm and then we would find a fun restaurant to eat a moderate meal. Yes, we did have a van with a Yeti cooler and camp stove top to store and cook our food, but most hotels come with refrigerators to cool your perishables and sometimes come with kitchenettes to cook your food. Look for hotel rooms or Airbnb’s that have a small kitchenette.
2. Look up restaurants online that have the word ORGANIC in it
Each time we would approach a new town I would look at google maps for the word organic and we would find some of the tastiest and most interesting restaurants. In Reno, NV I ate a delicious veggie wrap and a few fries at an organic Gastro Pub, in Bend I ate a vegan breakfast burrito at an organic breakfast restaurant, and in Lake Tahoe I ate tacos at an organic tapas restaurant. Also, never feel bad about looking at a menu before you get seated at a restaurant because I have often succumbed to purchasing food and prices at a restaurant less than satisfied with.
3. Have healthy snacks on hand
For me I had an apples, rice cakes with no additives, water, kombucha, and sparkling water on hand or I would run into a grocery store to grab these items. When we drove through California I picked up organic fruits and raw nuts and seeds on the roadside fruit markets! The snacks are fulfilling and the experience of acquiring the fruits and veggies are fun!
4. Keep up your healthy routines
On days that we would drive most of the day I would run 20-30 minutes before we would leave, or we would stop somewhere for an hour to get exercise like a skate park. Also, I slept more and better when I would do 20 minutes of yoga before bed and wake up with a 10-minute meditation. These activities would make me feel so much more grounded and clear minded which is highly needed on a vacation!
5. Splurge but get back on track!
I followed these tips and tricks for the first week of our vacation really well, but as soon as my hormones shifted, and I was having more cravings I started to eat more sugar like an ice cream cookie at Yosemite or wine with family in Santa Cruz. Currently, I am staying at a famous ski lodge that offers very little greens and fruits in their meals. If you want to have a beer or overeat let yourself do it and enjoy it, but don’t feel like you have to eat like this for the rest of your vacation. Remember your bigger goals and how good you want to feel and look when you return home. Get back to eating your fruits and veggies, exercising, and healthy routines. Your mind, body and soul will thank you when you return home
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