As the holiday season is approaching,  traveling is in many peoples plans.  It is an amazing time of year where we spend quality time with friends and family!  There is no reason to fret!  You can travel and still stay on a program.  I am not telling you to travel and eat only chicken and green beans but if you are smart about it, there is no reason when you can’t share in quality food with your loved ones!  People tend to get scared with they travel out of their comfort zone, especially when the thought that there will be holiday food present.  It is hard enough to travel without the thought of holidays approaching but add holiday’s on top of it and people get really scared they will fall off their bandwagon and lose control!! Do not be scared!  It is possible, doable and can be done!
People tend to approach vacations, especially holiday traveling, in different ways, when it comes to eating. There are those that tell themselves, it is the holidays and I am on vacation so I am going to let go and eat everything adn anything my heart desires or there are those are super strict and wont stray an inch.  There are also travelers who many bend the rules slightly but still make the best decisions.  This is the type of traveler I am recommending.  If you are not in pre contest, there is NO reason to not allow yourself to indulge, here and there.  There is such thing as balance and that is what we are striving for here!  Balance!! Not only is it realistic to allow yourself to have a small treat here or there or have a little bit of grandma’s cooking but it is about life and eating, sharing and being involved in family traditions!
What I suggest is leave prepared.  Not saying you have to bring your entire meal plan for the whole time you are away but you do want to be prepared and allow for those moments you are starving and have nothing to eat.  The biggest problem is that we eat all the time and not everyone does.  You may be out last minute shopping and your relatives ate breakfast at 7:00am and are not planning to eat lunch until noontime, like a typical average individual.  Well, if you are on anytime of fitness program, you will be starving by 10 a.m., right?  You are at the shopping center and don’t have many options but you are starving!!! You can easily give into a starbucks muffin if you are not prepared.  You are prepared, you have your protein powder and almonds so you easily ask for water, mix up a shake and are good to go until lunchtime!  You made it work!! At lunch, you make smart choices, wherever your family decides to go… See again, I am not saying be extreme and have your chicken and veggies to eat during lunch, but be prepared in those times of emergencies.  This will do several things:
-keep your metabolism up
-still on your eating every 2-3 hour’s, like you do at home on your program
-allow you to not be absolutely ravenous come lunchtime where then you may eat anything and everything in site!
-allow you to keep a good attitude and stable blood sugar while you are out and about!  Nobody wants to be around a hungry one!!!  Not only are you looking out for yourself but everyone else too!!!
Another reason it is smart to travel with your essential’s is because peanut butter is not just peanut butter, rice cakes are not just rice cakes.  How many times do people tell you that they have the healthy food you eat and not to worry about a thing.   You get there and realize the peanut butter they bought you was JIFFY, the rice cakes are Cheese or loaded with sugar and the oatmeal is the kind sweetened with brown sugar.  Oh yes and the veggies they bought you are Carrots, Corn and Peas!! Does this sound familiar?? It is amazing what one thinks is healthy!! Of course you have probably been in these situations and don’t want to be rude so you just go with it but you are not mentally okay with it!! I have learned, it is best to be prepared!!! You can thank them and on the sly, whip out your oats and protein and you are good to go, everyone is happy! 🙂
Now the key is, if you make your smart choices and eat most of your meals clean and healthy, you are able to go with the flow in certain situations and especially let go a little bit for the holiday dinners.  For example, this would be how I would plan my day…
Meal 1: protein and oats (or egg whites, if they have eggs)
Meal 2: protein and rice cakes with peanut butter or almonds (while out and about)
Meal 3: Lunchtime– eating out or at home– Make smart choices i.e. Lean Protein, salad with dressing on the side, and if there is a clean carb, or if not, bypass the carb
Meal 4: same as meal 2
Meal 5– dinnertime– same as meal 3
Meal 6 &7 — whatever clean veggies there are, protein and almonds
You may not get in all your meals, you do the best you can but you see how still 4-5 out of 6 or 7  meals are clean and per your program but then you can have a little here and there when you are spending that quality time with the family.  Now  during the actual holiday, one of those meals, such as meal 3 or 5 may be the holiday gathering.  this is how I would approach that.  You still want to make your smart choices, based on what is being served.  You see a buffet of the following food:
bread, cheese, nuts, salsa with chips, veggie plate with dip, mama’s special devil’d eggs, deli meat, cookies and more… this is just for starters!!!
My approach would be to go for the nuts, veggies (without the dip, replace with salsa), a few pieces of the deli meat and a devil’d egg.  You see this is balance.  You are making your smart healthy choices but are still allowing yourself to be involved in the holiday festivities.  Even though on a typical day, you may not go for that creamy deviled egg but it is mama’s special egg that only comes out once a year.  Not only that but hey, there is some added fats but it is still protein loaded and not carb loaded! You see, you were able to make smart choices and they were balanced and clean!! For dinner, I would stick with the protein and veggie dishes and have a few bites of the cleaner carbs.  Go for the yam or potato over the loaf of bread.  For desert, why not have a bit of the famous pie but maybe not the whole pie!! See you can make it work and it can be done!
I know many people get scared of this time of year but don’t be!! Be prepared, be realistic, focus on those special times that only come once a year and just know that when you get back home you are right back on track!
Don’t use the vacation as an excuse to shovel everything in your face — unless you’re totally prepared to deal with the inevitable post-trip weight-gain.  Again, this doesn’t mean be super strict but just be smart! You can do it!!! Don’t  be so restrictive that you can’t enjoy your trip, holidays and time with loved ones either. Remember, it’s about balance. The key is staying active and making smart choices.  What a beautiful time of year!