How to Stay on Track While on Vacation

Are you excited for your vacation, but also dreading it at the same time? It’s totally normal!
For many people who have undergone bariatric surgery, vacations can be a challenge as they can throw you off your weight loss plan. However, this doesn’t have to be your case. Dr. K. Robert Williams and his team at New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery want to help you enjoy yourself on vacation with these helpful suggestions.
Here are some tips on how you can do that:
• Plan ahead
You can significantly increase your chance of getting the vacation that you want and still stay on track by planning ahead.
Evaluate where you’re staying. Hotels and resorts come at different tiers. Some offer more amenities than the others.
Check if your hotel room has a kitchenette or a fridge so you can buy locally and make your own food. If you’re comfortable with the idea, you may want to use airbnb or a similar platform. Most rental places come with a basic kitchen. This can make it easier for you to make your own food.
• Have a plan and stick with it
Having a game plan and sticking to it is very important. You don’t want to go to a local restaurant, eat whatever you want, and spend days regretting it.
Having a good plan in place can help ease your anxiety in these situations. It can be as simple as this: prioritizing protein, grazing (eating little and often) instead of eating large meals, bringing vitamins everywhere, and staying hydrated (skipping alcohol and caffeine as possible).
• Bring your essentials
The least thing you’d want is to go to a place, expect to find your staples, and settle with something else when you can’t find it. You don’t want that kind of stress on a lovely vacation.
What you can do to address this is bring some essentials with you. This could mean pre-bagging your protein powder (this can save you a lot of time) and bringing some of your favorite snacks like protein bars and nuts (you may opt for bringing pre-packaged ones).
Bring some when you’re going sightseeing. These staples can keep you full and keep you from eating whatever is available (we tend to grab whatever when we’re hungry).
• Stay hydrated
Aside from bringing some of your staples, it’s also smart to bring a water bottle wherever you go. This can serve as your reminder to stay hydrated at all times.
• Incorporate physical activities
No matter where you’re going, incorporate walking. It’s one of the simplest ways to get exercise in your schedule.
And if your hotel has a gym, make use of it. You may want to do a quick workout before you head out to do sightseeing or tours.
• Keep a positive mental attitude
This is very important especially if you had a slip up. Getting off track from a single meal doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel. You can learn from it to do better next time.
To boost your motivation, you may want to track your progress in a journal and/or have an accountability buddy with you.
At New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery in Knoxville, we want to help you on your surgical weight loss journey, and we will help you stay on track. We encourage our patients to join a support group. We also offer a private bariatric group online that you can join.
To get started on your bariatric surgery journey, watch our free online educational seminar or attend in person! Visit our INFO SESSIONS page for details!
Questions about becoming a New Life patient? Reach out to our awesome team at (865) 694-9676.
New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery is part of Premier Surgical Bariatrics in Knoxville, Tennessee. New Life is affiliated with the Parkwest Center for Bariatric Surgery, part of Covenant Health Bariatric Services.