Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Posted: May 07 in Weight Management Strategies by Dr. Lazarus

Make Sure Everything that Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas!

Now is the time of year everybody is getting ready to travel: Mexico, Europe, South America, and yes, Vegas. People keep coming to the office not wanting to get on the scale because of their recent trip. Read on to learn tips and tricks to make sure that you get home at the same weight that you left!

But first, a strategy that I like to use – I always weigh before I leave, but I don’t weigh right when I get home – I wait the same number of days that I traveled. So, if I were to go on vacation for a week, I weigh a week after I get home – my goal is to have the two numbers more or less match. This allows me a little wiggle room so I can enjoy the trip, but not need to buy new pants every time I travel!

Top tips to avoid weight gain on vacation:

1. Arrange your flights so you will have time to exercise on the days of both the outbound and return flights.
2. Focus on getting the right number of hours of sleep, including on your travel days, even if this means a slightly more expensive flight so you don’t arrive at 2 in the morning.
3. Fly direct, whenever possible – nothing messes up your health goals like a prolonged layover, missed connection, etc.
4. Bring some food – have a Meal Replacement available so you don’t have to go out for a buffet breakfast or grab a pastry each day; this can help keep things controlled.
5. Avoid the belt-buckle-busting buffets whenever possible – choose restaurants with menus.
6. Mind the side dishes – even if you choose the burger, get the side salad, not the fries.
7. Make time to be active – a minimum of an hour a day.
8. Choose a place to stay with a great gym that you will actually want to use!
9. Avoid drinking your calories – skip the alcohol on travel days, and avoid the high calorie drinks. Oftentimes these are the ones with umbrellas! And, avoid sugary drinks like juices and sodas.
10. Have fun and don’t worry about it too much! Following my first strategy, the goal is to be at the same weight after you’ve been home for the same number of days that you were traveling. You only get so many vacations – so enjoy!

Safe travels.