5 Ways to Make Healthy Choices on Holiday By Harriet Hills Nutrition
Let’s begin with a dose of reality: inevitably, you’ll find yourself indulging in less healthy foods while on holiday. Temptation is in abundance, and dining out for every meal is the norm.
Embracing this beautiful escape, filled with cultural delights, is a luxury I encourage you to savour and fully enjoy.
These 5 Ways to Make Healthy Choices on Holiday does NOT require you to skip the delicious gelato, or completely avoid alcohol… BUT there are a few ways you can still nourish your body with goodness, allowing space and time to rest and replenish. Meanwhile, staying active so your body can continue working optimally to look and feel your best.
1.Eating intermissions
A key part of my nutrition method when working with clients is to design a structure that works for you.
We live in a society with disrupted sleep routines, over-stimulation from notifications, and high stress environments – it’s no surprise food is always on your mind and can often be a way of self-soothing. Without a structure in place it can be difficult to control how much you’re consuming.
The goal is to eat at 3 or maximum 4 times per day. And that’s it. No grazing, no little and often.
Why? Our gut needs 3-4 hours to fully digest food. It works hard to clean up our insides and look after our precious family of living bacteria to prepare for our next meal.
Ideally, we want to be eating enough at our meals that we don’t feel the urge to eat outside of these times therefore giving your gut time to rest and restore.
Example:
◇ Breakfast 9am
◇ Lunch 1pm
◇ Snack 4pm
◇ Dinner 7pm
Simply adjust this structure to suit you but try to allow at least 3 hours in-between meals without consuming anything – the good news is, black tea, coffee or water is ok!
2. Savoury starters: breakfast, lunch & dinner
It’s tempting to hit the breakfast buffet and opt for fruit & yoghurt first; whilst these have tonnes of health benefits, it’s not advised to start your meal this way.
This food is sugar-rich and will spike our blood sugar, setting you off on a rocky road for the rest of the day and likely craving more sugar as the day goes on.
Instead. Go for something savoury, fibre and protein-rich BEFORE the fruit, pancakes, waffles etc.
Options could include:
◇ A vegetable-packed omelette
◇ Fresh salad
◇ Houmous and crudités: e.g. cucumber, celery, carrots, peppers
I also recommend starting your lunch or dinner with fibre-rich foods, instead of going straight for carbs.
For example, could you have some olives before your bowl of pasta, a side salad or vegetable soup?
The fibre-rich plants provide a lovely coat (aka mucus lining) for your digestive system to allow carbs, protein and fats to easily pass through.
Another fave of mine is rocket leaves & olive oil – these bitter greens are the perfect entrèe before a main meal.
3. Salad on the side
One of the simplest ways you can improve a meal is by adding vegetables to it.I recommend to my clients to have at least 2-3 portions with every meal.
Plants are rich in micronutrients which are important to overall health and wellbeing – including mood.
If that pizza is calling your name, then bon appétit! But ensure to add a side of veggies or salad to up the nutrient profile, as well as supporting digestion of the starchy carbs. This may also help support feelings of bloating and lethargy.
4. Hydration Vacation
In warmer climates, your hydration needs will rise and sometimes plain water just doesn’t cut it. Especially if you’re travelling by plane:
Airplane cabins have very low humidity levels, because about 50% of the air circulating in the cabin is pulled from the outside, and at high altitudes, the air is almost completely devoid of moisture. [1] If possible, drink electrolytes daily – my go-to is Humantra, they are sugar and sweetener free and taste great!www.humantra.co.uk use code HARRIET15 for 15% off
Coconut water also contains small amounts of electrolytes and is one of my staple refreshments on holiday!
As well as hydration, detoxification is very important. I always start my day tongue scraping then brushing my teeth before drinking a large glass of water.
This ritual will remove any lingering bacteria resting on your tongue overnight to be removed and not swallowed down.
5. Move for margaritas
Exercise on holiday gets mixed reviews. You either love it or hate it!
Personally… after enjoying an indulgent meal, I don’t tend to wake up hungry from the night before and have to get my body moving before breakfast.
I find this helps me start my day on a healthy note.
Plus, I am a little smug knowing I’ve got a good workout in before the rest of the days activities unfold.
If I fancy that nap by the pool in the afternoon I won’t worry that I need to work out later.
If you don’t fancy hitting the gym or mat, try to weave in additional micro-movement into your day.
Whether that’:
◇ A de-tour around the hotel or villa pre-breakfast.
◇ Taking the stairs or walking to the restaurant over a taxi
◇ Swimming 10 lengths at the pool
A workout or movement of any kind doesn’t have to be an hour long to be deemed worth-it.
At SL by Chrissy we have an entire library of workouts ranging from 15-60 minutes, using just a mat and sometimes a chair that will isolate your muscles and work them from the inside out.
Enjoy them completely for free via our digital studio. PLUS some bitesize nutritional tips from myself.
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Happy healthy holiday’s Silver Liner’s!
