VACATION: Don’t Give Up On Your Goals!

Going on vacation doesn’t mean your health goal must unravel. You can do a few simple things that will help you stay on track as well as make you feel like you’ve had the vacation you deserve. Try these:

1. Have a plan. Leaving it to chance or making last minute decisions will end up in health goal disaster. Decide in advance how many free or cheat meals you will have. Are you staying at a hotel, with friends or renting a house? Are you bringing your own food? Will you have a way to cook? Is there a gym nearby to get a couple workouts in. Making some of these decisions in advance will help keep you from getting derailed.

I food prep all my meals to take with me for my vacations. Then I choose one or two meals to splurge on when I go out with friends or family.

2. Do some pre and post prepping. When going on vacation or preparing for an extra indulgence, do some extra cardio before and make sure to get all your workouts in. Be sure to plan a little extra after you get back as well to help mitigate eating some extra goodies.

3. Choose in advance when to splurge. Instead of allowing yourself to be pressured into eating out every meal or choosing what sounds good, decide in advance when to go more extravagant and when to stick to your meal plan.

4. Do some research. It’s definitely possible to make good choices if you pre plan menus, know the nutrition for restaurants you will be eating at and know exactly how much the day rate (and business hours) at the closest gym is.

When staying in a hotel I also check to see that my room has a refrigerator and a microwave so that I can stay on my meal plan no matter where I go.

EXTRA TIP: While you can’t take liquids on a plane, when traveling domestically you CAN take food. I take an insulated bag with my prepped food and a hard frozen ice pack to keep everything fresh.

5. Always have a Plan B. When I travel I bring extra food and supplies. I’ve had delayed flights, an inability to get to a grocery store or a complete change of schedule. I bring extra protein powder, foil tuna packets and protein bars (it’s the only time I eat them) just in case my schedule or original plan get messed up.

6. Don’t stress if things don’t work out. As a perfectionist I tend to freak out when things don’t go according to plan. But life happens and sometimes we just have to go with it. If you eat more than planned, don’t get your workouts in or bend to the peer pressure of friends to go to that buffet you didn’t intend to go to, its alright. There will always be tomorrow and the point of a vacation is to relax and enjoy yourself.

A vacation is NOT an excuse to go hog wild (unless you have planned for it to be just that). With a little focus and planning you can relax, enjoy your trip and still stay on track with your desired goal.

Originally written for FitnessRX for Women

To book a FREE consultation on your health or nutrition goals go to:

https://www.fillmorefitness.com/fillmorefitness

Skinny Is A 4-Letter Word

Skinny is a word that many people throw around. The media has convinced us that being skinny is a desirable goal. Even the food and restaurant industry has used “skinny” to denote healthier options on the menu and on grocery products. Skinny does not elicit a picture of health and wellness. When someone calls me skinny, my response includes: “Call me that again and see what happens.” I am not a fan. To me, skinny is a 4-letter word.

I prefer the words “fit, lean or healthy.” Skinny measures exactly that: skinny, small and thin. Like the word “diet,” skinny has several negative connotations.

Skinny Fat

While thin might be in, in no way does it guarantee someone is healthy. Most of us have heard the term “skinny fat.” In this situation, a woman might be “skinny” but have very little muscle mass. What is left of her body composition is made up of fat. This is usually visceral or brown fat that crowds internal organs, not the subcutaneous fat (fat just under the skin) that we see, causing the look of cellulite.

Underweight

The struggle to gain weight (being an ectomorph) is real and every bit as frustrating as losing weight. Ectomorphs find it difficult to build muscle and put on weight. They are small and slim with a very fast metabolism. Although they tend to have fairly low body fat, most women would prefer to enjoy having curves that women with slightly higher body fat have.

Stereotype

Thin women get tired of being stereotyped. They are often told they should eat more and that they are so lucky to be skinny. Some people may go as far as to accuse them of having an eating disorder. This is usually not the case. While most people won’t go as far as to call a bigger person “fat,” few people stop to think of how hurtful the words and stereotyping can be to a thin person.

Avoiding Healthy Choices

Since women who are thin tend to not show much fat or gain weight, they often avoid healthy habits such as exercise and avoiding processed food. The results of these choices don’t show on the outside but can have devastating effects on the inside.

Wellness is a choice that requires a conscious effort. While society, the media and advertisers continue to push the “thin is in” mantra, skinny should never be the sole focus of a health goal. Whether you are thin, overweight or fit, your goal should be to become the healthiest version of yourself. Looking great is awesome, but feeling great and living a life free of illness and disease is the ultimate goal.

For a free consultation on your health and fitness goals go to:

https://www.fillmorefitness.com/fillmorefitness

Originally written for FitnessRx for women

Loopholes: Can You Really Cheat Science?

IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros), protein bars, protein muffins, protein cookies….you’ve seen it. Some of us have fallen for it. “Well if it has protein it must be healthy.” While some of it might be slightly healthier versions of some fairly unhealthy foods, making them “more healthy” does not make them totally non-detrimental to our health goals.

Science follows certain rules. When we try to side step these rules, we may see results for a while, but eating processed foods, whether or not they are advertised as healthy, will show up in ways we don’t want. Here’s some “food for thought.”

1. When we rely regularly on these “loopholes,” we counteract all the good choices we are making.

2. These are foods that are just not healthy no matter how you spin them.

3. Justifying that a food is ok is basically lying to yourself. And once you allow one thing to become okay, it’s easier to allow other things to become okay.

4. Processed food of any kind will make you more prone to craving more unhealthy processed food.

5. Your body has to work harder to break down whole foods and absorb the nutrients. Processed foods tend to be void of nutrients but overloaded on calories. Your body stores the excess.

6. All those protein options still contain sugar. Added sugars are a problem.

We get it. Processed food tastes good. Plus eating healthy is not easy, especially in the beginning. It’s hard. It’s less convenient, it requires time to prepare. Our taste buds have been overrun by foods designed to addict us to the flavors and keep us coming back for more.

I’m not saying planned splurges are not ok. But deluding yourself into thinking that ice cream is ok because it fits your macros is ridiculous. Do your homework. Know what you are eating. Don’t fall for the gimmicks. And always assume whole, clean food is better than processed diet food.

For a free consultation about your health and fitness goals go to:

https://www.fillmorefitness.com/fillmorefitness

*Originally written for FitnessRX for Women