Eating healthy while on vacation can be tough for anyone, but if you’d had weight loss surgery, eating away from home can seem a bit daunting. Here are some tips on how you can enjoy healthy, satisfying food on your next vacation.
1. Plan Ahead
Following bariatric surgery, whether you had LAP-BAND, gastric bypass, or a sleeve gastrectomy, you’ll be provided with dietary guidelines. Before heading out on vacation, be sure that you fully understand your post-surgical diet and that you feel comfortable following a healthy eating plan at home. After all, you don’t want to start experimenting with diet modifications when you’re thousands of miles from home!
2. Make Lunch the Biggest Meal of the Day
Lunch portions at restaurants are always smaller than dinner portions, making it easier to find low-calorie, low-volume options on the menu in the middle of the day. In most restaurants, the lunch menu features scaled-down versions of their dinner menu, which comes with the added bonus of being cheaper than dinner too!
3. Focus on Fun, Not Food
If you’re like most people who have struggled with obesity, your vacations have often centered around eating. Now that you’ve had bariatric surgery, it’s time to re-focus your leisure time on activities, not food. Research your destination ahead of time, and choose some fun events and attractions to take in – now’s a great time to re-discover mini putt, bowling, or even take in a boat cruise!
4. Look Outside The Hotels
Eating healthy while on vacation really can seem impossible, especially if you’re relying on restaurants for every single meal. By staying in a condo or extended-stay hotel equipped with en-suite kitchen you’ll save money, and be able to prepare your own, portion-controlled food instead of eating high sodium, high fat restaurant food all the time. Better yet, you can discover some great local produce by shopping at a local market or roadside stands!
Connect With Us Today
With a little planning, you really can enjoy eating healthy while on vacation! For more tips and hints on how you can achieve and maintain your ideal weight, contact your bariatric care team here at Olde Del Mar Surgical – we’re eager to help.