One very important thing we teach our clients is how to maintain their body shape when they go away on vacation, because this is often a time when normal habits, routines and self-discipline go out the window. If you’ve ever returned home from a holiday carrying a few extra kilos around your middle, you will know what a drag it is to try to get them off again.

The tips below will help keep your bodyshape intact and prevent weight gain while on vacation.

• Forget about weight loss. That just puts far too much pressure on – who wants to think about shedding weight when you’re surrounded by buffets, exotic foods and cocktail hour? We don’t want you to feel deprived or miserable on your trip, because that’s just mean. Instead, we encourage you to think about maintenance of your current weight. What this means is weighing in on the morning you leave, then setting a goal to be at the same weight when you return.  You may even like to give yourself a bit of a buffer – say 1 or 2 kg, which shouldn’t be too hard to shift once you get home.  Just don’t get caught in the trap of giving yourself a 5kg buffer, because that will be much harder to get rid of and you’ll end up feeling sluggish and regretful.

• When you first arrive at your location, find a local supermarket and stock up on healthy snacks. Load up on things like fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts & seeds, healthy breakfast cereals and decide which meals you will eat at home, and which ones you will eat out.  Go in with a rough plan on how you will manage your calorie intake during the day. For example, you might decide to eat breakfast at home, carry snacks and a packed lunch in a backpack for the daytime, then eat out at a restaurant at night.

• When eating out, choose healthier options from the menu. Avoid words like creamy, rich or fried, and instead choose baked, grilled and steamed. Most eating establishments now are very accommodating when it comes to customers asking for healthier options.  Look for things like smoothie bowls, big salads, and choose dairy and gluten free options when possible.

• Do as much walking as possible. This will do is it will offset some of the extra calories you are eating. Get up early and go for a walk if you can, and make a conscious effort to walk as much as possible. The more steps you can do in a day, the more chance you have of maintaining a steady body weight.

• Get into bed at your normal time. One of the benefits of doing lots of walking is that by the end of the day you will feel tired, which will encourage you to get into bed at a reasonable time, rather than be faced with the temptation of staying up late just because you’re on holiday. The more deep, restful sleep you get, the better your chance of not gaining weight.

• Enjoy yourself and don’t be too rigid. Don’t get caught up thinking about food all the time. The more you think about food and what you are eating and whether you should be restricting calories or measuring portion sizes, the more obsessed you become with it. My advice is to go in with a rough plan on how you’re going to approach your meals, then just get on with your day. Make sure you’re filling your days with fun activities and do the the things that you want to do. That way you won’t be thinking about food all the time.

• Just do your best. Sometimes you’ll be faced with situations which are beyond your control (such as limited healthy options available), and in this case you just do the best you can.  It’s not the end of the world if you go off track for a meal or two.

• You’ll probably laugh at this one, but one of our clients actually took her scales with her when she went on a round-the-world cruise. She was determined not to gain weight, so she weighed in each day and came home a few months later 0.5kg lighter! This might sound a bit extreme, but it’s the only way for sure to be able to measure what’s happening with your weight.  So if this approach works for you and you’ve got space in your suitcase, go for it!

• Do some fasting, particularly if you’ve had a cheat meal. After a cheat meal your body has a lot of work to do to break down all the extra calories and fat, so it can be a good idea to fast for the next meal.  Just drink plenty of water and let the body do its thing before you load it up with more food. Depending on what you are eating and how you’re feeling, you might like to do this a couple of times a week, or even every second day.

• Drink plenty of water. You will need to stay hydrated to keep your bowels moving regularly and to flush out all the toxins from any extra calories and fats. If you are doing a lot of walking or other exercise, staying well hydrated will be essential.

So there you have it!  10 ways to prevent weight gain and keep your bodyshape intact while away on vacation. Try it and see for yourself!