So, regarding our vacation, we are going to be gone to Disney World for 6 days. Ish asked a question that I figured other people might have as well about eating while on vacation.

Out of curiosity, how do you handle the urge to splurge on food when you are traveling? Do you get hit with that, “Well I’m on vacation so it’s ok to have….” impulse, or are you immune to it now? I always have a hard time when pulled out of my regular environment. It just makes me feel like it’s ok to go overboard, even when I know it is not and I will pay for it later!

 

I started to answer in the comment, but the realized it was going to be a very long-winded answer.  😳

The short answer is “It depends”.  First off, we don’t really vacation very often.  The last time John and I traveled was at the end of 2010 when we went to visit his family in Colorado.  That trip I was more concerned about eating because when we visit his family, we eat out a lot and they are not usually places that are easy to eat on the lighter side (and not much exercise).  That makes it hard.

I am certainly not immune to the pull of ‘vacation food.’  Heck, I have trouble being immune to peanut butter cups at my sister’s house!

When we go to New Orleans, all bets are off on food.  No restrictions at all there because it is a wonderful city to eat in – especially if you are a foodie.  I eat there whatever I want, knowing that I am going to have to take off weight after  a trip there. And I am okay with that.

For Disney, we aren’t going there for the food.  Let’s face it – large volume theme park food is not going to be gourmet.  The great thing about Disney, though, is that there are plenty of opportunities to eat very healthy there.  It’s just a matter of choosing those options.  I am more conscious about eating on a longer trip because I could do some serious damage in 6 days of eating whatever fell onto my plate.  I do have a plan for this week, which is going to be normal breakfasts of oats or eggs with fruit, and a lighter lunch.  John and I looked online at places to eat to make sure we can get things that aren’t so far removed from how we usually eat and have sort of a plan of which places to go to in the various parks.  That helps so we don’t walk into the first deep fried chicken nugget basket we find.

If you do plan on going to any Disney park some time, check out All Ears.Net.  They have current menus and pricing for pretty much all the restaurants and eateries, which has been a great help when trying to stay on a healthier track, or budget track for that matter.  Also, they have healthy options for snacks in all the parks, like fresh fruit, frozen yogurt, frozen fruit bars, popcorn.  Although I do tend to like my afternoon lattes.

The best link on that site?  Where to find real coffee at Disney   You know I am printing that list out.

So, I don’t plan on snacking my way through Disney.  We will certainly be doing a lot of walking, so I am not that concerned about having some treats in there.  I just have to be careful not to go overboard.  I do tend to expect I will have weight gain from vacations.  Not always because of eating choices, but because of the food being different from what we normally eat.  It usually has more sodium than we consume, so I always get travel bloat.

So, long answer is that yes, I do find I want to just splurge on food on vacation.  I just have to find a way to compromise with it and not make it every meal.

And what if it happens where all my good eating intentions go to hell?  It  is okay.  It’s just so not worth it to beat yourself up over food.  It’s just not.  If I am going to gain weight from something, I damn well better enjoy eating it.