Question? Can you have a healthy vacation at Disneyland?
I just got back from a fun little vacation in San Diego and Disneyland and I say yes!
As you know if you have been reading my newsletter, I am doing Body Beast for the first time right now (and loving it). This whole last week was the week 1 of the final phase. This phase is known as the “Beast” phase (the others are “Build” and “Bulk”). In the Beast phase, you cut your carbs and calories significantly to help shed fat and see your final results 4 weeks later. It’s tough. You have to eat 40% of your daily intake from clean protein and only 30% from carbs. Ouch!
It kind of sucked that the first week of this phase coincided with this little trip to Disney. What place is harder to stay away from carbs than Disney, right? However, with the results I have been seeing, I really want to stay true to the program and I felt I could do it with some planning. So, I got to work and figured it out and I totally NAILED IT.
I wanted to write down some thoughts on what it takes to do something like this on vacation and also some thoughts on if you SHOULD try this on vacation:
1) IT’S YOUR CHOICE: The first thing, and probably the most important to realize, is that it is UP TO YOU to be strict on vacation or not. The KEY is that you make the choice for what meets your piorities and you stick with it. If you want to relax a little and not worry about macros and hitting every workout and calorie counts while you are on vacation then THAT IS OK!!!! If you want to be strict and stay perfectly on your program and hit every workout and stay away from the carbs and the calories, then THAT IS OK too. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you SHOULD or SHOULDN’T do on vacation. YOU make the choice. Of course, making that choice WITH any significant others is encouraged…but the key is that it is a CHOICE. Don’t play the victim. Don’t say “I wanted to stay on my plan but it’s just not possible at Disney”. Or “I tried but everyone wanted to eat this or that and so I couldn’t stay on plan”. If you make the choice to stay on plan, then stay on plan. If you choose to relax a bit, then relax a bit. I think it is important to always be in control of that and you CAN be.
I chose to stay on plan. I talked to my wife about it, asked for her support, and then made a plan to make it work.
2) HOW TO DO IT:
Workouts:
– Check on hotel gyms or nearby gyms ahead of time.
– If possible, stay at a hotel that has the best gym facilities you can.
– Check on hours of the gyms or areas you will be using for workouts
– Plan your workout time for every single day of the vacation ahead of time
– Be sure to factor in kids that need to be supervised, your spouse’s workout times, gym hours, etc.
Diet:
– Make sure your hotel has a mini-fridge
– If the hotel does not have a mini-fridge, bring a soft sided cooler or buy a cheap foam cooler when you get there
– Buy food at the grocery store when you get there
– Eat Breakfast and lunch from groceries
– Plan your restaurants for dinner as much ahead of time as possible.
– For dinners, look for the simplest thing on the menu that meets your goals (usually fish or other meat with veggies)
– Look at menus ahead of time if possible.
– Track your food in an app like My Fitness Pal so you know how you are REALLY doing
– Plan 1 or 2 cheats into the vacation that you can “look forward to” if desired
3) EXAMPLE DAY AT DISNEY:
5:30am: Wake and eat piece of bread, peanut butter, and preworkout with water
6am: Workout in Hotel Gym (Body Beast)
7am: Post workout protein and creatine
8am: Shakeology and coffee for breakfast in room just before going to the park
10:30am: Tuna and grapes snack at park (I bought the pouches that don’t need to be drained and added mustard)
12:30pm: Back to room for Turkey and pepper jack on a 100% whole wheat sandwich thin bun
2:30pm: hard boiled eggs (you can get them already cooked in little pouches) and maybe some fruit
4pm: Cheese stick
6pm: Dinner (usually fish and veggies or other meat and veggies)
Total calories for the day between 2000 and 2200 with 40% protein.
Now, this may seem extreme for some, but remember, I am not saying you have to go to this extreme. I am just saying it is POSSIBLE TO CHOOSE and stick with it. You can be less extreme, you can be more extreme, you can not worry about it at all and eat whatever you want. The choice is yours!!!!
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