You’ve been working hard at reducing that stubborn menopause weight gain but now your holiday is looming and you are worried about completely letting go. If you don’t want to go all in on the all-inclusive (you can if you want by the way), then this post will help you make choices that might help you avoid unwanted, holiday weight gain. Read on for my easy tips to keep you strutting around the pool without having to suck your belly in so tight you can barely breathe…
Breakfast buffet:
It’s easy to hoover up the entire breakfast offering, particularly if you are nursing a hangover but a few carefully thought out options will set you up right for the day ahead without adding to the bloat and will also help to stabilise your blood sugars preventing snack choices you might regret later in the day and keeping a lid on your menopause symptoms.
- Made to order omelette – fill with lots of lovely veggies of your choosing and a little cheese. Yum!
- Full fat yoghurt, topped with fresh fruit and a little no added sugar granola or a variety of nuts and seeds.
- It’s also worth taking some of the fresh fruit on offer for snacks later in the day. Apples, oranges and bananas are perfect for this. Also consider seeds and nuts.
Lunch:
The main thing here is to avoid huge bowls of carbohydrates like pasta, pizza, chips and bread.
- Choose a salad option which you will appreciate in the heat anyway. Great examples are Greek salad, nicoise salad and insalata
- Gazpacho – nutritious and will help keep you cool
- Deli meats and cheese selection
Dinner:
This shouldn’t be difficult!
- Take advantage of your location and have tasty freshly caught fish, grilled on a barbecue. Yes please!
- Grilled meats
- Roasted Mediterranean vegetables
- Tomato based dishes
- Take advantage of different foods you might not get at home. Your gut bugs will thank you for it.
Stay Active:
Once you’ve bagged that sun lounger it can be tempting not to move for the rest of the day. You are on holiday and a few days relaxing over the course of a week or two won’t do any harm but do take advantage of some of the activities on offer.
- Use the hotel pool and swim a few lengths when the heat gets too much
- Join in a yoga session or any other activity the hotel has on offer which takes your fancy
- See the sights! Join a hike or hire a bike and see the country you’ve paid so much to visit
Alcohol:
This is often the number one offender when it comes to holiday weight gain. You don’t have to avoid drinking completely but a few carefully chosen options will help when it comes to avoiding holiday weight gain.
- Avoid sugary mixers like tonic water, have sparkling water or soda water instead
- Top up your wine with sparkling water for a spritzer
- Choose low calorie spirits like gin or vodka
- Be careful of creamy cocktails like Pina colada
- Drink plenty of water for the duration of your holiday, you’ll easily dehydrate with the heat and all the extra booze
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, RELAX!
We all lead extremely stressful lives with many of us attempting to juggle work and/or childcare, maybe you don’t get enough sleep? Make sure you build in time to kick back and relax, read a good book. Stress triggers cortisol which directly impacts hormone and insulin regulation. Too much cortisol leads to weight gain, in particular, abdominal fat and poor menopause symptom management.
There you have it, following these will ensure you remain that vision of beauty chilling by the pool or up at the bar.