Healthy Lifestyle is a Journey & Not a Destination

Vacation Time Can Include Your Everyday Physical Activity

Every journey has its ups and downs. It’s how we handle these obstacles that measure our success in life. Eating healthy is not a destination but a lifestyle and the first thing each one of us embarked on this journey realize is that perfection is unattainable. Initially, we might start with 100% perfection in mind, but as we proceed we understand that what we need is a long-term balance that surpasses perfection.

Every single day you cannot control what you eat. There might be some days where you splurge on high-fat food, get high on sodium consumption or cannot attend your gym sessions. Any self-disciplined and goal-oriented individual might not feel so good after such bumpy days. Such people should strongly remember that these are simple bumps in your ‘healthy eating’ lifetime journey and one must workout ways to handle these obstacles and minimize their occurrence as much as possible right before they deviate you off track. Some hurdles cannot be predicted and we can only be prepared mentally to handle this hurdle in the most effective way possible.

Handling Physical Activity while on Vacation or with Visitors
Most of us don’t stay at home all year round and love to meet people and visit them for vacations. During such times, we don’t mind eating the famous local foods or eat homemade specialty foods. Vacations also mean relaxing, enjoying a calm dinner by the poolside and passing time reading books or going for a massage. Use the in-house gym, go for a breezy evening walk or swim some laps early in the morning. If visitors come home, ensure that you politely let them know of your health routine and carry on with it. You can also try finishing your workout early in the morning before your family is ready to go out. If your visitors enjoy activity too, plan for some hiking or swimming trips. For simple and practical ideas on family workouts together you can always get hints from www.firsteatright.com. 

If you plan to eat out for dinner, try making your breakfast and lunch meals as healthy and low-calorie as possible. Ensure to stock few fruits in your hotel room to munch upon whenever you feel hungry instead of ordering something out from the restaurant menu. If you are visiting your friend/relation for vacation, you need not demand them to prepare a separate meal as per your requirements but ask for small adjustments (such as keeping aside some sabji without the rich butter topping) politely wherever feasible.

Working Out Alongside Illness/Injury
We don’t know when illness or injury might strike us. All that we can do is to lead a healthy lifestyle, exercise regularly and take a break once a while when needed.

Some people often get headaches or suffer from back pain. Not showing up at the gym even for a single day might make you repent for your sin during the initial days after starting to workout. Gradually, you will start accepting missed gym classes without guilt as you realize that 100% perfection all the time is never possible in life.

Accommodate Schedule Changes
People often go in rotation shifts to office and going on certain shifts doesn’t mean that you have the luxury to skip eating healthy. Some individuals follow their healthy food habits until there are other people present in the home, but once alone they take undue advantage of the situation and binge on their favorite foods or even go out to eat. Avoid all this by adjusting calorie intake during the start of the day paving way for increased calorie intake later or stick to your routine without any changes.

Motivation Bumps
Preparing your mind to prepare your body for this healthy lifestyle lifelong is essential to succeed in your endeavor. A fall in aspiration can affect you badly as your body follows what the mind dictates. When such is the case, try these tips:

1. Give yourself a break, mostly a psychological one as you need time to relax your mind too. Ensure to never take long breaks as you might become habituated to negative habits during these breaks and continue them from there on. 
2. During certain days, you might feel that your legs are heavy, your muscles feel weak or you are totally off mood to workout. Never compel yourself to exercise despite all these as this might frustrate you in long term. Instead of totally skipping your workout, engage yourself in some low-intensity exercises to keep moving, irrespective of the pace and you will finally reach your goal.
   
   

We go on a vacation and visit friends/family to get away from the daily stressors in life and not from the things that keep us healthy, happy and centered. There is no harm in altering certain daily habits while on a vacation, such as going for an evening walk during your vacation instead of walking on the treadmill. Allow yourself some cushion to enjoy fatty food that you relish eating but be mindful of what and how much you’re eating. No book or rule states that you must completely deviate from your healthy habits and let-go of all disciplinary things to enjoy your vacation. Plan well in advance and strike the right balance between enjoying and staying on track.