Taking a vacation can sometimes be just as important for your health as your nutrition and fitness, yet, ironically vacation doesn’t always go hand in hand with the other two. Yesterday I covered how to stay active when on vacation and today I’m going to give you some tips for staying on track with your meal plan as much as possible while vacationing.

Before you go on vacation, look up what restaurants are near your hotel. Check out their menus online. Some of them may even have nutrition facts available. Decide on a few places that have options you feel are best for you and then suggest those restaurants when you are on vacation looking for places to eat. You don’t even need to mention to anyone why you picked them and I’m sure everyone will be glad that you did all the legwork looking for good restaurants.

If you are going to an amusement park look up their different food options ahead of time. Depending on which amusement park you go to, you can usually find the menus online. For example, I just googled Disney World and Hershey Park and found websites with the restaurants/food stands and their menus. Then you can plan your day around where you are going to eat each meal. Once you are actually inside the park it can be overwhelming to figure out where and what to eat and you usually end up eating from whatever options are near you, not even knowing that there may be a healthier option just around the corner. But if you make a plan before you go then it will be much easier to stay on track since you will know all your options ahead of time.

If feasible, bring healthy snacks with you on your trip. If you are driving this will be super easy. If you are flying somewhere, see if you are within walking distance from a grocery store once you get there, or consider taking a bus or cab to one. The money you will save by buying snacks at the grocery store will more than make up for what you will spend on cab or bus fare. Having healthy snacks in your room will keep you from eating from the hotel vending machine or snack bar.

Now of course I didn’t forget you are on vacation. Treats are encouraged! You just want to be smart about them. Plan out your treat for the day ahead of time. This will give you something to look forward to and keep you from binging on everything. And if you do happen to have more than your planned treat, don’t beat yourself up. Enjoy it and move on.