Quick Weight Loss for Your Upcoming Vacation

Your bags are packed and your itinerary is complete. Your vacation is quickly approaching and you have everything planned out to the last detail, well, almost everything. There is the subject of you fitting into that new bathing suit you just bought for the trip. Yes, there is nothing like a pending vacation to remind you just how out of shape you are. You need to lose weight and you need to do it in a hurry before you go on your vacation and hit the beaches. But, the key is to do so in the correct manner using proper nutrition and exercise to get you where you want to be with your weight.

Getting Prepared

Dropping that excess weight so you can look like a million bucks while beachside is more about saying you want to lose weight, you actually need to get prepared. Follow these steps and you will be ready to shed some serious pounds, just in time for your trip:

• Step 1 – Remember: Get a photo of your vacation destination and put it up on the mirror in your bathroom. You need to remind yourself what you are working for and with this constant reminder you will find sticking to your diet and exercise plan is a bit easier.
• Step 2 – Action: You will have to exercise if your goal is to look fabulous on the beach, which might mean joining a gym. Exercising will help you lose weight while also toning your body, so you will feel and look great.
• Step 3 – Clean: Processed foods, fried foods, junk food, soda, and the like will stop your weight loss goals cold. Therefore, it is going to be necessary for you to clean your cabinets and your refrigerator of all these diet killers. Out of sight, out of mind.
• Step 4 – Dry Up: When you consume alcoholic beverages those calories can’t be stored by the body and have to be burned instead. So, that fat that you are wanting to burn then has to stand in line and wait. Do yourself a favor and lock up your liquor cabinet until you return from your trip.
• Step 5 – Shop: Now that your home will be bad food free, you’ll need to go shopping for some real food. Be sure you are buying as healthy as you can, which includes lots of fish, chicken, lean beef, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
• Step 6 – Figure it Out: Figure out how many calories you should be ingesting each day. This will likely be a drastic change from what you are used to, but using your age, height, weight, and activity level you can use a variety of resources to figure out how many calories you really should be taking in each day.
• Step 7 – Think Deficit: In order to burn a pound of fat you have to burn roughly 3,500 calories. You can help this process by planning your calorie deficit. For instance, if you find that you should be taking in 2,500 calories, you can trim that number by only 500 calories per day for an extra pound of weight loss per week. Get even faster results by adding daily exercise to really widen that deficit.
• Step 8 – Eat Right: Eat according to your actual nutrition needs. Sources, such as the USDA will give you a loose guide to follow based on several personal parameters. It’s not just eating good food, but you need to also eat the right foods according to your specific body type.
• Step 9 – Work it Out: If you really want those pounds to fall off you have to work at it, which means working out. You should strive to work out at the same time each day and no matter how badly you might want to, never skip a session. For best results split your time at the gym between aerobic exercising and weight training.

Eating to Win

Though exercise will go hand in hand with eating, it is the eating part of many diets that has vacationers leaving that new bathing suit behind. But, this can be avoided if you eat to win, which means eating the right way.

Start by eating a healthy breakfast every day. Starting the day with a full stomach will help you avoid the pitfalls that come with being hungry before lunch. Plan on brown bagging your lunches and avoid the temptation to go out to eat with the rest of the office. That doesn’t mean you can’t eat good at lunch. In fact, lunch should be your biggest meal of the day. Just be sure it is filled with lots of proteins and a nice mix of low calorie goodies.

While snacks can be your best friend, you need to be eating healthy snacks, like apples or grapes. These foods can help you keep your hunger at bay without hindering your goal of losing weight for your vacation.

Finally, dinner should be eaten early. Since your lunch will be the biggest meal, then dinner must be your most sensible. Plan on a smaller portion of fish or chicken and have a small side salad or some mixed vegetables to finish off the meal.

Be Smart

Leave plenty of time for your weight loss success. Don’t be foolish and think that you can safely lose 20 pounds in one week. Plan ahead and remember that it is not diet or exercise alone that will get you into that new swimsuit, it is a combination of them both. There are no magic pills and no magic diets, but you can hit the beach in style on your upcoming vacation if you simply have the willpower and the drive to get the job done right.