Last week, I went on a seven day cruise with family and friends. I had a wonderful trip and really enjoyed my vacation! It can be a little hard on long trips to continue your healthy lifestyle, especially on a cruise. There were so many different places to eat on our boat, an abundance of food choices at the buffet, and too many decadent desserts to choose from.
Here is a picture of my mother, father, sister, and me at dinner. Dinner always started with rolls and ended with a coffee and dessert. This type of overeating can be quite an obstacle if you are trying to maintain your weight. I did, however, learn a few tricks to prevent coming back with some extra weight.
1) Always check out the healthier options at every meal. Whether you are at a buffet or in the dining room, you can always make a healthier choice. On most cruise ships there is a spa menu with healthier options. I tried a few spa menu dishes and they were very tasty.
2) Eat more vegetables! At dinner, there would only be two spears of asparagus with your salmon and such small veggie portions will not cut it for me. So, I learned to order an extra side of vegetables or side salad with my meal. The best piece of advice for healthy eating (offshore or on) is to EAT MORE SALAD! It helped me to increase my vegetable intake at lunch and dinner and left little room for richer fare.
3) Order what you want! If you don’t see something on the menu that you like, kindly ask the waiter if another option is available. The first night I was on the cruise ship I really wanted to have a grilled chicken caesar salad, so I asked the waiter if I could have that instead of some of the heavier options on the menu that evening.
Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand, so even on vacation I try to get in both. I tried to do these three forms of extra physical activity to off-set my extra caloric intake:
1) Take the stairs! Well, if I was in heels headed to dinner I would use the elevator. Most of the time I did use the stairs, even if it was to go from the seventh floor to the fourteenth.
2) Get in a daily run, walk, or weight-lifting session. As you can see in the picture above, most cruise ships now have an amazing gym on board with exercise classes, numerous machines, and a variety of weight-lifting equipment.
3) Participate in physical activities during days at sea or shore trips. There are so many activities to choose from during the days at sea, when you are traveling between destinations like: rock climbing*, ice skating*, swimming, running, basketball, putt-putt*, etc.
* These may only be available on certain cruise ships.
These tips don’t just apply to cruises; when on vacation you should always be on the lookout for ways to vacation healthy!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I LOVE that dress – and you wear it well.
Food is a big challenge while I’m on holiday and so is booze! What did you drink during the cruise?
Thanks Ari! I had some margaritas, champagne and shots on the trip. Of course, I drank in moderation…
On our honeymoon cruise I did the same thing – we were privately seated at the really fancy cuisine restaurant (called Blu) for each dinner, and their options seemed to be on the healthy side. We started each meal with a featured appetizer salad (usually about 2-3 really healthy and innovatively yummy salads), a cup of featured soup, and then ate our dinner. However, we did end each meal with dessert – I found it impossible to resist passion fruit gelee or coconut creme brûlée, or whatever else we had! The good thing about our cruise (Celebrity Cruises) was that there was a “Healthy Alternative” spa bar for breakfast and snacks. They had really yummy seared ahi tuna slices, yogurts, fruits like slices of fresh papaya, and a bunch of other things that changed on a daily basis! Though it’s hard to find a balance between enjoying and indulging, you just have to remember: vacations only happen a couple times a year, so make sure you return to the States with a happy heart!
Hi Jeni, I am happy that you enjoyed your honeymoon cruise and also found some healthy menu options! Your breakfast choices sound very tasty. Our breakfast bar, had some bran muffins that were amazing!