It’s Spain, it’s summer, I’m strolling past packed tavernas and the vibe is electric. Everyone is enjoying tapas and vino in the afternoon sun, and I’m here on a diet watching wistfully. LOL…I think not! For me, one of the biggest bits of FOMO I get when travelling is the thought of missing out on enjoying food and a few beverages with my mates. That’s why in my opinion, flexible dieting is the ultimate lifestyle and makes being on a “diet” on holidays simple and enjoyable. Here are a few of my tips for experiencing all the foods and drinks without gaining a pant size.
- 1. I calculate my calories for the period of time I’m travelling. To calculate calories check out www.tdeecalculator.net and enter weight and height, this will give you baseline calories.
If I’m I taking a diet break, I will stay on baseline baseline calories. This is always a great option if I can on holidays. Not only do I get to have higher calories for the trip to enjoy all the foods but it resets the body and stops negative metabolic adaptations. That way if I planning to cut when I get back my body is in the best possible condition to do so.
If I’m doing a cut and trying to lose weight, I need to be in a calorie deficit. The actual percentage varies depending on body fat percentage but as a ballpark around 500 calories off the baseline cals will give a ½ kilo average drop per week.
If I’m bulking, I need to be in a calorie surplus. Again the actual % increase varies depending on the body type and goal but a starting point might be around 10%.
- 2. I calculate the protein goal.
At baseline 1.8-2.2g per kilo of body weight
In a deficit 1.6-2.0g per kilo of body weight. Vegans around 1.2g per kilo of body weight
In a surplus 1.8-2.0g per kilo of body weight.
Training for hypertrophy 2.2-2.4g per kilo of body weight.
- 3. Carbs and Fats make up the rest of the calories and as a ballpark I would set them as such:
Fat the same as bodyweight, a method I learnt from my coach and mentor @apexcoachcoreybaldock and the rest of the calories made from carbs. These values however, are loose. On a holiday I like to eat what I feel like and provided I hit the protein goal and don’t exceed the calories for the day I don’t care where the fats and carbs fall.
- 4. I track the food in my fitness pal. I weigh my food regularly and measure the portion size against my hand. I eat out often and that way I can eyeball portion sizes without too much difficulty and add them to the app. I enjoy tracking as I’m a bit of a monster with food and it helps me remain compliant, with my goals firmly within my grasp. A holiday can however also be a good opportunity to eat intuitively, my intuition just constantly says Treat yo self girl…so max I give myself is 2 days of not tracking:).
Travel, holidays and foreign lands are there to be delighted in whether dieting or not and flexible dieting allows me to do that while maintaining some consistency, compliance and most of all its sustainability. Life is too short to wake up with regrets. Drink the vino, eat the chorizo and fiesta con amigos . Happy holidaying!