How NOT to Sabatoge Your Weight Loss on Vacation

"Genius (or success in my case) is one percent inspiration and 99 perspiration." -Thomas Alva Edison

My husband and I will be vacationing and visiting fam in the Carribean next week. It's nerve-racking thinking about all the ways I can sabotage myself. I've always threw caution to the wind on vacations and returned with at least a couple of pounds gained. Our last vacation was all-inclusive which is a dieter's worst nightmare. To avoid the debauchery, I'll actually have a plan of attack this time.

It turns out there are no all-inclusive hotels in the area of the island we're visiting. We booked a room with a kitchen and dining area. What's even nicer is there's a deck at which we can eat our meals facing the water. The first thing we'll do after checking in is hitting the supermarket. We'll cook ALL of our breakfasts, some lunches and stock up on bottled water, fruit and snacks to bring with us on outings.

Because we'll be in the Caribbean, I'll try to have as much (steamed/baked) seafood and fruit (mmm mango!) as I can stomach. It will be difficult to stay strong as most dishes are fried on the island but I'll try to keep my meals, especially dinner, as healthy as possible. I'll allow myself 3 dinners that I won't obsess over. Drinks alone can easily put me over my calories for the day. One Piña Colada can easily top 700 calories! I'll stick to light beers and wine (and maybe one Piña Colada.) I'm bringing my laptop in hopes that I'll have a connection and can track my calories.

We'll be on the coast for 5 days and the mountains for 4. I'll be packing my sneakers to have long (1 hour minimum) walks on the beach and then in the mountains every other day. I think it'll be a great way to explore our surroundings, snap pictures and keep active. My aunt is vegetarian and a very healthy (and excellent) cook so I'm pretty excited to see (and taste) what she cooks up. I missed her famous shrimp soup the last time I visited because I was sick. I'll be the first one at the table if she makes it again.