Food
If you've never been to an all-inclusive resort before, all-inclusive means all-you-can-eat/drink in regards to food and booze. So, for those of you who have worked hard to get beach ready, this could spell disaster for your health and physique. However, there are ways to enjoy the resort and still leave with your six pack and a tan.
Let us make the assumption right now that all of the food at the buffet is going to be of poor quality. Quite frankly, it has to be. There's no way any resort can feed the number of people that they do and provide them with quality food while still staying in business. It just doesn't add up. So, to say that one thing at the buffet is going to be better for you than another is just telling you to pick the lesser of two evils. However, you can take this opportunity to get into some good habits.
1. Eat whole foods.
If you're going to eat the poor quality food provided by the resort, and realistically you don't have alternatives, you might as well stick to the foods that are actually food. While they won't be organic in nature, they are almost certainly going to be better than the chef's mystery special that night.
2. Eat often.
You know you're supposed to be eating six meals a day, but before you could never find the time. Well now you are on vacation and have access to, in many cases, a 24-hour buffet. Get your metabolism ramped up by eating no less than every three hours!
3. Be conscious of your simple carb intake.
Between the pastries at breakfast, the ice cream machine throughout the day, and the desert menu that is ALWAYS staring you right in the face, these resorts are jam=packed with simple sugars, and let's not forget all of the mixers for your drinks between the hours of noon and 1:30 AM.
4. Drink, drink, drink... Water.
Most of you have been sitting in a cubicle from 9-5 for the last year or so and aren't used to the sun. Now you'll be outside all day, so you need to be drinking a TON of water. This is another one of the habits you should be in, but if not you can become accustomed to while on vacation. Just take note as to whether or not the tap water is safe for drinking.
5. Booze.
It's all around you and it's already paid for. While I'm not going to sit here and preach the evils of alcohol, just understand that if you are drinking enough to wake up with a hangover, you are doing some SERIOUS damage to not just your physique, but your health and body as a whole.
6. Boost leptin levels.
Leptin is one of the most, if not the most, powerful fat burners. Ironically, the substance in only found in fat. So, while on vacation, you can let your diet slightly drift from perfect for the duration of your stay in order to allow your leptin levels to rise, which will result in you actually burning more fat. This is why you should be taking that one cheat day every week, but now it will just be a less dramatic cheat day extended over a six or seven day period.
So those are my food-related tips when it comes to resort survival. I'll be back later to talk about what you can do at the resort for workouts, but now I need to hit up the gym.
