Losing weight on the road requires a careful balance of planning and discipline.

People usually make exceptions during trips, and while fun, this can cause individuals to go over their budgets, stay up past their regular schedules, or eat more food than usual.

According to oncology nutrition specialist Amy Bragagnini, people often use their vacation as justification for unhealthy food and beverage choices.

If these vacations coincide with personal events, Bragagnini explained that people are even more likely to consume calorie-laden food than they would on a regular basis.

While trips are supposed to be fun, they’re not an excuse to get off track and forget about your weight loss goals.

If you want to hit your weight loss goals while traveling and still enjoy your vacation, here are the tips that you’ll need to follow.

Plan a more active schedule.
Make regular exercise a part of your schedule.
Balance your diet through an easy nutritional plan.
Choose healthier alternatives when you can.
Learn the difference between fatigue and hunger.'

Let’s take a closer look at what each one of these tips means for you and you’re trip.

Plan a More Active Schedule

Though vacations are the perfect time for rest and relaxation, you can experience lots of benefits from planning an active schedule.

Rather than lounging in your accommodation, try to plan activities in your destination that will encourage you to get up and get moving.

You can try swimming or snorkeling near your resort, or you can even plan to do a walking tour to explore the whole city.

This is a win-win situation for you because these activities can help you enjoy new experiences and see new sights, while also keeping you fit and healthy.

Make Regular Exercise a Part of Your Schedule

An active vacation schedule can help you burn off excess calories, but that isn’t an excuse to remove your workout from your schedule.

Given that you may have limited time for workouts, you can squeeze in strength, stamina, conditioning, and cardio exercises through a comprehensive CrossFit workout.

This exercise program targets different aspects of your body, which is why it’s effective in burning more calories during and after your workout.

So if you plan to lose the fat that you’ve potentially gained while traveling, you can head over to your hotel gym to follow a few CrossFit workout plans posted online.

Plan workouts ahead of time, book a hotel with a gym, find local gyms, or do bodyweight workouts.

Balance Your Diet Through an Easy Nutritional Plan

With the help of a proper nutrition plan, you can eat well while sticking to your fitness and diet goals.

Instead of saying no to delicacies and festive treats, WeightWatchers recommends following a weight loss program that allows you to balance your favorite foods with healthy meal choices.

You can get coaching so that you can learn how to enjoy your favorite foods in a controlled manner, without losing sight of your weight loss goals during your trip.

By learning how to balance your diet and fitness routines, you can eat delicacies and rare treats guilt-free.

There are many nutrition plans that work great and are easy to follow while traveling, including one meal a day (OMAD) and intermittent fasting.

Both will allow you to still enjoy the foods you love while traveling and still keep you in a calorie deficit, leading to weight loss.

Choose Healthier Alternatives When You Can

It can be tempting to pick guilty pleasures when you’re viewing a restaurant menu or shopping for snacks in a convenience store.

However, it’s important to hold back and check if there are healthier alternatives to your favorite food.

One of the strategies recommended by the National Weight Control Registry is to pack healthy snacks while traveling.

There’s a wide range of healthy snacks you can bring with you but I recommend choosing high-protein snacks above all else. Think protein bars, protein shakes, canned tuna or salmon, or beef jerky.

Protein is the best macronutrient for weight loss because your body does not convert it to fat, it helps build muscle which leads to less fat, it will keep you feeling full, and it contains fewer calories than fats and carbohydrates.

This strategy happens to have a high rate of follow-through because it’s easier to stick to healthy alternatives that are already accessible, especially when you’re traveling.

Learn the Difference Between Fatigue and Hunger

Packing healthy snack alternatives will help you curb cravings and save a few dollars. But if you don’t know the difference between fatigue and hunger, you may end up eating more than you need to.

Clinical nutrition manager Tom Hritz explains that hunger-boosting hormones flare up whenever you’re overly tired, so you may feel the need to eat more after walking around the city or traveling to a different place.

Travel stress can also trigger the release of hunger hormones, which is why it’s important to make room for adequate sleep or even mindfulness activities during your trip.

Get at least seven hours of good sleep every night while you’re on the road.