I just got back from a weekend at Okaloosa Island on Fort Walton Beach. Not only was it tons of fun, it was a very healthy trip with plenty of beautiful low carb foods…
Vacation should always be about FUN… not food. 😉
Most people think vacation or trips are a good excuse to go off track and eat junk food, or just “treat yourself” to whatever food indulgences you please.
My advice: eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and stay active! You’ll feel better if you eat low carb and stay hydrated – and keep moving. 😉
Otherwise you’ll just end up bloated, feeling icky and lethargic, and if you’re like me: you’ll get aches, feel stiff, and experience swelling in the feet & legs.
That’s no way to spend your vacation – or any fun trip! 😛
Besides, there are plenty of beautiful low carb foods to enjoy!!
Staying active with tons of fun on-the-go exercise, and also eating healthy, meant that I felt GREAT and also slept super well too. Here is a fun photo tour of my low carb road trip, healthy meals and fun at the beach…
My FUN Healthy Low Carb Beach Trip
This is me standing in front of the Okaloosa Island Pier on Fort Walton Beach. 🙂
I feel SO good!! I’m 50 pounds lighter, much leaner, and starting to feel STRONG from all the fun exercise adventures lately!
In a minute you’ll get to see what’s UNDER my dress. 😉
The night before our big beach day we had a healthy low carb dinner at Chili’s Grill & Bar near the beach. I was torn on what to order, but finally decided on the Bacon Avocado Chicken Sandwich – minus the bun, of course!
It was absolutely fabulous. 🙂 They put the toppings on the side, and I ordered Loaded Broccoli instead of fries with it. They melted cheese on the broccoli then I added butter & sour cream on top:
Delicious, low carb and healthy!
On Saturday morning I enjoyed some downtime overlooking the pool while the girls went for a morning swim, then we all went to breakfast at the hotel buffet.
I scored free breakfast coupons when I checked in to my hotel, by the way. I just asked. 🙂 I knew they had them because it was an option with one of their packages, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask! We ended up getting a free breakfast the second morning as well, because I ran into a lady that night that had 3 leftover – and they were checking out. That was super nice of her to pass them on to us!!
The breakfast buffet at the Four Points by Sheraton was GREAT, and had tons of healthy foods and low carb options.
I got fresh berries, walnuts and a little bacon & sausage…
The fresh strawberries and blueberries were amazingly delicious! I used the little cream cheese cups they set out for the bagels and turned my bowl of nuts & berries into a fabulous meal that tasted more like cheesecake than breakfast. 🙂
I wore my Fabletics open-back workout top as “beach wear” that morning. 🙂
I love Fabetics!! Here’s my invite link if you want to check it out.
I love that I can even wear an open-back top now that I’ve lost so much weight. 🙂 🙂
I never ever would have worn a top like that before slimming down!!
Things like that are what kept me MOTIVATED to stay on track and eat healthy during my trip. There is NO WAY I want to go back to feeling miserable and self-conscious. I REFUSE to gain my weight back!!
I had a lunch meetup to attend with industry peers that afternoon, so I threw on my little strappy black dress (the one you saw above) and headed across the beach. That made for a nice walk and some great exercise!
Lunch was at The Crab Trap, on the balcony overlooking the ocean. It’s a higher priced (nice!) restaurant, so I decided to get something light instead of a $35 meal I could never finish – especially in the heat of the day. 😛
I considered a salad, but then I spotted this Crab Dip:
I confirmed those were the ONLY ingredients (all real food!) and then ordered it low carb style. 🙂 I simply asked for salad on the side in place of the pita chips. Then I said, “Actually, just lettuce and cucumber on the side would be great.” I had a fabulous waitress… and she did an AMAZING job making it low carb for me:
Beautiful, right? 🙂
I dipped the crisp cucumber slices into the rich crab dip (YUM!) and put some on the lettuce too. I just made finger food out of it all, lol. It was SOOOO good! And it was the perfect amount of food for a nice filling lunch without being too heavy.
Of course I was sitting beside my friend Sheryl and seriously considered sneaking one of her fries. 😛 But I did not, haha. 😉 It was tempting though!
Ahh, the dress. I promised to tell you what was UNDER it. 🙂
I didn’t plan on “working” long so I layered my outfit for “work-to-swim” without missing a beat. 😉 I had on a Fabletics tank & althletic shorts combo underneath:
These are the same workout shorts I wore kayaking last week. They are PERFECT for water fun! They are almost as good as Spanx under a summer dress too, lol. 🙂
I cannot even express to you how SURREAL it is for me to see myself in these photos! I know the scales SAY how much weight I’ve lost, but SEEING it is a totally different story!! I’m 43 this week, and haven’t felt this good since my 20’s!
After lunch I had a nice walk on the beach with the girls and goofed off a bit, then had a quick low carb snack since we were going to have a later dinner that night.
We met up with some friends and spent the evening on the beach with our toes in the sand, and the girls put on a nice hooping show for us. 🙂
Here’s a video of my daughter hooping – she’s amazing!!
Then my daughter says, “Here mom, you try it!” LOL…
Have a good laugh:
haha 😀 I never was good at the hula hoop, lol!
We finally decided to go out for dinner, and the girls picked IHOP (International House of Pancakes). 😯 Ack! I had some serious junk food temptations there, but finally settled on the T-Bone steak & eggs meal.
I got my eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, and asked for “blueberries and cream cheese on the side instead of pancakes, please.” 🙂
After dinner we walked the beach for exercise, did some more hooping on the beach, then went for a late swim – which was the perfect end to a fabulous day!!
Somewhere between the beach and the pool… I broke out in a spontaneous happy dance. 🙂
We had the hotel breakfast buffet again the next morning, and I ate the same delicious foods again: nuts & berries with a little sausage & bacon. We brought our leftovers with us for the road trip home:
You can see more photos & my road trip meals on Instagram.
I had SO much fun with the girls. There were lots of laughs and TONS of great exercise. We all had a blast at the beach together. 🙂 Here’s a picture of the three of us – that’s my daughter and her best friend:
I know how hard it can be to eat healthy and stick to your low carb diet when you’re traveling or on vacation, but I hope this photo tour of my healthy day on the beach inspired you. It inspired ME…
I had given myself permission to enjoy an off plan food if I decided I wanted to… but I never did. Especially when I realized how much progress I’ve made and how HARD I’ve worked to get where I am… I KNEW I did not want to backtrack. 😉
I feel better than I ever have in my life, and that’s because I chose to get committed and power through the temptations – and because I continue to do so.
There are a million reasons excuses to eat junk food, but there’s ONE VERY GOOD REASON not to eat crap: you. Your health & happiness. Your desire to look and feel better than you ever have in your life…
It’s worth it. I promise.
Trust me, you’ll break out in a happy dance too! lol…
Challenge yourself – hard!! 🙂 *cheers*
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. I have another FUN outdoor fitness adventure planned for Wednesday, so stay tuned for photos!! Who knows what we’ll get into this week 😛 lol…
p.p.s. If you missed it, here’s my low carb road trip on the way to the beach. It has some great tips for saving money & eating low carb on the go!
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