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!
I’ve loved following through your vacation, looks like you had a wonderful time. You are looking fabulous in the photographs
I was wondering what you do about drinking alcohol. No mention here in your blog did you just go dry for the vacation. When I’m on holiday I love to have a red wine (or two).
Hi Kim π
I didn’t drink on this trip – well, except lots of coffee lol. I did buy some wine, but didn’t end up wanting it. I’m not much of a drinker, just socially sometimes.
I like White Zinfandel (1 carb per ounce). I also like Captain Morgan Rum with Diet Coke (zero carbs). There are plenty of low/zero carb alcohol options. For beer I drink Michelob Ultra (2.6 carbs per 12 ounce bottle). I do love a good beer in the summer. π
Anyway, the only thing to consider is that alcohol takes longer to metabolize than food, and creates what’s known as “the alcohol stall” – so just don’t weigh yourself for at least 3 days after having a drink. π
Oh – and eat first. AND… almost forgot to add (lol) alcohol hits you MUCH harder and faster when you’re in ketosis or eating very few carbs. So drink slower and drink less than you normally would!
Hmm – one last tip: Have your low carb snacks/foods on hand. Once you’re tipsy is not always the best time to make smart food choices, lol. *cheers*
THIS IS SUCH A HELP FUL SITE WHAT A GREAT JOB YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL I LOST ALOT OF WEIGHT ONCE AND GAINED IT ALL BACK IM TRYING LOW CARB AGAIN. WISH ME LUCK AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELPFUL HINTS KEEP IT UP YOU ROCK
Thank you, Toni π and Good Luck!! Going low carb is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. You’ll be SO happy you did it!! *cheers*
Thank you for sharing your beach adventure! It is so helpful to see how you navigate the low carb world when you’re away from home. I’ve gotten so many good ideas from your posts.
Thanks again!
I’m really glad it proves helpful, Lori. π I enjoy eating out and about – way more than I enjoy eating at home, or cooking! lol…
I had so much fun watching you and your girls enjoying the beach! Best way to start my day. But even better for me was that in reading your post you reminded me that I can ask for menu modifications when there aren’t obvious low carb options on the menu. I’ve lost 40 pounds on your low carb diet coaching Lynn and I love my “new me”. Like you said, I too feel like I’m back in my twenties and I want the feeling to last!
That’s awesome, Sharon – congrats!! I know from personal experience just what 40 pounds feels like, so I know you must be feeling amazing. π π
We had a super fun time, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s really nice to see both of my children as young adults, happy and doing well, and to spend such quality time with them when we can. π
looks like a lot of fun and work!! So glad to see you smile and enjoy yourself. thank you for all you do to keep us keeping on Lynn!! Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer as well π
Thank you, Sandi! π I’m really enjoying the Spring and definitely looking forward to a fun, busy summer. It gets HOT here in Tennessee (mostly humid) so there will be lots of water involved. π lol… *cheers*
Thank you for sharing your fun vacation with us. You’re exactly right, I always think of vacation as a time to eat a bunch of crap and then go home feeling miserable. Actually I just had a long weekend in the mountains. Ate carby stuff, more caloires than normal but I walked more than normal, however I got up every morning not only bloated but my eyes were so swollen. I’m assuming it had to be the carbs that made my eyes swell. I told some people that the carbs made my eyes swell as well as my entire body and they thought I was crazy. Am I crazy or can carbs do that?
You look amazing and your hard work and no cheating is paying off.
Thank you for all you do to encourage people like me that can’t seem to get on the wagon and stay.
Thank you, Michelle. π I went through that for years, on and off, up and down, and it was SO frustrating. It feels amazing to be OFF that roller coaster!! Not just physically – but also no more feeling discouraged, mad at myself, disgusted, etc etc etc. That was NOT healthy or fun. π
I’m not sure about the eyes swelling. That happened to me this past weekend on the beach, but the resort had tons of spring flowers in bloom too – so I just assumed it was allergies (as I didn’t eat off plan at all). It went away as soon as I left too…
Good question though. I’d definitely google that!
Thanks for sharing! We are going to a family reunion in July and I will be tempted both on the road and once we get to our destination. Your tips will really save me. Love the loaded broccoli idea. We go to Red Robin a lot and they will give you bottomless broccoli in place of their bottomless fries, but I have never thought of asking for cheese and sour cream. Yum! BTW, where did you get that dress? It is gorgeous
Thank you, Bren! I’ve had it for at least 8 years I think – it was originally my daughter’s and she probably got it at Forever 21 or somewhere like that.
I’ll keep that in mind about Red Robin next time I’m in a location that has one. What a nice idea!! Of course… you don’t want to eat too much broccoli in one sitting: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/8055/waking-up-fat/ π LOL
You are such an inspiration! I have been on Weight Watchers now for a few months and have only lost 10 pounds. They encourage higher protein but include “good carbs.” I am wondering if I need to give up carbs altogether so I am going to try it. It couldn’t hurt. Thanks for sharing with us!
I have never tried Weight Watchers. Is it very limiting?? What I love about eating low carb is the variety of foods, and the fact that I can eat what I please from those foods. Portion control isn’t a problem of course since you have very little appetite in ketosis – but it’s nice NOT to have limits. Do you get or stay hungry on Weight Watchers??
I love your choice at Chili’s, I do that often, order a sandwich or wrap no bread, have even gotten fish tacos, no taco shell at Bonefish grill. They always do it up nicely. I always forget your idea of getting the ‘loaded’ broccoli. I was staying at a hotel recently for my niece’s wedding and went to a local diner. The salads are huge at diners, I knew I couldn’t finish it and couldn’t take it home…so I ordered a salad minus the lettuce …. Waiter gave me a strange look…LOL…It was still huge- it had such good stuff on it the lettuce was the least of it- steak, bacon, blue cheese, tomatoes, red onion and artichoke hearts. Still plenty of veggies…
Yum – that sounds delicious, Cynthia! I’ve actually ordered a Cobb Salad like that before myself… just a BIG bowl of deliciousness, lol. π
My favorite area to vacation !!!! We normally make reservation at a Condo in Destin .
I’ll be going on vacation in the near future to Oregon and Washington State .
I’ll live on (lol) scrambled eggs and bacon . I know it’s going to be hard for me
to found something , I like to eat , because I am a picky eater .
That’s why I’m searching……to eat while on vacation .
When you go to Oregon and Washington, are you driving or flying? If driving, pack a cooler with your favorite things! What about where you’re staying – options there? I would plan ahead and know your options and be totally prepared. π
Don’t forget to tell everybody whwn ordering scrambled eggs at IHOP to ask for them without pancake batter in them. They add it for fluffiness.
That’s true, Dana – it’s best to ask for your eggs cracked, either order fried eggs or specify you want cracked scrambled eggs with no milk or anything else added. π
Lynn you look so joyous, it’s great to see you happy and feeling so good! Last year on my vacation in Aruba I ate low carb high protein, drank lots of water and also kept active. It was so nice to be on vacation not going to bed sick and waking up with food hangovers! Great post and tips for eating low carb on vacation. It doesn’t look like you starved or were deprived at all! It will also help so many of us get through the summer eating out and still feeling good in our summer clothes and bathing suits! π
Thank you, Lisa π π Happy feels SO good!
lol @ “food hangovers” – that’s exactly right π
And you’re right – I didn’t feel AT ALL deprived. I had TONS of beautiful low carb foods on the trip, and had so much fun. π
Very close to my hometown, Pensacola! Beautiful beaches!
I agree, Jason – I love the gulf beaches!! π I go at least once a year, so next time I’ll put together a meetup so we can all enjoy a low carb meal on the beach together!