Fitness Inside Out licensee Sarah McGrath has recently returned from a 10 day cruise to the south pacific islands, and she has decided to share with you all her tips she learned on board for maintaining your weight* (and maybe even lose* a couple of kilos!).
Sarah had boarded the Pacific Jewel which is famous for its New Zealand Ice-cream and buffet at The Pantry, with a huge variety of different foods and a never ending selection of sweets. So how do you maintain your weight with all this temptation in front of you? While still having a good time on holiday? See below for Sarah’s helpful tips:
- As exciting as it is to try all the delicious foods on board, keep to your portion size. The food isn’t going anywhere! You can eat a bit more for breakfast as it’s the most important meal of the day. For e.g. bircher muesli and scrambled eggs on whole meal toast with a plate of seasonal fruit is a sufficient portion size to start your day. However, keep your lunch and dinner size reasonable. You want to feel satisfied after eating NOT full and lethargic.
- If you want to try a particular flavor of ice –cream as a treat, keep to the 1 scoop – servers are very generous with their scoops so 1 is more like 2 scoops. Imagine if you have 2 scoops….it will more likely be 4 scoops!
- There is no need to purchase drink packages except maybe water as you won’t be drinking the amount you paid for. If you do you will more likely drink more empty calorie beverages than you usually do just to try and make your drink package worth it! Water, tea and coffee are included with every meal and orange/apple juice are included during breakfast meals which is part of your cruise fare. Also on the Pacific Jewel, you are provided with a free chocolate every time you order a hot beverage. Imagine how quick the calories can pile on from that alone! Better to pay as you go and check your account at the kiosk.
- What about alcoholic packages you say? Surely they are more economical than purchasing each individual drink you say? Well I’m not a drinker so I can’t talk from my own experience but my partner and I were talking to other couples on board and they all say the alcoholic package is not worth it. They tried…oh they certainly tried by drinking as early as 10am in the morning but not one of them can drink as much as they paid for in the day. Imagine when you’re on port ….that is less time to use your package. Better to pay as you go and your liver will thank you for it.
- All ships have a gym on board free to use as part of your cruise fare. So why not make the most of it? I know what you are going to say…. ‘But I’m on holiday… why do I need to train?’ You don’t need to go all out on a full training regime but half an hour daily for a cardio or resistance workout is all you need to maintain the hard work you put in before you sailed away. Besides, it’s a nice relaxing view from your window while you exercise.
- Again, all ships have fun physical activities available such as the flying fox or rock climbing….so why not sign up for one? And you can get a lovely snapshot taken to show your trainer when you get back.
- If you purchase any shore tours while on board, pick the ones that requires the highest level of physical activity. It will be more fun and exciting for you! If you prefer to just explore, then walking is sufficient physical activity too. Choose the option that suits you best!
- Always take the stairs when on board. There are so many levels on the ship meaning so many stairs to take. That will help give your quadriceps a great workout plus 90% of the time it’s quicker to get to your destination compared to the lift. It can take a while waiting for the lift to arrive at your deck. I should know – I was waiting with my partner who is on crutches.