How To Survive An All Inclusive Resort Without Gaining Weight
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You know how, when you go to a buffet, you always over eat? Well, an all-inclusive resort is like a week-long buffet. You get a buffet at breakfast lunch and dinner. There are usually snacks laid out around the pull, appetizers at cocktail hour, and not to mention all the fruity, sugary, whipped cream covered drinks you could ask for. Then there is the mentality that, “Well I paid for this. I want to get my money’s worth!” So you start doing this grab-all act with the free goodies, as if you’re on one of those game shows where whatever you can stuff in your bag within three minutes, you get to keep. But your bag is, well, your mouth. And you’ll keep it alright—on your tummy and thighs. So if you are packing your sarongs and teeny bikinis as we speak, here are some tips on how to survive an all-inclusive resort without gaining weight.
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Don’t try to get your money’s worth
One major mistake people make when going into all inclusive resorts is feeling like they have to eat until they’re stuffed to the gills to get their money’s worth. What’s more is they want to get way more than their money’s worth, and feel like they’re winning by literally being sick with fullness after every meal.
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Do do some calculations
Think about it. Let’s say you spent $1,500 to spend five days here, and that included your airfare, hotel room, and all meals. That airfare was maybe $500 or $600 of that. Your hotel stay probably took up another $700 of that. $200 was built in for your booze (oh yeah, it was). So maybe—maybe–$200 goes to food. That’s 15 meals. That’s around $13 a meal. That’s already less than you would pay for a full meal at a regular, non-inclusive resort. You’re saving money. Just eat enough to be comfortable.
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Do wear that bikini proudly
You will feel more pressure from yourself to make healthy options if every time you look down, you see your tummy—the tummy you worked very hard to get flat and toned for this trip. No hiding under moo moos!
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Don’t order the colorful drinks
The drinks that have umbrellas and sticks of fruit and rainbows inside? Yeah. You can’t order those. Those usually have somewhere between 500 and 1000 calories per drink. If there are tons of mixers and colors, it’s not for you.
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Don’t try every food at one sitting
If you pay attention to the buffet, you’ll begin to notice that it has the same foods every day. So there is really no need to try everything that breakfast has to offer. It will be back tomorrow.
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Do try every food during your stay
Just scan the buffet and pick out the foods you’d like to try at some point during your stay. This will help you not eat everything at once, and will help you focus on those during the week instead of becoming distracted by the creamy mashed potatoes.
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Don’t just lay by the pool
This is your vacation, so there should be some amount of laying by the pool. But really, how much of this can you do? You’re asking for skin damage if you’re just baking out there in a tiny bikini, next to the reflective water.
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Do take advantage of their activities
All inclusive resorts include a lot more than food and drinks. There are usually dance classes, water aerobics classes, rock climbing walls and a very large beach to walk on.
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Don’t eat the snacks
They don’t usually come even close to being as tasty as the buffet food, so don’t waste your calories on them. You can eat pretzels and popcorn at home.
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Do “steal” fruit at breakfast
If you do need a pick me up between meals, just slip some fruit in your beach bag at the breakfast buffet. You may be able to smear a little peanut butter on bread and fold it in a napkin.
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Don’t worry about wasting food
If you take a bite of something you got at the buffet and didn’t like it, don’t feel like you have to eat it. I know you don’t want to waste food but, unfortunately, all inclusive resorts waste so much food every day. You aren’t going to solve that issue by stuffing yourself.
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Do ask what something is
If you want to do your small part of not wasting food, then just ask a staff member what something is before putting it on your plate. They may tell you it has coconut in it, and you hate coconut. So that’s a pass.
Don’t eat saucy items
If your vegetables or fish are sitting in sauce, that sauce is almost definitely loaded with cream, oil, butter or all of the above. The more ingredients are in something, the more calories are usually there, too.
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Do eat steamed and grilled food
Grab steamed vegetables and grilled protein sources. You can (usually) count on these just having a little salt and pepper on them, and maybe some olive oil.
