I thought this blog might be a good topic to cover considering I’ve been lucky enough to be in Spain for a few weeks. I’ve been coming here since I was born which I’m incredibly lucky to call my second home. I now go on holiday with PCOS and have learnt how to manage my PCOS but still have fun!
I have clients who come to me after a big holiday now where they have let themselves go, and we work together to get them back on track and healing their PCOS again. If you need some motivation and an extra hand, drop me a message here.
Let’s be honest, when we go on holiday it’s about lots of nice meals out, plenty of wine and sweet treats throughout the day. The temptation can be tough to handle, warm bread on the tables as soon as you sit down, cocktail menus bigger than your head and not to mention the ice cream menus in every beach bar. A week of eating some foods we usually have to avoid won’t be detrimental to your health or PCOS, we just need to make sure we don’t go completely overboard and still be mindful of what foods we are choosing.
Here are my top 5 tips to remember when you’re next going on holiday with PCOS…
Try and move everyday
I don’t expect you to go to the gym or be doing gruelling workouts every day, you’re on holiday for some rest and relaxation! However, as we might be eating extra calories, it’s important we get our NEAT up (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) so our waistline doesn’t suffer. Try going on a long beach walk or do 20 lengths in the pool. It will help I promise!
Choose the right alcohol
With our insulin resistance, cocktails are something we really should stay away from. I genuinely would stick to clean liquors, vodka and gin are okay with sparkling water or soda and fresh lime. In fact, I found squeezing half a lemon into my drink was actually nicer and helps with detoxification. If you must have a cocktail, always ask for it with fresh fruit and no syrup or added sugar. Be careful on your intake of wine, it can be high in carbohydrates and sugar which is not good for our hormones.
Pick two courses, not three
If you are drinking in excess, we really need to watch how much we eat or we’ll start to see our waistline expand fairly quickly. Try to limit yourself to two courses instead of three. If you can fight the sweet tooth, I’d always recommend avoiding the desert and stick to a starter and a main.
Don’t stock the house with snacks
When you do the big supermarket shop at the beginning of the holiday, try to avoid the crisp isle and be careful to not have too many snacks in the house. If you really must, check the back of the packets and stick to gluten free, low calorie light crisps. I tend to buy packets of ham and make some hard-boiled eggs to keep in the fridge. Higher in protein and much more beneficial for PCOS.
Say NO to the bread!
I have really noticed, especially in Spain that every restaurant you go to they come out with huge white baguettes and aioli (a garlic mayonnaise) before you even sit down. This is a huge no no for PCOS and something we really need to avoid. If you’re going to be eating and drinking more than usual, we need to use our willpower and not reach or the bread. If you must, ask for gluten free!
I called my business ‘It’s a PCOS Party’ for that exact reason – life is to be lived and to have fun. We’ve only put on this planet once so we need to look after our health but also enjoy ourselves. I hope these little tips will help you when you next go on your holibobs. They certainly helped me!
I still have a few coaching spaces left, if you are interested to have a free 15 minute consultation call to see how we can work together, you can send me a message here and I’ll get back to you.
Lots of love as always,
G x
