Jekyll Island vacation: Easy ways to eat healthy while on vacation.

If you haven’t checked out the ABOUT ME section of the blog, you may not know that I’m originally from upstate New York.

My parents still live there, but my brother lives in Georgia.

So once a year we try to get together for at least a week to spend some time catching up and having fun.

This years trip was to Jekyll Island in Georgia.

We have been there in the past, but never all together…and this time we were all living in the Days Inn on Jekyll.

When you get to the island, it’s a beautiful sight.

There are huge bridges that you can use to get onto Jekyll Island.

When you cross over, you get a pass for how many days you plan on staying.

There’s so much to explore on this island.

It’s amazing!

When we got to the Days Inn, it was just off the beach.

There was a path that takes you over the dunes and down to the ocean.

Our first day we took the path and walked down to the small village of shops.

In the village we not only found shops to explore, but also some nice restaurants , liquor stores, and an ice cream shop.

Of course we had to explore as many as we could to see what we may want to come back and buy.

When you go on vacation, do you usually try to diet before and after?

Many people do this because they want to be able to eat and drink everything that they enjoy.

I’m not a fan of the whole yo-yo diet thing though.

So, instead here are some things that I do to stay on track with my health goals…and you can too!

 

1. Watch your portion size! If the place that you are eating has larger portions, either ask for a smaller size or put half in a to-go box (then you have a nice meal that you can heat up in your room and eat while on the balcony watching the ocean).
2. Swap out fried for grilled. Grilled not only has less calories, but also less carbs. Fried foods can also cause bloating…making grilled a better choice if you’re going to be in your bathing suit!
3. Pick foods that are filling. The more filling your meal is, the less likely you will crave snacks throughout the day. When your visiting any tourist attraction, there are always vendors and stores with deserts and other indulgent foods. Kick the temptation ahead of time and pick foods that are high in fiber and protein so those cravings don’t sneak in.
4. Drink plenty of water! When I travel, I tend to forget to drink water. On a regular day I drink water all day, along with a couple cups of detox or herbal tea. When I travel, it’s the last thing on my mind. So keep a water bottle handy along with a couple fizz sticks and a bag of herbal tea to make sure it’s in the front of your mind.
5. Don’t forget to enjoy something once in a while. Research shows that the 80/20 method works well for most people!. What does this mean? You want to eat healthy 80% of the time, but still enjoy in your favorite foods 20% of the time. When you’re on vacation this is much easier to follow than trying only to eat the good for you foods.

 

The thing that I love about the restaurants on Jekyll Island is that they make it easy to find healthy meals that are exotic and tasty.

Some of the main dishes are grilled fish, shellfish, or salads.

Just so you know, their salads are anything except plain!

You can find salads with berries, shrimp and nuts.

Are you someone that likes to walk around when you are on vacation?

My family loves to explore!

We always walk wherever we can, or find attractions that allow you to walk around and explore.

Our first full day we went to explore drift wood beach.

We parked in this small lot just outside of the beach and walked down to see what was there!

The place was beautiful!

Check out some of these pictures!

We also went to explore the Horton House. This place has some cool history. Learn more about it HERE.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center was our next visit.

This was probably my favorite place to go.

You learn a lot about the life of a sea turtle, the dangers that it encounters, and what the center does to help these beautiful creatures.

My favorite turtle that we saw was Glitter Mittens. Most likely because I love the name!

Of course my family picked on me the whole trip because it sounds like something that I would name one of my own pets.

For dinner we were going out to eat at a place called The Crab Shack.

We went to my brothers house to visit and pick him up so we could all go together for dinner.

Check out his little farm! The fluffy chickens were my favorite.

The Crab Shack is a pretty cool place.

When you get there it looks like a little island village.

You can see alligators in this big pool. It was a little chilly when we were there, so they weren’t very active.

When you are seated you will notice that there are several resident cats that will hang around looking for food.

Some are very friendly, and some are scared of people. Check out this one that came to visit us!

 

As you might have guessed, The Crab Shack specializes in seafood dishes.

Every time we have gone here, I get the mussels. They are my absolute favorite!

If you love seafood, go light with the butter.

It can quickly put your progress in the toilet!

If you don’t really want seafood, there are other dishes as well that are really good! My husband LOVES the rack of ribs.

The first day at Jekyll Island, we definitely did a lot!

There is just so much to see here and there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

If you’re looking for a vacation on the beach, be sure to check this place out!

 

 

Brooke

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