Speaker A [00:00:00]:
Hi, everyone. So today I’m going to be talking about healthy travel with paralysis. So we have a vacation coming up, and it’s been on my mind, too, because a lot of my clients in the coaching program this year, they are going away and they are taking road trips, they’re taking vacations. And so how can you stay healthy when you are on vacation? It’s possible, right? You want to enjoy yourself, but you also don’t want to go nuts, right. And come back 10 pounds heavier. So let’s get started. Welcome to the Paralysis Nutrition podcast, where changing your eating habits is the key to losing weight, improving bowel health, and feeling your best. I’m your host, Fatima Fakhouri.
Speaker A [00:00:47]:
I’m a registered dietitian who’s married to a quadriplegic and specializes in nutrition for paralysis. Get ready to be inspired, educated, and motivated so you can take control of your health using the power of food. Let’s get started. This is the Paralysis Nutrition podcast. So when we’re on vacation, we try really hard to get a room that has a kitchen. I know a room with a kitchen. That’s what we need. An ocean view is nice, but a kitchen is better.
Speaker A [00:01:18]:
If you can’t get a room with a kitchen, how about a room with just, like a mini fridge? Now, with us, you know, it’s me, my husband, who’s quadriplegic, and we have two little ones, so they are three and five. They can’t skip a meal. They shouldn’t. Right? None of us should. But kids, really, they cannot function if they have skipped a meal. So my number one tip for vacation is that you get a room that has at least a fridge, if not an actual kitchen. So that way when you come in from the airport, you can use an app such as Instacart, or, you know, overseas, they have different grocery delivery options, or you can actually go to the grocery store and buy something. So now on the vacation that we are going to, there’s only a fridge.
Speaker A [00:02:07]:
There is not a kitchen. And I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna put in that fridge. I’m going to get some cheese sticks, some yogurts. My husband likes protein bars. He likes them when they’re cold. So I’ll put some in there. And really, we’re going to keep things so that we don’t get hangry, because sometimes you have lunch and then it’s like five hours or six hours until you’re going to eat dinner. So you’re going to need something in between.
Speaker A [00:02:36]:
So try to get A room that has a kitchen or at least a fridge. Another tip is that I would say focusing on maintenance and not loss is a good idea. Hear me out. I know a lot of you want to lose weight, but you’re not on vacation every day, right? You’re supposed to enjoy yourself. Eating on vacation is not the same as eating at home, right? You have less control over the choices and you have all these delicious options. So part of the paralysis nutrition framework, you know, in my philosophy, is that we don’t want to say no to the foods that we love, right? So if you’re eating healthy the vast majority of the time at home, when you’re on vacation, rather than saying, oh, I’m going to stay in my calorie deficit, I’m going to make sure I continue to lose weight, how about we just take a little break from weight loss and focus on maintenance? That means that you’re going to eat in balance with your body. You’re not going to eat in a deficit, right? Less calories than you burn. You’re hopefully not going to eat in a crazy surplus, right? Because that will mean too many calories and slow weight gain.
Speaker A [00:03:50]:
So if you are on a journey to lose weight and you’re going on vacation, focus on maintenance, pick the things that you love and leave the rest. So don’t expect to lose weight on vacation. It’s possible, but it’s vacation, enjoy yourself, make smart choices, and focus on maintenance. So when it comes to tracking, I don’t actually think anyone should be tracking on vacation, but if you have seen a lot of progress with weight loss, for example, I have a client, Suzanne, who has lost ten pounds in two months. So she’s going on vacation. She says she’s going to track things when she’s not sure, and I think that’s a great idea. So if she’s not sure how many calories are in one of the foods that she wants to have, she’ll put it in. But she’s not going to track all three meals a day, every day for a week.
Speaker A [00:04:42]:
So focus on maintenance and enjoy yourself, right? It’s vacation. Another tip I have is not to skip meals. So a lot of people, I think, either skip breakfast or skip lunch. And I’m not into it because it’s going to make you bloated when you skip meals. And it can also really cause you to overeat at the next meal, and that’s going to make you feel uncomfortably full. And you’ll probably end up going over on your calories if you Skip a meal because the next time you eat, you’re going to overeat. So try not to skip meals. That sort of goes back to the get a room with a kitchen or at least a fridge.
Speaker A [00:05:22]:
Because, you know, if you eat like a late breakfast, for example, I can just see this happening on our vacation is that, you know, we have kind of a late breakfast and then, you know, we’re not really hungry for lunch, but then it gets to be 2:00. Oh, we’re going to need to eat something, right? And we might not, you know, want to sit down and have a big lunch, but we will have things in our room that we can snack on so that we don’t overeat at the next meal. I guarantee you though, on our vacation we’re going to eat all three meals. We are not meal skippers in this house. Another tip is now, when it comes to the bowels, right, what is going to ruin your vacation more than bad bathroom stuff? Nothing. If you are constipated because you overate or you didn’t eat enough fiber, that will ruin half your day, right? So we want to keep our bowels on track when we’re on vacation. And I’ll tell you honestly, going to a new place and having a new, you know, bathroom, and hopefully you have a roll in shower and everything that you need. We all know how that can go with hotels and stuff.
Speaker A [00:06:34]:
The last thing you need is to screw up your bowels. So don’t overeat because so many people get constipated when they have just too much food, Right? And so that kind of ties, ties in with the don’t skip meals because when you skip meals, you’re going to overeat. Also, please don’t drink alcohol all day, every day. Yes, I know it’s fun to day drink and have a drink by the pool. A drink. So if you like to have a mimosa at brunch, have it. But then don’t also have a beer at lunch and then, you know, two cocktails at dinner. You know how many calories that is? That’s a lot of calories.
Speaker A [00:07:15]:
And that’s four alcoholic drinks in a day. It’s just too much. I get it, you’re on vacation, you want to have a drink. But I think we need a little bit of a plan. So personally, I cannot drink in the day. It’s not possible. I will become exhausted. And no matter what, I am always a mom.
Speaker A [00:07:35]:
So if I’m not feeling well, if I’m tired, if I Feel great no matter what. I’m still a mom, so I would never day drink. So if you are a person who likes to do that, that’s fine, but choose wisely. Okay? So you’re not going to be in a calorie maintenance if you’re drinking three, four alcoholic beverages per day, every day, the entire time you’re away. And that’s not. I mean, that’s not good for you, right? And when we drink alcohol, what does it make us do? Overeat, almost always. So even if you intend to eat something healthy, if you’ve had a couple of drinks, it’s just like, oh, forget it. I’m just going to have whatever, right? Because your inhibitions kind of go away.
Speaker A [00:08:21]:
So let’s not drink all day every day. And if you’re going to drink, please make sure that you are drinking a glass of water in between every drink. So if you say, hey, tonight I’m going to have two mojitos, that’s fine. But one mojito, one glass of water, One mojito, one glass of water, and done. You do not have to drink alcohol every single day that you are on vacation, right? You don’t have to. A vacation is fun, but it’s also meant to be relaxing and rejuvenating. So drinking alcohol all day, every day is not a good idea. Another tip that I have is about dessert.
Speaker A [00:08:59]:
So listen, we don’t eat dessert every day in my house. It’s a fun thing. It’s usually a weekend thing on vacation, I can guarantee you we’re going to be eating a lot more dessert than usual because we’re going to be eating out, right? So here’s a quick tip about dessert. You don’t need to eat dessert at lunch and dinner. You do not have to. You should just pick one. You also don’t need to eat dessert every single day. And you also don’t need to eat dessert just because the people that you’re with are eating dessert, right? If you’ve chosen to have two drinks, right? So you have your entree, maybe you share an appetizer, you’ve had a drink, that’s good.
Speaker A [00:09:42]:
You don’t need to also have a dessert. So my approach is this. Always split a dessert, right? Because nobody at the end of their meal should still be so hungry that they need to eat a dessert, right? We almost always just want a little something sweet, you know, when we’re done. So you know, one dessert, share it. We often do, you know, two desserts because it’s four of us. So two desserts, four spoons or one dessert? Two spoons. Split your dessert. And you don’t need to have dessert at lunch and dinner.
Speaker A [00:10:14]:
And you don’t need to have dessert every single day. If you truly, truly love to eat desserts, I would say choose between that and drinking alcohol. Right? We can always lose weight or be in a calorie maintenance, even if we eat our favorite foods, but not if we eat all of the favorite foods all in one day. Another tip that I have is enjoy the local stuff. So if you love Italian food, but you are in Mexico, I would probably not go for Italian food. Maybe if there’s one amazing place. Yeah, sure, check it out. But get some local food, right? You’re on vacation now.
Speaker A [00:10:53]:
This is sort of not, you know, related to weight loss or anything like that. But when you go someplace new, I think it’s fun to try new foods and kind of expand your horizons. You never know. You know, they have all kinds of stuff that you probably wouldn’t find in your hometown. I absolutely love that. Whenever we go anywhere, I always want to know, you know, I ask the cab drivers, I ask the people at the front desk, you know, where do you like to go to dinner? Not where’s the touristy place that’s like right on the water, that’s, you know, real bland and so expensive. I wanna know where is the good local stuff? And then of course, whether it’s accessible or not, wheelchair accessible or not, is a whole different story. But where there is a will, there’s a way.
Speaker A [00:11:40]:
Usually another tip that I have, which is a very obvious one, but just a reminder, you need to stay hydrated, people. Stay hydrated. I know my husband, who is a C67 incomplete quadriplegic. He doesn’ do very well in the heat, you guys. Not at all. He gets dysreflexic. And, you know, in the beginning, I would just get kind of frustrated because I’d be like, why don’t you want to come out with me? Why don’t you want to come out with me? And because he’d be kind of like hanging in the room, sitting on the patio, this and that. And he’s like, fatima, it’s too hot.
Speaker A [00:12:12]:
You know, so now I get it. And me and the kids will kind of go out and meet him somewhere and make it so that he doesn’t have to be outside all day every day, right? Because it’s just some places are just too hot. So a super, super important thing to make sure to, you know, regulate your blood Pressure and make sure that you’re not overheating is to stay hydrated. So we have our suitcases. We’re going away in a few days. I have our suitcases open, and I’m starting to put things in it. Yes, I did put a couple of empty straw cups into the suitcase, because your girl is not going to be buying $5 bottled water every single day, multiple times a day. So I’m going to refill our water bottles wherever I can, you know, safely.
Speaker A [00:13:03]:
I’m not going to just be drinking the tap. And we are going to have our own water bottles. So make sure that you stay hydrated, because we don’t want you to overheat. Right. A lot of our quadriplegics out there get dysreflexia, and we want to make sure that you’re not. Also, we need your bowels to keep working. Dehydration is a major, major cause of constipation. Some people drink three, four glasses of water a day, and they tell me, oh, yeah, I drink enough water.
Speaker A [00:13:34]:
And then I say, do you drink two liters? And their eyes are gonna, like, pop out of their heads. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, two liters at least. Probably more. If you’re a larger kind of person than me, I go for two liters a day. So stay hydrated out there. Alternate your cocktail or beer with a glass of water, and make sure that there is a plan for how you’re going to get water. Because a lot of times when you’re at a resort or something, it’s like bottled water is the only option. And oftentimes it can get real expensive.
Speaker A [00:14:08]:
Right. Not to mention, what a waste of plastic. So I am bringing some empty straw cups with us. Yes. I think it’s the mom in me. I think I wouldn’t have thought of that prior to having kids. So what else? When it comes to restaurants, you guys know I love to eat, right? So I’m a dietitian. Part of the reason that I became a dietitian is because I love food.
Speaker A [00:14:33]:
So my husband is less of a foodie than me. He would not care. He would order room service or just, like, eat at the hotel every day and wouldn’t mind. I am not like that. We are yin and yang. We go together, like peanut butter and jelly. So when it comes to restaurants, I do a little research before we go. Yep.
Speaker A [00:14:55]:
I look up places and I call them up or email, and I say, are you guys wheelchair accessible? And I also am very, very clear that when I say wheelchair accessible, I mean that my husband cannot get up out of his chair to walk. Yes. You have to tell people this because they don’t understand when I say my husband uses a wheelchair, they, I think, automatically assume he’s like, elderly. He’s only 42. They assume that he’s elderly and he can get up. He just doesn’t walk very well. So I look up restaurants before we go. I look up reviews.
Speaker A [00:15:29]:
I’m such a restaurant nerd. I want to go to the most delicious places and make sure that they are accessible. And if they’re not totally accessible, we’ll try to figure something out. I mean, we’ve been very creative over the years. Not just like takeout, but like, I mean, in the states it’s a little different. I think people are less likely to be so flexible. But overseas, like, I’ve had people take a table and put it outside, you know, like, because there were steps to get into the restaurant, we did that in more than one place. So look up some restaurants months, look up some reviews, check out the menus and see is that place accessible? And also make a reservation.
Speaker A [00:16:16]:
So this is not really nutrition related, but if you want to go to that place and it’s really popular, you better make sure that they have a spot for you. I already have reservations for four nights while we’re away, and we’re not even going for, you know, a couple of days, so. And I’ve made those reservations a week ago. Your girl does not mess around. I want to eat good on vacation. I do. I want to eat good. It’s an important.
Speaker A [00:16:39]:
It’s an important thing for me. And also find out what are the options at your hotel. Now, we all know sometimes those options are limited and super expensive. So find out what are the options at the hotel. Sometimes for Ray, it’s just too hot. So it’s like if we have dinner reservations, we might have lunch in the room. So. And I don’t mind that because it’s kind of time to relax.
Speaker A [00:17:06]:
So we’ll either do like takeout or room service or sometimes. I mean, now we have like uber eats and we have doordash and we have these different things now where we are going. I don’t think they have that stuff. But almost every place will have some sort of takeout or delivery options. And you can go to the hotel front desk and they usually have like a binder of menus. Right. For takeout. So those are just some of my tips on how to be healthy on vacation.
Speaker A [00:17:38]:
I think the, you know, one of the big Reasons that we love to travel is to see different things, but we also really want to enjoy ourselves. And so I’m really looking forward to trying some local food and enjoying some kind of tropical fruits that we don’t often get in New York. And if we do, they’re, you know, they don’t taste the same. They’ve been imported, and they’re not ripe. And so I’m actually looking forward to the local foods and the fruits more than I’m looking forward to, like, drinking and desserts. You know, I feel like I can do that in New York, but traveling abroad, I really want to experience something new and different. And, you know, travel with a wheelchair is not easy. And so I am just kind of trying to focus on what I can do to prepare ourselves.
Speaker A [00:18:30]:
Right. So making sure we do travel. Travel with a probiotic, right? Because I want my husband to be in kind of good shape with the bathroom and stuff. So I feel like when we travel, we’re exposed to a lot of different stuff, like the. The water is different. You might have something come up, like in terms of a uti, because the water. And I’ve heard that a lot, actually, is that people get UTIs when they travel because the bacteria in the water is different. So a lot of us do choose to travel with an antibiotic just in case.
Speaker A [00:19:06]:
We always travel with an antibiotic and with a probiotic. So those are my tips for a vacation, for, you know, healthy travel with paralysis. We are so excited to go away. A little bit nervous, right? Especially these days. But I want everyone to know that when you go on vacation, the number one focus should be that you are having fun, okay? And let’s not be in this mentality of, oh, I’m going to starve myself before I get there, and then I’m going to eat everything in the world that’s not good for your bowels, that’s not good for your brain, that’s not good for your body. Right? Thanks for listening, and I hope everyone is having a good summer. And if you are traveling, be safe and wear a mask and get vaccinated people. Until next time.
Speaker A [00:19:54]:
That’s our episode for today. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed it and that you learned something new. Remember, if you want to lose weight with paralysis, improve your bowel health and feel your best you can. It’s possible you just have to change your eating habits. If you need inspiration on how to get started, check out the paralysis Nutrition Cookbook 101 recipes to help you lose weight and improve bowel health. The cookbook comes with a bonus 30 day meal plan and is the perfect way to start eating healthier. You can find it online at paralysis thisisnutrition.com Cookbook I’ll talk to you again soon.
