We have been traveling down to Williamsburg every 2 weeks to enter new patients into the SP Program that live in that area. During the early spring the hotel vacancy rate was lots higher than now, as with all of the theme parks and historical attractions, Williamsburg is a very popular tourist destination. We have found a hotel that we like going to…This is a Marriott property that is used as a time share vacation spot by Marriott Club members. The rooms are actually suites that have 1-3 bedrooms, a living room, and very importantly, a full kitchen stocked with all of the plates, utensils and cooking items needed to prepare meals. The outdoor area also had gas and charcoal grills so for those people wanting to “cook out”, they simply needed to bring their foods downstairs and use the readily available grills.
When a family goes on vacation, very often they find themselves eating out at every meal. When children/teens are involved, the restaurant choices will often include the “usual” dining venues the kids love: fast food, pizza/pasta restaurants and other choices that are not exactly “Serotonin-Plus-Dietary Plan Friendly”.
The time-share style suite venue offered the opportunity to not have to eat every meal at restaurants. Certainly, the breakfast meal would be easy to prepare in the suite, so rather than facing a pancake house menu or a McDonalds drive-thru on the way to the theme park, a high protein/low carb breakfast is very obtainable. Occasional dinners could be prepared via a very fun cook-out of steaks, burgers, chicken on the property grills as opposed to spending $$$ at the Golden Corral buffet.
The point: Vacations tend to be very derailing to weight control efforts due to the types of restaurants found off the interstate as well as the ones when you are finally at your destination. Choosing a vacation venue such as a “time share suite” location will provide you with many more opportunities to mitigate the damages that would otherwise occur by staying at a hotel that offers none of these “dietary friendly” opportunities.
Staying focused on your weight control efforts will allow for better long-term health that will, in turn, translate into being able to go on more fun vacations.
