VACATION CALORIES DON'T COUNT

by Tina H.

Unwritten rules are everywhere: don’t wear white to a wedding, let people exit the elevator before you enter, and if someone pays for dinner, get the next one. My rule? "Vacation calories don’t count." No food is off-limits, and it’s guilt-free. Don’t ask me how; science and logic don’t apply in my article.

The moment you close your packed suitcase, the universe shifts, and a nutritional loophole appears, lasting only until you’re home. With this loophole, I start thinking about all the foods I’ll be trying, always telling myself, “I want a little bit of this, a little bit of that.” My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, but that never stops my indulgence. The simple fact is: vacation food just tastes better. Desserts show up more often, and gelato somehow qualifies as fruit, which, in my rulebook, means it's healthy. What was that about logic and science again?

This all leads to a familiar vacation feeling: when I walk by delicious-looking food, one question pops up, “Why not?”

“Why not?” You’re on vacation.

“Why not?” It’s part of the experience.

Let’s be honest: half the fun of vacationing is the food. While I won’t remember everything my tour guide said just five minutes ago, I will always remember that little restaurant with to-die-for fish and chips.

I know— “Tina, fish and chips are one of the easiest things to cook. What can be THAT good about it?”

You just had to be there to understand.

Imagine this: You’re at a seaside restaurant just three feet from the shore. Your view is a sunlit beach, with lush palm trees framing it perfectly. As you wait for your food, you wonder if the bold birds will reach you before your meal does. Laughter echoes, and the sound of waves breaking on the sand fills the air, distracting you, until suddenly you hear a “CAW!!” that snaps you right back. Maybe the bird is announcing your food’s arrival—or maybe it's already claimed your plate as its own.

The plate is gently placed right in front of you as if it’s delicate.

First thing you notice, golden.

Not just “fried”, but perfectly golden, as if Chef Gordon Ramsay himself made this especially for you. The fish batter is crispy to the touch but somehow soft when bitten into. The flakiness of the cod is the second texture you notice. The crisp of the initial bite into the soft, flaky cod is mindblowing. The chips that lie prettily next to the cod are beckoning you to try them next, and you can’t help but oblige. The chips complemented the cod so well that you’re questioning your own reality. Then you realize there’s a little cup of tartar sauce on your plate, and, curiously, you try it.

THE BLEND! THE TANGINESS! The sauce balances sweet and tart, completing the dish and creating an unforgettable memory.

Beyond the food, vacation meals also come with the bonus of zero responsibilities! No cooking, no cleaning, no dishes! Plus, you walk more on vacation than you’d expect; you walk through sightseeing and gift shops, you rack up 10,000 steps effortlessly, making every treat feel earned, even if you were just searching for a restroom.

Not to excuse my unwritten rule further, but there’s another reason to indulge: food brings people closer! At home, dessert is an afterthought, easy to skip, easier to forget. But on vacation, the moment the waiter asks, “Would anyone like to see the dessert menu?” the whole table comes alive. Orders start flying in, spoons traveling at light speed to try everyone else’s plate, and before you know it, the table erupts: “Try this!” “Oh wow, try mine!” You converse, you laugh, and you linger at the table longer and appreciate every bite because life finally feels unhurried. Nobody is rushing off to the next thing. It’s just you, the people you love, and a plate of something extraordinary. Food becomes not just a meal, but a moment.

So go ahead, order the dessert, share the plate (or don’t), and take the scenic route back to paradise. Years from now, you won’t remember the calories, but you will remember the late-night laughter and the stories told in-between. My main message: vacation eating is about cherishing experiences and connection, not counting calories. Indulging isn’t just allowed—it’s essential to making memories that last. When you return home, you don’t look back with guilt. You look back with a smile, thinking, “That was worth every bite.”