Indulge yourself or diet? You can do both on an all inclusive vacation!  Shape up, warm up , chill out and exercise. On your next vacation you can start the road to fitness with yoga on the beach,  fine tune your golf or tennis game with a pro, keep your sculpted beach bod in perfect form with state of the art equipment or morning run and still have hours to relax and enjoy the good life. It’s all possible on an all-inclusive vacation. But will a never ending supply of beautifully prepared meals and desserts plus fun, fruity, calorie packed cocktails tempt you off your diet? Or will vegetarian meals and low carb restaurant selections be difficult to find? Not if you choose the right resort!

The best all-inclusive resorts cater to a variety of guests and can easily accommodate most dietary needs and restrictions. They also offer health conscious food and drink choices and numerous opportunities to stay fit while enjoying a relaxed getaway. Some resort groups, such as Zoetry, focus on health and wellness as part of their luxury inclusions. Others, including Sandals and Beaches Resorts, guarantee diet and allergy friendly foods at every restaurant. So you’ll find it easy to manage a low cal, low fat diet or enjoy a gluten free resort vacation without extra effort or expense.

So what’s most important to you? An awesome tennis program, the latest pilates equipment or miles of beach for walking or jogging? Here are some of my favorite “stay fit while indulging” choices after decades of vacationing at some of the best all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean:

• Panoramic oceanview fitness center with state of the art equipment and sunken chaise lounges surrounded by cushy, canopied pool beds at Iberostar Grande Bavaro Punta Cana.
• Kick your butt Boot camp, fabulous frozen mudslides and hammocks slung over a meandering river pool at Excellence Playa Mujeres.
• Oceanfront, feet in the sand, feeling the  vibe yoga and gourmet dining with fat grams and calories discretely noted at Zoetry Agua.
• Zumba with a hunky instructor and 12 miles of beach for long walks plus gluten free brownies and beer at Beaches Turks and Caicos.
• Health bar with yummy fruit smoothies, an Olympic size pool for laps and breezy oceanfront verandah suites with plantation shutters at Couples Swept Away in Jamaica.
• Pilates, spinning and decadent crème brulee at The Royal in Playa Del Carmen.
• Water aerobics, scuba diving and wakeboarding plus low cal and gluten free choices at Café de Paris and a 90 minute East Indian spa treatment at Sandals Whitehouse.

By watching portions, staying active and choosing wisely I’ve returned from dozens of all inclusive resort vacations with nary an extra pound. You can do it too, so happy travels!