‘Tis the season again – we are entering that infamous
Thanksgiving through New Years stretch where the average American will gain 8 –
12lbs! One of the main reasons for
this is that we get out of our normal routines for both exercise and diet. It is even more challenging if you are
travelling during this season because you are out of your home and have less
control over your exercise and eating habits.
However, where there is a will there is a way. Here are some key tips to prevent weight
gain during travel:
1. Plan your meals and your exercise. This is probably the most important tip
because with a little planning you CAN eat healthy and get in your exercise.
2. Start by looking at your travel schedule and
planning your meals during travel. We
all know how lousy the food is on an airline so instead of being subjected to
the lousy and unhealthy food bring your own.
In many airports today, there are plenty of healthy options that you can
purchase and carry on the plane. Great
options include:
a.
Nuts – see below
b.
Ready to drink shakes like Muscle Milk (even
starting to see this in an organic option in airports!).
c.
Nutrition bars – see below
d.
Hard boiled eggs
e.
Salads with chicken
3. Even better buy non-perishable food before you
leave home. Excellent choices for
meals and snacks that are easy to travel with include:
a.
Nuts – come in cans and pouches with smaller
packages being ideal because while nuts are healthy they are high in fats and
even healthy fats have lots of calories!
No honey glazed and if you need to be concerned about salt stick with
unsalted, roasted nuts. Best choices
include pecans and walnuts and brazil nuts followed by almonds, then peanuts
and cashews in terms of sugar content.
b.
Nutrition bars – there are a ton of healthier
bar choices now, and they have actually figured out how to make a healthy bar
that tastes pretty darned good without a ton of sugar that have high levels of
fiber, healthy fats, and protein.
Several variety of Kind bars fit this bill including Dark Chocolate and
Sea Salt; Caramel Almond and Sea Salt; and Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan. These bars taste great and will satisfy you
and travel well.
c.
Ready to mix shakes – there are many great
options for shakes that are low in sugar and high in protein that taste great
and come in packets that are easy to mix in a plastic shake bottle after you
add water. Gone are the days where
these options must be blended in a blender. Experiment a bit and you can find shakes that come in single serve
packets that mix quite well in a plastic shaker bottle.
d. If you are driving, consider bringing some
pre-made meals in a cooler that are either ready to eat cold or can easily be
microwave or baked when you arrive.
When you bring some of your own food and healthy desserts you know you
will have good options!
4. Focus on a great breakfast because you can get
eggs in every town in America both at restaurants and in people’s homes. Eggs are fantastic nutrition that really
satisfies, and they can be prepared in many different ways. Starting the day off with 2 – 3 whole eggs
along with some sautéed vegetables, some cheese and some berries will keep your
hunger at bay and provide a healthy meal that is easy to come by!
5. Get your exercise in! Plan before you leave – worst case you can
use resistance bands and get a great workout in a very small physical space
such as a hotel room. You can also do
highly effective body weight workouts while on the go and another fantastic
choice for travel exercise is a suspension trainer like TRX or Core Flytes - https://www.amazon.com/Core-Flyte-Pro-Performance-Rock-Solid/dp/B00K6MKM00
For resistance bands and workouts with them check out www.resistancebandtraining.com
For a great bodyweight workout try this one: https://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-three-best-bodyweight-exercise.html
6. Go for a walk and check out the neighborhood or
go see some nearby sites. Sitting on
your butt all day while food is being prepared all around you is asking for
trouble! Get up and get out and active
for part of the day or offer to do some shopping for the group or pitch in with
some of the physical chores if you are staying at someone’s home.
So while it is easy to gain weight
during travel over the holidays – with a little planning you can come through
with little to no weight gain or even lose a pounds or two over the holidays!
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