TIPS ON
STAYING FIT WHILE TRAVELING
An
article by Linda Byard
It can be a
challenge to stay “in shape” while away from home unless we are talking
about a balloon shape. Each kind of travel: business,
vacation, or personal, has its own stresses and temptations.
Plan ahead and make sensible choices while on the road. Be
realistic. Don’t try to lose weight. Instead, try
not to gain any. Don’t aspire to a greater level of
fitness. Instead, try not to lose what you have already
achieved. Here are some tips to help you stay fit while
traveling:
DAILY
WORK OUT: Plan where and how you are going to
work out. If you are staying in a hotel, inquire before you
leave home about amenities like a swimming pool or fitness
center. Hotels which offer no amenities of their own,
sometimes have arrangements with nearby fitness centers. If
not, you can almost always buy a day or week pass at a fitness
center. You might also ask about places to walk or
to jog. Even if there is no fitness center or equipment
available to you in your temporary residence, you can still bring an
exercise DVD to play in your computer, or you can bring stretch
bands. Or you can go to the internet, and find strength and
toning exercises you can do on your own with absolutely no
equipment. You can also fill in your schedule with planned
walks. Clearly the most important thing to bring is
motivation and a positive attitude. If you have that, you
will find a way to exercise.
PLAN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
When selecting vacation options, consider choosing one which revolves
around a physical activity like hiking or biking or kayaking.
Even if shopping is your favorite vacation activity, you can still
include a lot of vigorous walking.
REGULAR EXERCISE:
Schedule exercise into your day just as you would at home. If
you exercise early in the day, you won’t have to worry about fitting it
in later when you really would rather take a nap. Be aware
that if you are staying in a hotel which caters to a lot of business
people, there are usually many “road warriors” competing for the
treadmills and ellipticals between 6 and 7:30 AM. Other times
and especially on weekends, the fitness centers are often empty and you
can choose your machine and favorite television channel.
PEDOMETER: Wearing a
pedometer will help you know how active you are in an unfamiliar
setting. If you are not already a dedicated pedometer user,
try one for a few days before you leave, so that you will have some
idea of how many steps you do at home. You don’t want your
activity level to slip. If you have trouble eating the way
you should while away, you can make the situation better by increasing
the number of steps you take in a day.
WALK: If you are in a
hotel, choose an upper level floor, and get in the habit of using the
stairs every time you come in and go out. Leave your car at
the far end of the parking lot. Choose your hotel carefully
and it may even be possible to walk to some of your
destinations. Never miss an opportunity to take some extra
steps. Every single one counts!
BREAKFAST BUFFETS:
Breakfast buffets are very popular in hotels these days. They
are usually attractive and they are also loaded with fat and sugar
calories. The danger is that if you don’t eat a reasonably good
breakfast, you will likely indulge in a mid-morning snack you won’t be
proud of, or you will gorge yourself at lunch. Look for
things like oatmeal, whole wheat toast, fresh fruit, and low fat
yogurt. If there is a grill you might be able to get an egg
white based omelet stuffed with veggies. The problem might be
the tempting displays of doughnuts and pastries. If you just
can’t pass these up, can you seriously limit yourself to one
mouthful? Think about it.
If you know you won’t be able to avoid the sweets, pack a bowl and some
whole grain cereal. Go to the buffet, pick up a carton of
milk for your cereal, a piece of fruit, leave temptation behind, and
enjoy breakfast in your room. If you are feeling adventurous,
explore the local supermarket for your food supply.
RESTAURANTS: We generally know
what we should eat but even the finest restaurants may not offer enough
in the way of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Make the best
choices you can. Be charming and look to your
server for information about the food preparation. Ask for
salad dressings, and sauces to be on the side. Pay attention
to portion size. This is no time for the clean plate
ethic. If there are two of you, try some different
strategies. For example, one person orders a main dish salad
and the other orders a dinner, and then split both.
EAT SLOWLY: Don’t wait too long
between meals or you may find that you are too hungry to make sensible
choices. You might find yourself eating handfuls of chips or
several pieces of bread before your meal even arrives. Drink
a glass of water. Order a soup or salad to begin your
meal. Eat slowly. It takes around twenty minutes
before the brain and stomach can talk to each other to let you know
that you have had enough. You can go through a heck
of a lot of food in twenty minutes!
WATER: Let water be your main
beverage. You can drink as much as you want, and indulge
whenever you want it. There is evidence that drinking
beverages with artificial sweeteners may actually make you crave more
“sweet.” Not a good idea, right? Carry a bottle of
water around with you during the day. It will help you stay
hydrated, you will feel less empty, and less tempted by unhealthy
snacks.
DESSERTS: Who doesn’t
like desserts? If you plan to have dessert occasionally, you
may find it easier to eat sensibly the rest of the time. But
surely no one needs chocolate mousse cake everyday. Learn
which desserts pack the most fat and sugar calories. When you
do indulge, consider sharing dessert with someone else at your
table. Can you take a pass on the whipped cream and still be
satisfied? Some people talk about a special exercise which
assists them in weight control. You do this just before
dessert is served – extend your arms and push yourself away – from the
table. This one sounds extraordinarily hard!
AIRPORTS: If you are
flying to your destination, you may need some food while
traveling. Most airports do not have very much available for
health conscious foodies. But look around and undoubtedly
some choices will be better than others. Don’t wait to buy
food on the airplane. You can pretty much count on most
airplane food to have too much sugar, fat, or salt or maybe all
three. The best strategy of all is to bring food from home or
buy food before you get to the airport. If you have time
between flights, skip the moving sidewalks and walk to the next
concourse. If you still have time, walk around and explore,
and burn still more calories. Once strapped in on the
airplane, movement may be difficult but there are some exercises one
can do while seated. These help with circulation and lessen
your chance of blood clots, a complication of flying for some
people.
NO REGRETS: When you get
home, if you are in a bit of a physical mess, don’t waste any energy on
regrets. Just be glad if you can still fit into
your workout clothing. Resume your normal exercise program
the day you return or the very next day. Drive to the
supermarket, or better yet, walk if you can, and load up on healthy
choices. And start looking forward to your next trip!
More articles from Linda:
Driving in the UK
Take your life in your hands
The
Transatlantic Journey - Surviving Long Flight
Keeping fit while
travelling Stay in shape while on overseas business or
vacation
Be prepared for
emergencies - For everyone, not just the Boy Scouts
~~~|H-n-T|~~~
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When one
door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at
the closed door that we
do not see the one which has been opened for us. -- Helen Keller