The holidays can be such a joyful and happy time. But if you are doing any holiday traveling, it can also be a very stressful time, especially if you are trying to stick with an eating and exercise routine. We have come up with some holiday travel tips that will help keep you on track whether you are in a car or on a plane.
Diet Tips:
1. Plan Ahead. Pack protein supplements or other high protein snacks. Having a protein bar or shake on hand will help keep you from reaching into that pretzel basket on the airplane or heading for the candy bars at a roadside rest stop. Plus, these are great options if the continental breakfast at your hotel is only serving pastries. Keep in mind that liquids cannot always be taken through airport security, so take protein powder and an empty shaker cup. You can always find water on the other side of security. Other great high protein snacks that travel well are beef/turkey jerky and pork rinds.
2. Stay Hydrated. Hydration is one of the biggest keys in controlling hunger and therefore snacking. If you are flying, take your favorite water tumbler with you, just make sure it is empty before heading through security. If you are driving, pack a cooler with water, powerade zero, and crystal light. This will keep you from the temptation of the roadside rest stops.
3. Make Airline Meal Requests. Are you flying during a regular meal time? Call your airline and ask if a full meal will be served. If so, you can request a meal based on dietary restrictions…one of your best options will be to ask for a “gluten free meal” or “diabetic meal” .
4. Call the Hotel. Request a mini fridge in your hotel room. With a fridge you can run to the local market and stock up on deli meats and string cheese. If a mini fridge is not an option, that is okay. You can still have a supply of canned tuna or chicken in your room for meal emergencies.
5. Print online menus of local restaurants ahead of time. One of my favorite parts of traveling is trying out the local restaurants. But be smart about it! Most places have online menus now, so do your research. Look at the menus, print them off, and put them in your suitcase. This will help eliminate the stress of finding something on the menu when you are trying to catch up with old friends or family.
Exercise Tips:
1. Plan Ahead. Bring some comfortable shoes that you can walk in. This Thanksgiving I will be in Florida. I have already made plans to walk daily with my boyfriends mom each morning around her neighborhood. If you are staying at a hotel, call and see if they have a gym.
2. Stay active. I put a blog post up last week about looking into Turkey Trots around your area. This is an excellent way to get the whole family involved.
3. Air Travel. You can always walk around the terminal while you wait on your flight. It is important to get up and move around, a lot of people will experience swelling due to flying, make sure you are getting movement in to get the blood circulating and do your stretching when you can. I promise you will feel so much better!
4. Car travel. Road trips are by far my least favorite thing to do, however it has to happen sometimes. I’m a mover, so to be stuck sitting for hours makes me crazy. I take every chance I get to get out of the car and either go walk around the convenience store, the parking lot, walk my dog out on the grass and stretch really well all before getting back in the car. If you have kids, I know rest stops can be a little more difficult so try playing a game with them in a safe area. Even 5 minutes of running around might help get some energy out.
5. Don’t let the weather get you down. There are always alternatives to going outside. I got snowed in one year and I was going nuts. I had watched all the movies I could stand, played every board game I could stand. So, at one point I found some of my moms old workout dvd’s and went and did them. If you don’t have exercise dvd’s, try playing some wii or the xbox kinect with your kids.
Remember, the more you move the more you lose!!!