It is officially the holiday season, which means it is time for treats, toasts, and travel. These things are unavoidable during the holiday season, and keeping up with your fitness routine can be tough with Grandma’s famous pie tempting you, plenty of alcohol flowing, and limited gym access. It comes as no surprise that most people pack on a few extra pounds of winter weight during the holiday months. While you may not be able to avoid the temptation completely while traveling, there are ways to help keep those pounds at bay.
Greens
It is almost impossible not to overload
your plate with food when you see the amazing breakfast buffet laid out in your
hotel lobby or the dinner spread at a family dinner. Consuming the contents of
your plate may switch from simply eating a meal into a full-blown challenge.
Most people’s eyes are bigger than their stomach and they tend to take more
food than their body really needs. An easy way to combat this is to fill at
least half of your plate with leafy greens before adding any other food. Acceptable
greens include, but are not limited to lettuce, spinach, kale, zucchini,
yellow squash, and cucumbers. These foods are extremely low calorie and contain
lots of fiber and water, which will help fill you up faster. This is a great
way to make sure you are eating because you are actually hungry, not because
you want four pieces of Cracker Barrel cornbread.
Skip the bread
When eating out, ask the waiter to nix the
bread at the beginning of the meal. It is loaded with empty carbohydrates that
provide no nutrition or energy, but plenty of calories. This plus the butter
that typically accompanies it creates a calorie catastrophe and makes you less
hungry for the actual meal that you ordered.
Alternate drinks
I am sure you have heard it before; you
should drink one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage that you consume.
This not only keeps you hydrated, and less likely to be hungover the next
morning, but it stops you from always sipping on a calorie-laden cocktail all
night. Alternating water and alcohol can cut your calorie consumption in half.
Morning cardio. It is not always easy to get a workout in
while on vacation due to the lack of a gym and a flexible schedule, which is
why it is so important to get your workout in early. Set your alarm for 30
minutes before you need to get up every day, and go for a quick run. This is a great
way to explore your new location as well as burn off some of the desserts from
the night before. Overslept? Fifteen minutes of sprints 30 seconds sprinting,
30 seconds resting burns as many calories as a 30-minute run. Pick a
staircase or a hill to run up if you are looking for a little extra challenge.
By doing your cardio first thing in the morning, you get it over with and are
less likely to skip it due to a change of schedule later in the day.
Body weight exercises
It is just as important to build muscle strength
as it is endurance. Weighted workouts actually create a thermogenic effect on
the body, which raises the metabolism and keeps the body burning calories all
day long. If you do not have access to weights while away from home,
there are still plenty of body weight exercises that you can do in your
hotel room to torch some pounds. These include push-ups, burpees, wall sits, squats,
calf raises, jump lunges, crunches, and sit-ups. If you are looking for a
little extra weight, try holding a household item such as a weekender sized
suitcase.
It is not hard to stay fit on the go, as long as you are
willing to be a little creative and practice self-control. You can have your
cake and eat it, too, just be sure to add a few more sprints in the morning. If
you follow these tips you will return from vacation looking even better than
when you left.
