Wellness Practices to Avoid Travel Weight Gain
ummer’s finally here, and the vacation you’ve been planning for months is just days away. We all love vacation, but we don’t love the weight gain that often comes with it. It is possible, though, to indulge on vacation without gaining weight. Let me teach you my ways.
As a fitness professional who travels often and helps clients develop healthy travel strategies, I’ve identified the biggest nutrition and activity pitfalls that lead to travel weight gain: sugary, salty, high-calorie foods; increased alcohol consumption; and not enough water
and activity. Here are
some simple wellness
practices to keep these
common weight-gain
culprits from sending
you home with extra
pounds.
Start smart. Buy some
water and fruit, unsalted
nuts, trail mix or protein
bars ahead of time to avoid eating the sugary, salty, high-calorie foods on planes or from gas station convenience stores. I always travel with Primal Kitchen Collagen Protein bars to tide me over and keep me from feeling sluggish and having digestive issues. While flying, keep alcohol to a minimum and follow each drink with water to help reduce bloating.
Indulge mindfully. You’ve arrived hungry and weary from travel, which can alter your ability to make good, balanced food choices. Do some research ahead of time to find out what dining options are nearby so that you know where the healthy options are in addition to the indulgent ones. If you know you’re going to be consuming more alcohol or desserts than usual, pick one indulgence each day and make the
rest of your
consumption that day
healthy. If you’re
planning a big dinner
with cocktails, for
example, have a light
healthy salad for
lunch.
Michelle Ricker, RDN,
has been a nutrition
professional for over
20 years and has a
great strategy for
managing indulgent
food. “Enjoy the heck
out of it, and then move on,” she says. “Go back to eating in moderation and mostly foods that are good for the body once the indulging is done.” Ricker also suggests techniques to combat jet lag: “Take Melatonin to help you sleep on the plane. Time your caffeine intake to six hours or more prior to bedtime and try earthing when you get to your destination. Getting some sunshine will also help with jet lag.” Earthing is the practice of walking barefoot on the grass, sand, or earth, which is said to help ground you.
S
By Melanie Redd