Traveling and clean eating/exercising away from cathe

[winsomehill]

I'm about to go away where I will be with my beloved family, who celebrate by eating delicious and fattening food. Vegetarians please pipe in, I don't eat meat or eggs, which limits my choices (sometimes a good thing). I'm just curious about everyone's bag of tricks. What do you eat while distance driving? What are your tricks at celebrations? How much do you stick to a diet to avoid feeling deprived, but not fall off the wagon? What do you do for exercise?
Heather

 

[honeybunch1]

I pretty much stick to my same schedule eating-wise while on vacation, because I don't deal well with gaining weight. Just remember that "no" means "no," and there is no law that says relatives have the right to make you eat what you don't want to eat.

As for exercise, I take my music and walking shoes, and do walking lunges and push-ups, and chins if I have access to a bar. I like to keep it simple and not carry a lot of extra exercise gear. I'm gone for the weekend come Friday, and I'm taking my laptop and KickMax and KPC in case it rains.

"You can't win them all - but you can try." - Babe Zaharias ;-)

 

[mogambo]

I'm a lot like honeybunch about this. I eat pretty normally, no one makes me eat anything I don't want and rarely is anything that tempting. I'm vegan at home, but I will eat meat or eggs on vacation or at someone's home if it's the healthiest option available. (I'm not just going to subsist on salad with bottled dressing and white bread).

I drink a lot of water, iced tea. Eat a ton of vegetables and fruit, avoid starchy things so I don't crave starchy things.

For workouts, I sometimes run, do walking lunges and squats, pushups, dips and lots of stuff with the Dynaband. I walk as much as possible. If there's any way to work some active entertainment into the vacation, you'll find me cross country skiing, renting a bike, hiking, swimming, scuba diving (staying warm seems to suck a lot of calories away because I sure get hungry!), playing tennis. Whatever.

Edited to add about driving. I pack fruit, interesting dried fruit, nut mixes, peanut or other nut butters and crackers, lots of water. Individual soy milk boxes.

 

[Lynn M.]

Hi-

I SO know how hard it is to travel and eat clean!! I am a sales rep for a food company..so I am on the road alot and have to do lots of taste testing and restaurant meetings w/ chefs. Its a struggle and I definitely have some bad days!

As far as working out, if I can, I stay at hotels w/ gyms. If they don't have one, alot of times they can direct you to a local gym, sometimes at a discounted/complimentary fee. I always pack workout gear, so I will run or power walk around the area I am staying if its safe.

In regard to diet, this is much tougher for me. I have a bad habit of liking to eat when bored.. so if I am stuck in an airport, or driving long distances, I want to kill time by munching!! When I am being good, I'll bring baby carrots, apples, bananas, protein bars, nuts and tons and tons of water. Plus, I chew lots of sugarless gum. If I really find I need some "junk", I'll grab a tootsie pop.. those seem to quell my sweet tooth. Not sure if you do coffee or tea, but sometimes drinking a hot beverage will help stop the munchies for me too.

If you have to eat out and are by yourself, some of the fast food chains have some really great salads.. McDonalds line of salads are pretty decent nutritionally if you order the low fat dressings and grilled chicken. Wendy's isn't bad either.

Dining out in restaurants, I'll try to get broth based soups, salads, and grilled meats and fish. This is always the hardest part of travel for me, as that most of my chef customers want me to partake of food w/ them. My willpower wanes often at this point!

Its tough, but you can do it!! Take care, Lynn M.

 

[2121]

I try to run while on vacation. The eating thing is bad for me. I will try and eat healthy all day. By evening, I start talking myself into junk, after all I am on vacation. When traveling in the car, I packed turkey sandwiches and veggies. At fast food places, I will order grilled chicken. For me, my problem is getting into the habit of good eating once I get home. Melissa

 

[winsomehill]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll bring a dyna band, my shoes, and a cooler full of healthy options.
Heather