I once gained 10 lbs in 1 week on vacation…
I have a confession to make. I used to be really overweight as a kid. That’s not my confession.
But I once went away with my family … and gained TEN pounds in one week. Ten.
I was in around 14 or 15 years old. And it wasn’t that there were a TON of junk foods around — sure, some cookies, chips, maybe desserts. But it was what I now see as mindless eating at its best.
Our family has a house in Upstate NY — on Lake Champlain — we’ve gone ever since we were younger. In fact, my dad and uncle grew up going there too.
Well when you walk into the house, from the outside, you go through a screened in porch to the kitchen. And then to the rest of the house. That means every single time you go in inside and out, I saw (and usually ate) food.
A lot of mindless eating.
I also remember trying to convince my parents that they should bring my football equipment so I could prepare for double sessions. They did.
I remember doing nothing. Except relaxing.
Fortunately I’ve since learned better and now make smarter decisions.
…so can you actually stay on track and continue to work towards your fitness goals while vacationing?
This came up in the blog yesterday, when I asked what people do to stay on track during their travels. You see, the Mohr Clan will be at the beach soon and we wanted to hear some other ideas for staying on track.
So here are some simple fat loss strategies while you vacation … and what we plan to do while away ourselves (not gain 10 lbs in a week!). Let’s start with nutrition.
- Pack your food if you’re planning a road trip. Because we now have an almost 1 year old, we’ll be driving … we’ll have too much stuff to even consider driving 10+ hours with her. So we’ll have a cooler in the back seat, knowing that the only food options you’ll find along the highway are none that will keep you on track.
- Prepare some meals when you’re there. Jenny left a comment on our blog that since she has extra time when vacationing, she uses it to cook some healthier options. Sure, eating out can be fun, but take advantage of your local environment and foods and prepare some of your own.
- Be careful of the mindless eating. It’s easy to pick and snack without giving it much thought — from chips to nuts and other snack food. The rationalization? "I’m on vacation, I’ll get back on track NEXT week." Coincidentally "next week" always becomes the week, month, or year after. Always make aware of what you’re eating.
- Watch your alcohol intake. Will we have more drinks than normal? Sure. But it doesn’t mean drinking a blender full of mixed drinks, a bottle of wine, or a 6-pack every night.
How about training? Many times we hear "I’m on vacation, so I’m going to relax." Since you now have the entire day to relax, get some exercise out of the way first thing in the morning … then relax all you want on the beach, in the pool, or whatever you’re doing. Here are our plans.
- Make use of the environment. We always say you don’t need a gym to get or stay in shape, lose that muffin top, or whatever your "complaint" is. We’ll have a beach. And nothing is better … or more unique since we don’t have those here in Kentucky … we will definitely be doing sprints on there. The soft, uneven surface, offers a completely unique workout for your body that challenges you beyond the traditional pavement or even grass.
- We’ll also be bring our TRX – an incredible tool for challenging body weight workouts and one we highly recommend, even for home workouts (or to bring with you to the gym).
- We have "battling ropes" too that we use at Mohr Results boot camp and for our own workouts. We’ll throw those in the car too, as those will be fun on the beach as well. Just another alternative to traditional intervals.
But of course you don’t have to have any equipment at all — simply walking or running takes no more than a decent pair of shoes.
What we personally WON’T do is step inside a gym. We do that regularly — so want something different. To us there is so much to do with our own environment and body weight, it’s nice to take advantage of that so exercise continues to stay fun.
Pushups, burpees, sprints, body weight squats, lunges, TRX exercise, battling ropes, etc … all in the sand. Now THAT’S a workout!
Enjoy your summer vacations!
