Souvenirs or Cellulite: Which Will You Be Bringing Home From Your Summer Vacation?
By Amanda Graydon, MA, BEd, BSM
First published at www.johnberardi.com, July 25, 2006.

Summer is here and that means vacation time! Talk about excitement!

However, for all you health and fitness-minded readers, vacation time can also carry a bit of stress. After all, most vacationers abandon their healthy lifestyles, skipping exercise and overindulging in treats during their vacations.

The beautiful thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Your commitment to making physical activity and healthy eating part of your lifestyle can include vacation-time as well. Remember, your commitment to a healthier lifestyle is like taking wedding vows - in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, when in the Bahamas or when back at home.

So, to help you keep on track during the vacation season, here are 15 great exercise and nutrition tips.

Further, if you want to talk more about ways to keep your body in top shape, even during your summer vacations, pick up a copy of Dr Berardi's Precision Nutrition program. In addition to the great resources provided, there's an awesome member's only forum where folks just like you are discussing this topic (and many more) right now.

Top 5 Pre-Travel Tips

Tip #1
The 8 Week Lean-Out
With vacation coming up, this is a great time to create a deadline and drop some serious fat. So eat clean, healthy meals, engage in a challenging weight lifting program and step up your cardio interval training. Aim for significant fat loss during the 8 weeks leading up to your trip.

There are 2 great reasons for doing this: 1. you will finally reach that lean, sexy physique you’ve been striving for and 2. you’ll have some flexibility in your food selections while you are on vacation.

If you are as lean as you’ve ever been prior to going on vacation you will have the option of ingesting a few sweets or cocktails without having dramatically disappointing results plastered across your midriff and other areas of your body. With this slight buffer room, you’ll have the choice to top off a few of your dinners with a desert and share in a celebratory toast with friends and family, without having to worry too much about the effects that Tequila Sunrise will have on your body. That’s of course assuming that you’re not having too many of these cocktails or other deserts. A toast is simply a toast, and a desert is not the entire pie. Keep all things in perspective here, or your body’s perspective will inevitably change.

Tip #2
The 5-day Maintenance Plan
As you near the end of your 8 week, fat loss, it’s time to pick a 5-day (or 10-day, depending on how long you’re going away) maintenance training program for your vacation. Now, you might be thinking:

“Vacation and work-out in the same sentence? Did I just read that right? I thought I was taking time off from the gym on my vacation.”

Don’t gasp at this thought just yet. Your 5 day maintenance program will be different than the hard working, high intensity program you’ve been doing for the past 8 weeks. Your previous 8 week program helped you to maximize your fat loss. By the end, you should be looking hot and ready to strut your stuff in a flattering bikini or swimsuit!

However, it’s always important to keep the momentum going. While it’s unlikely that you’ll see your hard earned, shapely build fade from an hour glass figure to a blob of cottage cheese in just 7-14 days, it’s not impossible to gain 5-8 lbs of body fat in a single week. So why risk going backwards? Why not include fun activities and some light training that will help you counteract the lazy days and all you can eat buffets?

Pick a short, flexible, low intensity 5 day work-out routine that will allow you to break a sweat and invest about 5 total hours of your 1-week vacation to the gym. Remember, your vacation program is not intended to build muscle, improve your explosive power, encourage a shift to fast twitch fibres or any other adaptation you may conjure up. No. This vacation training program is simply meant to work your muscles, burn some calories, and balance all those yummy foods you’ll undoubtedly treat yourself to. Why feel guilty about indulging when you can earn your indulgences.

When creating your program, be sure to include only minimal amounts of equipment, as most vacation facilities are very basic – a few treadmills, some light dumbbells, and a few barbells is all you should expect. So do some body weight exercises in the sand and plan some runs on the beach. Make it fun.

Tip #3
Packing Work-out Clothes
This may not need to be said, but to eliminate even the slightest chance that you may “forget” these items I am deliberately making note of them here. You need to add these articles of clothing to your luggage as they are just as important as your bathing suit and toothbrush. Without them, you’re less likely to perform the work-outs and activities you’ve planned above. So no excuses – pack your workout clothes!

Tip #4
Travel Snacks
You need to have snacks prepared for the times when food isn’t going to be available or the only foods available aren’t going to be foods you would ever think of eating. Here is a list of foods you should not travel without:

Mixed Nuts (trail mix) – put together a blend of nuts (include pine nuts, hazel nuts, cashews, pecans, almonds, walnuts etc.), next add a few craisins for a little sweet flavour

Oranges – I suggest packing only a couple of oranges as you will want to eat these before landing in another country if you are traveling international. Most foreign countries will not allow you to import any citrus. Also pack a few napkins as oranges can be a little messy.

Mango – Cube or slice a mango and store it in a Ziploc bag. Mango is a quick and tasty treat to have on the road with no mess.

Apples – Again, like the oranges, only pack a few apples if you are traveling international. You can eat the apples as snacks on the way to the airport, in the airport and on the airplane. There is plenty of time to have these fruits on your travels and if you want to toss the extras as you are de-planing there are several trash cans along your way to the security lines. Alternatively, you could just leave the extra citrus fruits with your airline stewardess/steward they will toss them for you.

Carrots and Peppers – As a clean and healthy eater you know how important those veggie servings are. I guarantee any meal you get at an airport or on the plane are not going to meet your vegetable intake so pack along any vegetables that are quick and easy to eat. I suggest carrots and pre-chopped peppers, but there are likely other convenient veggie snacks you can think of.

String Cheese – Believe it or not, string cheese is a food that provides just enough nutrients and very little fat. Pack along your partly skimmed string cheese and have this with your mixed nuts and a fruit or veggies and you’ve got a healthy snack.

Water – Hydration is critical while traveling and people usually forget to pack some water, forcing them to pay ridiculous airport prices. While flying, the likelihood of dehydration is increased, due to cabin air pressure adaptations. It is recommended that you consume 1 cup/hour of fluid throughout your flight. Now, this may mean for some of you that you are running to the lavatory often; if this is the case consume slightly less fluid, but whatever you do don’t forget to sip.

Green Tea bags – You’ve grown accustom to your daily green tea and now that you’re traveling finding that bag of green tea might be difficult. So pack your own! You can always get a cup of hot water and simply dunk in your own tea bag.

Tip#5
Your Supplements
As nearly every good exercise plan includes some supplemental protein, some fish oil, and some emergency protein bars, you should have these handy at home. So bring them along on your vacation.

You need a zip-loc bag full of enough fish pills to last you 7-14 days. Do the math, count out the capsules and put them in your carry-on luggage. Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean your body won’t benefit from those healthy fats just as it does every other day of the week. Popping back a few capsules when you eat is not what I consider work, so vacationing doesn’t mean skipping out on your fish capsules.

Next, you need to pack enough protein bars to last you the travel time to your vacation destination and on your return trip home. You will not likely need to ingest protein bars during your stay, since there will be so many protein sources to choose from. But don’t leave your body stranded with no protein while you’re traveling. These bars will be packed in your carry-on bag.

Combine a half or a whole protein bar (depending on your body size and typical portion amount) with your other snacks on the way to the airport, at the airport, on the plane, on your way to your resort and on your way home as well.

(Note: Check out the awesome bars provided in Dr Berardi’s Precision Nutrition program – these are the ones I use exclusively myself, and with my clients.)

Now the powder. I suggest bringing either a sealed jug of protein powder or a Ziploc bag of protein powder. The powder will be packed in your ‘checked’ luggage bag. You can put the powder in your carry-on bag, however the security may be suspicious of the contents, which could lead to a short search and then you will be free to pass. Spare yourself the 30 minute search and place the powder in with your other checked luggage.

Depending on your travel accommodations it may be necessary for you to mix up a shake in times of food shortage or for during and post workout times. However the protein powder is optional as you likely won’t find yourself needing it often. But, with that being said, the moment you want it, you won’t have it, so that is why I suggest packing the powder along with your other checked luggage.

Although the powder may be optional the fish capsules and protein bars are not. Don’t leave home without your fish capsules and protein bars conveniently stowed away in your carry-on luggage.

Top 5 On-the-fly Travel Tips

Tip #1
Airport Dining
If you find yourself at the airport over a meal hour and a snack just isn’t enough to satisfy your hunger you may be forced to order from one of the fast food joints located at most airports. Although this meal will cost your wallet, don’t let it cost your physique with these ordering strategies.

Similar to your meals at home be sure to order a meal that includes a protein source and veggies, inevitably it will have many unwanted carbs, but you can discard them before you begin to eat your meal. One other thing you need to emphasize when placing your order is no added sauce – specifically say “no mayo, no butter, no ketchup, no mustard, no added anything!” Next, when you are encouraged to “supersize” your meal, resist the temptations – your body will be thanking you. And lastly, don’t waste unwanted calories on your beverage. Calorie containing drinks are just a waste of calories. Instead order water or hot water and drop in your green tea bag from your carry-on.

All in all, you will have to lower your nutritional standard slightly to accommodate the fast food offerings. But don’t sweat it. You’ve got your snacks along with you, so make the best of what’s available so you don’t have to miss meals. Standing in a line is one thing, but standing in line starving is something you don’t want to have to endure on your vacation travels.

Tip #2
Snacks every 2-3 hours
Save your spending money for souvenirs and save your physique by sipping on your water and snacking every 2-3 hours. With your snacks packed you will be able to spend your money on souvenirs rather than undesirable fat, laden airport meals. Your snacks will be comprised of a small handful of your homemade trail mix, a string cheese or ½ a protein bar and a serving of fruit or veggies accompanied by regular sips of water. These snacks need to be ingested every 2-3 hours without fail. Your body is used to this routine and you will feel hungry every 2-3 hours whether you’re traveling or not. Feed yourself, you’re prepared and it won’t take that much effort. Airport patrons around you will be wishing they had the snacks you do.

Tip #3
Added calories on the plane
Depending on how long your flight is, you will be offered various beverages and snacks. You need to stick to water (ice cold for refreshment or hot water and add your tea bag for a little taste of home) and decline all sodas and fruit juices. Secondly, you need to turn down all small bags of snacks that are offered to you. If you take them they will sit before you on your tray and will only prove to be a temptation to your taste buds and disappoint your physique. There is no need to accept these unwanted calories when you are as well prepared as you are, with your own much healthier snacks.

Tip#4
In flight meals
For longer flights you will be offered small meals, try to get a meal similar to the airport meal with a protein source and veggies. Remember you can discard the unwanted carbs before you begin to eat the meal. This meal may not be a gourmet meal, full of nutrients and flavour like you are used to at home, but at least you’ve done all you can to preserve your physique without simply skipping a meal or eating a high fat, high carb meal – which, by the way, are two of the worst options you could take. You have done your best by snacking every 2-3 hours on your healthy carry-on foods and you’ve been sipping your water religiously. Traveling does have its nutritional consequences, but they don’t have to be taxing on your body. Especially when you’ve prepared as well as you have.

Tip #5
Stretching
Give your body a break from that uncomfortable, possibly crowded window seat and go for a walk as soon as the seatbelt sign has dimmed. Just because you have a ticket with a seat number on it, doesn’t mean you are confined to that small space. With the number of travelers increasing and anywhere between 12 and 212 other people (depending on the size of your plane) on your plane, you are pretty much guaranteed a full flight. Now if you are one of those lucky travelers who either requested an exit seat or surprisingly fell into one, you can simply stretch your legs out before you and stand at anytime and stretch out your upper body. However, for the majority of travelers you’ll need to step out into the aisle for a stroll every so often and take an opportunity near the lavatories in the open spaces to raise your arms and stretch. After all, no one likes that cramped up feeling your muscles get after being positioned in one way and not having any room to adjust to a more comfortable position. No matter how annoying neighboring passengers may think your moving around is, treat yourself to a little walk and parade your hard earned, confident, fit figure. Other passengers will be wishing they were looking and feeling a little more like you.

Top 5 All-Inclusive Resort Tips

Tip #1
Understanding All-Inclusive
Most resorts and vacation spots are all-inclusive. And all-inclusive means all you can eat and drink all day long without paying on the spot. This is where most people get into trouble.

You see, most resorts serve food 24-7 and each meal is buffet style. So it’s easy to take a spoonful here and a few scoops there until you’re overeating in a big way. To prevent this from happening, there are a few things you’ll need to do. First, you need to set a portion limit before entering the buffet line. There are so many foods to try and new flavours to taste, you need to hold back your scoops. A good rule of thumb is this – take only one spoonful per food item. With this limit in place you can try out several new foods and still maintain a serving size similar to what you are used to at home.

Remember, this food is here all day, every day while you’re on vacation. There is no scarcity of food at your resort, so don’t dash up to the buffet thinking you need to pile your food in mounds on your plate, as if you’re a starving third world inhabitant.

The next portion restriction you need to set is a tough one: the number of trips up to the buffet. I suggest taking your time to eat and going up twice; once for the appetizer/salad bar (using the small plates provided) and a second time for the entrée. You may allow yourself to visit the desert bar once or twice on your vacation, but to maintain your figure I wouldn’t venture to the desert bar regularly or you’ll be packing pounds instead of souvenirs on your trip home.

Instead take your time and enjoy the delicious array of ethnic foods and have similar serving sizes you would normally have every 2-3 hours at home. The only difference between your vacation food and home food is selection and availability without preparation! Just because you aren’t preparing the meals, does not mean you need to overindulge. All-inclusive is not an open invitation to stuff yourself! Eat responsibly. This is not the end of the world, nor is it your last meal, so don’t treat your body so poorly and over eat.

Your next consideration has to do with your food selections. Just like at home, you need to include a lean protein source and veggies on your plate. There will be such variety in your protein selections you won’t know which to choose first – salmon, lobster, turkey, chicken, just to name a few. Also, the veggies will be prepared in many novel and creative ways and will add a flare to your meal that is incomparable to the vegetables that you serve at home.

Again, just like at home, your high carb foods will be reserved for meals eaten within 2-3 hours after your work-out. This rule is the same as at home and does not change just because you’re on vacation. But you can thank your trainer and give yourself a pat on the back for having planned your vacation training program.

This program allows you to venture to the pasta, rice, bread, pastry and desert buffets after your work-outs. Without work-out sessions high carb foods are off limits to you - if you’re serious about maintaining your weight, while on vacation. Use your post work-out meals as they are intended and leave high carb foods out of all the other meals in the day.

And what about drinks? Well, if you thought soda pop had sugar in it, just wait ‘til you see how cocktails like the Bahama Mama, Pina Colada, Daiquiri, Margarita and other drinks are poured, shaken, stirred and served. These fruit drinks are what I call the ultimate calorie filled beverage. Many vacationers easily pack away 1000-1500 calories a day in drinks alone. That’s right, with the high number of calories in these drinks (sugar and alcohol) you will be doubling, tripling, and quadrupling your daily caloric intake without even knowing it. All the sun, fruit flavours, alcohol and refreshing ice will cloud your rational thoughts and next thing you know you’ll be ordering one after the other just like a pro.

Overindulgence in alcohol will replace good nutrient rich foods you could be having at the restaurant. With all the drinks and the effects of alcohol starting to take effect you will forget to eat, lose your appetite and miss out on delicious meals. These drinks will take you off your 2-3 hour meal plan quicker than you know it. And you know from your everyday eating plan how detrimental missing meals can be.

Another thing to remember is that most mixed drinks at all-inclusive resorts have little alcohol-but the alcohol they do have is potent. So you’re drinking mostly sugar with a small splash of alcohol. If you want to get your drink on properly, order wine, beer/ale, or something on the rocks. Don’t drink 20 mixed drinks just to get your buzz on.

And when it comes to meals, I highly recommend to simply bring your green tea bags to the restaurant and sip mostly water and green tea with your meals.

Tip #2
Take Your Fish Capsules
Enter your dining hall with fish capsules in pocket, just as you would any other restaurant outing at home. Being on vacation does not mean you leave all your regular dietary habits on the airport runway. Take with you to the dining hall your fish pills and be sure to ingest them prior to every meal. No exceptions; do not leave out the little dietary details you include all year long. It really isn’t that difficult to throw back a few pills before you eat, there is no work involved.

Tip #3
Plan Your Number of Meals per Day
Now, when it comes to feedings, if you’re used to consuming approximately 5 meals/day, on your vacation you’re going to want to feed yourself slightly less, and have a total of approximately 4 feedings/day. Remember, at most resorts, the buffets are available 24-7. So you can eat whenever you like.

Of course, you will need to exercise some individual discretion here, as the number of feedings depends on your activity level that day. For example, if you have your vacation training, swimming, and a game of tennis planned you may require an additional feeding. That is a total of 3 planned physical activities and you will need to eat accordingly.

By now, you know your body best; if you are hungry you need to eat. Abide by your dietary habits as usual and you’ll have no added vacation pounds to the scale. However, if you just start eating whenever, skipping meals, piling food on your plate, visiting the buffet 3 and four times each sitting, the needle on your scale is destined for an upward swing.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that days you are more active you are going to need to replenish fuel stores slightly more. But this does not mean you indulge in a ‘pig-out’ session at the buffet. Overeating at one sitting can be enough to set your body on a downward spiral. Plan out your meals at the beginning of the day according to the amount of planned activity you have for that day and your figure will be thanking you.

Tip #4
Exercise Daily
Work-outs on vacation? Who ever heard of such a thing? Well, let me tell you, a vacation work-out is the best feeling ever! Heck, that’s why resorts, hotels, parks are including gimnasio (as they say in Spanish), for the comfort of their guests.

Look at it this way, every other work-out day of the year, you must plan your meals, your work schedule, family and friend time, errands, travel etc, the list goes on…on vacation, to your advantage, your meals are taken care of – no cooking – your work schedule is so far from your mind there is no possible way it can infect your workout, your family and friends are with you, there are no errands to run, and travel to the gym is a matter of footsteps from your suite, what more could you ask for?

So as you can see your work-outs are going to be more enjoyable and relaxing than ever before. And the next best thing about your vacation work-out is the maintenance program you brought with you. You are not here to work on max reps or have high intensity work-out sessions. Instead you are on a 5-day maintenance program. Your work-outs can happen any time of the day, if you prefer morning work-outs go for it, there is no rush, you are not off to work or a meeting you are simply going to take a few steps out of your suite and saunter on over to the gym. If afternoon or late evening work-outs are for you then take your opportunity. Remember part of being on vacation is doing what you want when you want. Don’t skip your work-outs!

Tip #5
Try New Activities
Tennis, mini-putt, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, swimming, horseback riding, archery, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, water aerobics, dancing lessons, running, yoga classes, have you ever heard of so many activities all within steps of your room? With such a variety of activities to choose from don’t limit your cardio to a machine in front of a mirror with headphones.

Staring aimlessly at a TV program, with 20 other sweaty people is not an environment you need to include in your vacation. That is reserved for every other time of the year while you’re confined to your gym’s cardio quarters, but on vacation get out there and take part in the goings on at your resort. Lay on the beach for an hour or two, then spare your skin’s poor melanocytes and head over to the tennis courts for a friendly match with a new found friend or family member.

Next, get in a light meal and take an hour to rest and relax. That’s what you’re here for!

After that, jump in the pool for a swim and game of aqua-ball. Or maybe a light jog along the beach is more your style, all you need is your bathing suit; no radio necessary it would only drown out the sounds of rushing water along the surf, and shoes would take away from the feeling of sand between your toes and why layer up with clothing when you’re just going to jump into the ocean after your jog?

You can see how in one day you can easily get in 30 minutes of aerobic activity outside of your vacation training program. If tennis, swimming and jogging aren’t your thing, then dive in on the next volleyball game, or get in the front row of an aqua-robics session or maybe loosen up your hips to a salsa sway. There is so much to choose from and you can have so much fun doing it. Strive to get in your work-out and an additional 30 minutes of activity and you’ll be feeling great inside and out. Show off your firm, round, muscles and lean shapely physique all week long!

In the end, these are just a few great vacation strategies for staying active, healthy, and fit while eating right and enjoying a great, relaxing vacation. And I know they work because I just came back from a week in Mexico – 2 lbs lighter than when I left.

About the Author
Amanda Graydon is president of Healthy Kitchens, a distance-based consulting company that teaches men and women of all ages and occupations how to create the right environments to help them lose fat, re-shape their bodies, and develop healthy eating habits. For more information please visit www.healthykitchensmakeover.com

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