Stay Thin Travelling (yes it is possible!)

If keeping a steady weight is a priority for you and you have to work at it at the best of times then keeping a steady weight while on the road may be a challenge for you. Of course when you trip is your yearly 1-2 weeks break from slaving away at work, unless you’re in the entertainment industry, it is probably a great idea to break all your routines, let your hair down and ‘pig out’ and even put on a couple of kilos. But, when travel plans extend a little longer and/or you’re frequent traveller you may want to plan a little to avoid coming home unrecognisable to your family and friends.

DIET TIPS FOR THE ROAD:
Choosing healthy eating options can be a challenge at the best times, but even more so when you are travelling. Factors such as not being able to cook your own meals and being unfamiliar with local foods can cause you to pack on the weight without even realising. And then there’s the human behaviour factor.... of course you want to try all the gorgeous local cheeses, wine and why not have a beer at 11am, just because you can?
Eating in a foreign place is exciting and you should indulge to some extent.... you should try those local cheeses and you should enjoy yourself. But be smart about it; if you have a kitchen available you don’t need to eat out 3 meals a day. You don’t need to cook while you’re on holidays but preparing 2 quick meals a day isn’t going to kill you. Better still, have protein shakes[i] for 1-2 of your daily meals and then you can indulge a little and everything will taste so much better than if you’d gorged or eaten heavy foods all day. You’ll save money too! If protein shakes are a little extreme for you then raw foods (think apples, raw nuts) will have the same calories in every country and every language and make a good easy meal[ii].
If you're a drinker, just remember that while a few drinks won’t hurt, 71 one a day[iii] will. Alcohol calories do add up and your fat cells don’t take holidays.

EXERCISE:
Exercise is your friend when it comes to maintaining your weight.
Running is dead set the best form of exercise as it burns a massive amount of calories, can be done virtually anywhere and it is a great way to see a place. In cities, if you run (or walk) at the same time and place as the locals do, it’s a great way to get a feel for the place. And if you have been travelling for a long time, you can start to feel a little bit ‘out of it’ and running at the same time and place as the locals (think morning and afternoons in any city park) can help you feel like you’re part of society again (without having to work!).

EXTRA WEIGHT MAINTENACE TIPS ON TH ROAD:

• If weighing yourself regularly at home helps you regulate your weight, a pair of jeans will help you do the same on the road. When your jeans start to get a little snug you’ll know to ease off a little before it gets out of hand. Just make sure they’re not stretch or you’ll just stretch with them.
• The best way to ignore weight gain and keep adding more weight is to ‘let yourself go’[iv]. Little rituals you do daily at home, for example having a juice in the morning, taking a multi-vitamin, dry skin brushing[v] and for the girls moisturising your body daily will at least make you conscious of your body and get your mind in a momentum of wanting to look after yourself (and subconsciously looking after your weight). If the only thing you do while you travel to help you maintain a steady weight is keep looking after your body by sleeping well and maintaining daily rituals it will be worthwhile.
• Carry a water bottle so you can sip it and refill it throughout the day. When you're out of your normal routine it is easy to forget to drink your daily quota. Dehydration can make you headachy, hungry and you'll be much more likely to reach for the chippies when you hit your hotel room.

Oops! Heathrow injection anyone[vi]?
So you’ve arrived home with more weight than you left with... and we’re not talking luggage. In this situation it’s healthy to panic a little because statistics show that the longer you leave those extra kgs on you, the more likely you’ll be to keep them on forever. It’s time to get to work but it’s only the first couple of days that are tough. Make a conscious effort to break the bad habits and you’ll be back into the swing of things in no time.

Endnotes
[i] Nalgene Wide Mouth bottles and Sigg 300ml thermos bottles are great for on the go protein shakes.
[ii] You know even at home it is easy to be fooled by foods that look healthy but really aren’t... we’ll it is so much worse when you are in unfamiliar territory, even in English speaking countries.
[iii] This is just a random extreme number, used to make a point, and not meant to be taken literally.
[iv] A tip for girls: ‘not letting yourself go’ doesn’t mean packing on the makeup. Sometimes obsessing about your hair and makeup is a just escapism from other issues (such as weight gain).
[v] Dry skin brushing is the basics of body maintenance in Chinese medicine and you should make the time to do it daily... and yes this is even for guys.
[vi] Heathrow injection: A metaphor for the weight one inevitably gains when one migrates to London for an extended stay. It is attributable to the face-paced lifestyle that leads one to eating mostly take-away and fast foods. (source: urbandictionary)