7 Tips For Fat Loss While Traveling
Last week I had to travel to Washington DC for a few days to help my company fight the IRS. Yes, I know this may be a lost battle. Traveling is very tricky when you are trying to lose fat, get ripped and finally see your six pack abs. Here are some tips that I applied to my trip to DC to help me maintain my healthy eating habits and workouts.
1. Planning – This is the most important tip! If you can plan, than you should be able to stick close to your fat loss plans. Since you should be allowing yourself a ‘cheat’ meal each week, I’d recommend that you plan your cheat meal for your trip (more on this below).
2. Make Sure You Cheat – I knew that I would most likely come upon an eating situation where there would be pressure to eat something ‘unhealthy.’ If you allow yourself one cheat meal a week then this a great way to plan (Once again see how important #1 is?) your cheat meal, just don’t go overboard!!
My second night in DC I went out to dinner with my boss and a consultant. I enjoyed half a steak sandwich, some fries and a beer. Notice that I didn’t eat the whole steak sandwich. Although it was my cheat meal I still used portion control.
3. Fruit & Vegetables- Eat as much fruits and vegetables as you possibly can! I actually paid $20 for a breakfast buffet my last morning in DC and just ate fruit and a bell pepper. Everything else looked really greasy but I was able to fill myself up with a banana, lots of strawberries and half a bell pepper. During my lunches and dinners I asked for steamed vegetables instead of fries or a potato and I made sure I ate them first so I’d get filled up.
4. Use your Intermittent Fast – I try to fast for 24 hours twice a week using Eat Stop Eat. Since I knew I would be traveling for most of the day Wednesday, I planned (See #1 above!) a fast to use Eat Stop Eat. This worked out great because did an intermittent fast from Tuesday after dinner to Wednesday’s dinner. I stuck to drinking black coffee and water up until dinner and I felt great, especially since I knew I was burning fat!
5. Workouts – While I was in DC I was working 10-12 hours days so there wasn’t a lot of time for workouts. So what did I do? I planned (#1 again!) to get up a bit earlier and get a workout done.
If your hotel has a gym that is available for you to use than you should be able to get your workout in.
Unfortunately, the gym at my hotel did not open until 8am!! So what did I do? I did workouts in my room. Since I planned ahead, I did my body weight workouts did them every morning. They were quick but very effective! I woke up 30 minutes early and was able to use some furniture in my room to get in an effective workout.
6. Water, Coffee and Tea – Just because your traveling doesn’t mean you should be drinking calories! I stuck to water, coffee and green tea while I was away. If you’re thinking that diet soda doesn’t have calories, your right. BUT it does have sodium so you can retain water weight when you drink diet sodas.
7. Pack for the Plane – I knew I would most likely get hungry at the airport when I was waiting for my plane home, so I planned ahead! Remember that $20 breakfast buffet I had for breakfast? Well I put some walnuts and almonds in a napkin and had them as a snack with my bottle of water at the airport. They made a great snack.
If you plan ahead when you travel you will do a great job in your fat loss efforts! Remember to eat plenty of fruits and veggies and drink plenty of water!