HOW TO LOOSE WEIGHT WHILE TRAVELLING?
There is still a lot of time left for the summer holidays, but for some people the process of sculpting the ideal body for a dream holiday began with the New Year's resolutions. How many times have you had this intention? Perhaps you managed to loose a few kilos just to finally be able to give yourself some slack and on the vacation gain weight back again? I have heard many times from friends (and not only), how surprised they were when they returned home, when it turned out how much they gained weight in such a short time. Holidays are usually associated with total laxity and indulgence in every matter, but you can’t overdo it and treat yourself and others without respect. Therefore, while total relaxation favors our mind, satisfying taste buds at the expense of the stomach and well-being is no longer necessary. So what to do to take care of your body while traveling? With these few tips it's easier than you might think!
1. SPEND YOUR TIME OUTDOORS.
It is easier during holidays, especially summer holidays than in any other circumstances. Most of us spend over half of our day in front of a computer, which is why vacation time is the perfect opportunity to completely detach from any screens. Choose accommodation without a TV set, don’t bring your laptop or business phone with you. What if you hit bad weather? Excellently! At home, it wouldn’t occur to you to go out during a downpour, but holiday is something different: even you come back soaking wet, it's wonderful to be able to warm up later with a mug of mulled wine...or two ;)
2. SIGN UP FOR ALL FREE ATTRACTIONS.
The hotel you go to offers free city tour? The host of the guest house organizes cooking workshops? The resort in Portugal provides the first surfing lesson for free? Amazing! Enjoy as much as you can! These activities will help you to stay in shape and not think too much about diet. Often, free attractions are not even presented to guests, so you should always ask at the reception what the neighborhood has to offer. Residents may not be a good source of information, as they usually have the task of presenting a paid offer of their travel agency, but don’t mind asking anyway. It is best to go to tourist information, which has an interest primarily in advertising its region and should provide you with comprehensive information. Many leaflets with a list of various attractions are located in hostels, so even if you are not sleeping there, you can come in and ask for a few. The principle is one: who asks, does not err and...gains more (not weight of course).
3. CHOOSE B&B OR HALF-BOARD.
All inclusive is an atrocity of organized trips. Sure, sometimes it isn’t possible or even advisable to decline it, for example on one-hotel islands or in places where it is better not to go out alone on the streets; however, in most cases, constant access to poor quality food is a bad idea. B & B (bed and breakfast) will be much better, eg when you want to explore a lot, so you’re not restricted with any dinner time hours. While half-board it’s worth considering when you are sure that the evening meal will be of good quality. There isn’t always time and money for eating out every night, but despite that, it's worth trying dishes at a local restaurant to try local delicacies at least once.
4. STOP THINKING ABOUT DIETING.
Apparently, the more focused you are on something, the harder it is to achieve the intended goal. And holidays are after all, intended to relax and stop worrying. Constant thinking about slimming your body or counting calories will harm not only you, but also your travel pals. It's better to spend your free time on activities and thoughts that you don’t usually have enough time for. Look around and treat those moments as something special, something you may never experience again. You don’t want to have memories of constantly tormenting your brain about loosing weight when you’re back, do you?
5. DO THE SIGHTSEEING BY FOOT.
Trips by a city tour coach, tourist bus, boat or rickshaw may seem tempting. They are cheap and promise to visit all the most important monuments at one go. But can you definitely consider this type of sightseeing as valuable? Certainly, you will not be able to find out something interesting about the culture of a place, talk to a local resident or venture into less known places while seating on the bus. A good solution is to visit favorite places on foot and give yourself time to get acquainted with them, even at the expense of the number of attractions that you will be able to visit. It's better to see and learn one thing but neatly than not learning anything from ten attractions :) By the way you'll be in constant motion, which obviously favors an impeccable figure. Walks are considered one of the healthiest types of physical activity. And the lack of a belly is just a side effect ;)
6. TAKE YOUR SANDWICHES ON THE PLANE.
Do you think that you can’t take your food on the plane? Regulations definitely prohibit bringing liquids, and with food it can differ. I always take 1-2 sandwiches with me so that during the trip I don’t have to buy expensive and unhealthy snacks at the airport or on board (except for the long-distance flights providing food, additionally with a vegan option!) And 99% of customs officers don’t have a problem with you having your food on you. I put the sandwiches in hand luggage and they are x-rayed in this way. I don’t try to hide them, or pretend them to be there by accident - honesty works definitely in favor here. Therefore, it’s always worth a try, in the end you lose nothing ;) And one more thing: some people don’t consider sandwiches as fit foods, but in my opinion this depends of course on the sandwich itself. I’m suggesting them packing an apple, a banana, a box of rice or a few carrots.
7. DON’T CHANGE YOUR MEALS HOURS.
Holidays can easily change the natural rhythm of the day. This is not recommended for your stomach and may affect your health and weight, so if possible, try to change meal times and their frequency as little as possible. If you usually eat a little, and often, and suddenly on holiday you starve yourself all day long, to finally eat a hearty dinner, you are not going to feel well. Rule is simple: follow your habits.
8. EAT FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES.
There is nothing more delicious than fresh vegetables, fruits and dishes prepared from them. In particular, warmer months are favorable, so if you are going on a summer vacation, eat as much as you can. Mediterranean cuisine is just one example of the perfect use of what nature gives us in its best form. The bonus is the low calorific value of vegetable dishes :)
9. TRY LOCAL FOODS.
Regardless of how exotic or familiar you are with your travel destination, try local delicacies. Fastfoods are the worst solution, in addition they are destroying regional cuisine. The same applies to cheaper hotels offering all-inclusive meals. As a rule, they try to fit all guests’ tastes, serving safe and tasteless dishes based on products and semi-ready meals with a long expiry date (and a large amount of preservatives), which don’t favor the care of your slim figure. Ask for local restaurants and dinners that are not expensive and attract locals. You might not always find the best one in town, because everyone will probably recommend something different to you, so when entering the place, rely on instinct and pay attention to whether the dishes look fresh, whether it is clean inside and what most local guests order.
The above advice makes the man too busy to think about food. There is no time to snack, there is even no access to the candy machine, which usually stands in the office corridor. So you can actually indulge yourself to the real taste of what the place offers and eat when you really feel hungry. Suddenly, it can turn out that daily with less effort and at the same time, lower energy demand, you eat twice more! Holidays can thus become the beginning of a journey to long-term health and a slim figure! Good luck! :)