On- Call… with Editor Donna Thomas

As cold as it is outside spring is right around the corner, and for many families that means spring break vacation, or at least getting in shape up for the warmer months ahead.  Donna Thomas asked expert fitness trainer Brian Hernandez to share his thoughts on how your family can prepare to feel fit and healthy whatever your plans may be. It’s going to get warmer soon, so get up and move!

Does your upcoming vacation have you worried about your waistline? You should be!

Brian Hernandez, Personal Trainer and Owner of VIP 1-1 Fitness, Fort Lee, NJ

The average person gains almost a pound a day while on vacation. But that doesn’t have to be you. Most of the time extra pounds sneak up on you when you least expect it, so decide right here and now that your vacation will leave you slimmer than when you left.

All you have to do is have a plan. As you embark on your next vacation adventure, use these 7 tips to come home fitter than when you left.

Trick #1: Cut Your Carbs
Vacation days are notorious for carbohydrate rich meals, and it’s a well-known fact that too many carbohydrates will quickly add up to unwanted pounds. Combat this fat-trap by choosing one meal per day to go carb-less.

• Breakfast: This may be the most effective meal to use the carb-less trick, since breakfast often involves breads, pastries or pancakes. Skip the toast and fill up on egg whites and lean breakfast meats.
• Lunch: A great carb-less lunch is a salad with lean meat. It’s so filling and satisfying that you won’t even miss the bread.
• Dinner: Since you’re on vacation, you don’t want to feel deprived, so dinner is the hardest meal to go carb-less. But if you’ve indulged at breakfast and lunch then make it a point to cut the carbs at dinner. Stick with veggies and lean meats.

Trick #2: Be Active
If your travels keep you too busy for a workout, or if your hotel does not have an exercise room, make a conscious effort to be active every day. Go on a brisk walk after your day’s activities. This is a great way to see a new city, and also a great way to burn off extra calories. Take the stairs instead of elevator in your hotel and any other buildings you visit. Go on a short jog in the mornings or evenings of your stay. If your hotel has a pool, swim a few laps each morning or evening.

Trick #3: Create a Vacation Exercise Plan if You Have the Option
Have your fitness instructor develop a unique exercise program to take on vacation or on the road if you need to go out of town. It can be an abbreviated workout that you can do in the hotel gym or even in your hotel room. The routine should be simple to perform and should compliment your current work out program

Trick #4: Indulge with Control
Eating out is a must while on vacation. Whether you’re visiting 5 star restaurants or fast food diners, you are faced with the same problem: large portions. While the easiest thing to do with a large portion meal is to simply eat it all - you are on vacation after all...right? That isn’t the best decision for your waistline.

When you order your meal ask the waiter or waitress to bring you a to-go box. Take half of your meal and place it safely into the box before you even begin to eat. This gives you no choice but to eat a healthy portion. If you would rather not carry around a to-go box then ask that your entrée be made into a smaller portion. If it is dinnertime ask for the lunch-sized entrée.

Trick #5: Don’t Eat Late
One of the easiest tricks for preventing weight loss is to simply stop eating 3 hours before you go to bed. This is especially effective while on vacation. So skip that late night indulgence and wake up looking and feeling great.

Trick #6: Snack Healthy
Have you ever noticed how travel days create the perfect opportunity for snacking? A coffee and muffin before your flight, a snack on the plane and then before you know it - it’s lunch time! Taking a road trip? This opens up even more opportunities for regrettable snacking...rest stop vending machines, gas station quickie marts and of course the never ending string of fast food restaurants along the highway.

This summer cut unhealthy snacking off at the pass by bringing along your own healthy options. Dried or fresh fruit, unsalted nuts, health bars, cut veggies and low fat crackers are a good start. By filling up on these healthy snacks between meals you will end up eating less when presented with a less-than-healthy meal.

Trick #7: Avoid Fried Foods
Fast food restaurants are definitely convenient, with their low prices and quick service, but the convenience is not worth the additional pounds brought on by chips and fries. As you enjoy your vacation keep this in mind: avoid fried foods. While this is always good advice to follow, it is even more important to abide by while traveling.

While vacationing you will likely burn fewer calories each day than you would burn at home, and you are consuming more calories due to your schedule of eating out. You are walking a fine line, and eating fried foods would throw you right over the edge. A gram of fat contains 9 calories as compared to the 4 calories that proteins and carbohydrates carry - so you can see that consuming fried foods will drastically increase your caloric intake.

If I still haven’t convinced you to pass on the curly fries, keep in mind that heartburn and indigestion are never fun...especially while on vacation!

Brian Hernandez is a dedicated fitness professional and his mission in life to educate and motivate ordinary people to achieve extraordinary health and fitness results.  Brian coaches and trains individuals for weight loss, lean muscle gain, holistic wellness, and sports performance.  Brian’s background is in food science and has personal training certifications from the nationally recognized AFAA and ISSA.