SHAPE UP
Keep up your routine when far from home
By Charles Stuart Platkin
It's the time of year again when many of us pack our bags and hit the road.
Whether it's visiting relatives or taking advantage of airline travel bargains, this is travel season. It's hard enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle during your familiar daily routine — but what happens when you disrupt your normal schedule and habits? Here are a few tips to keep you healthy and sane on your excursion.
Ask around
On your home turf, you know the healthy places to eat, but a new locale makes it more difficult. Call a concierge at a hotel for a healthful recommendation. Or better yet, ask some locals for their favorite healthful eateries. Be prepared to be specific — there are varying degrees of what one might consider healthful.
Once you have a few possibilities, phone the restaurants and find out what they offer in terms of healthful selections (menu items that are baked, grilled, steamed or broiled). Even fast-food restaurants have healthful choices these days. Take a look at their Web sites for the nutrition information of their products.
Get a room that comes with a kitchen if you can. "This way, if you can't find any restaurants that suit your tastes or your healthy lifestyle, you can actually make meals for yourself," says New York City nutritionist Shira Isenberg. There are many hotel groups — such as Marriott's Residence Inn, Extended Stay America, and Homestead Studio Suite Hotels — where rooms with kitchens are standard and reasonably priced.
Keep cool
If I'm staying in a hotel, one of the first things I ask for is a mini refrigerator. It's a great way to save on expensive hotel meals, and you can purchase healthful foods (cooked chicken breast, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, milk, etc.) at a local supermarket and keep them fresh in your room. While some hotels charge $5 to $10 a day, many are willing to give you a fridge at no cost, especially if you tell them you have strict dietary needs. Call ahead, ask if they charge, and make sure they reserve it for you. Also, some places will even put a microwave oven in your room — it doesn't hurt to ask.
Think ahead
Prepare sandwiches for the plane (or car) the night before you travel. Most airlines have cut back on food service, so you don't want to end up eating five bags of pretzels or, even worse (in terms of calories), peanuts. Pack healthful snacks — after two hours of not having anything in your system, an apple can taste like a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Other ideas include yogurt (in an insulated pack to keep it cold), individual boxes of healthful cereal, and cut-up vegetables.
And eat before you go to the airport, even if it's early in the morning. You don't want to be stuck eating garbage food while waiting at the gate. Not only are airport foods expensive, they're usually also high in calories and fat.
Wherever you're going, pack a water bottle. Traveling can be notoriously dehydrating, leading to false hunger, dizziness, headaches or fatigue.
Virtual fitness
Keeping fit on the road is not easy, but most hotels (and homes, if you're staying with relatives or friends) have DVD or VHS players. There are plenty of exercise videos on the market to choose from. Some even come with exercise bands. A video or DVD is small enough to slip into your carry-on luggage.
For a large selection of such exercise videos and DVDs, try www.amazon.com or www.collagevideo.com. To avoid boredom and cut costs, join Netflix.com, an online DVD movie-rental service that has about 100 exercise and fitness DVDs. Or join PUSH.net, and get a new personalized DVD or video workout program every month -- each one comes with its own easy-to-pack exercise equipment.
Pack your gym clothes
Go online to find a gym in the area you'll be visiting. Try the Web site of the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association: healthclubs.com/find.html. It has more than 6,000 clubs in its search engine.
Once you have a gym in mind, always call first and find out if the gym accepts walk-in guests, and what it costs. Keep in mind that a club might offer you a free trial period that you can take advantage of while on vacation (although it could be restricted to local residents only).
Take a hike
Going for a walk and exploring are great ways to take a break from your relatives/friends (if you're visiting), see a new area and fit in some exercise.
There's a visitor's bureau almost everywhere, with information about hiking trails, walking tours, even shopping malls — any place where you can stretch your legs and get some exercise.
For a bit of a twist, rent a bicycle for your adventure.
Charles Stuart Platkin is a syndicated health, nutrition, and fitness columnist, author of the book "Breaking the Pattern" (Red Mill Press, 2002), and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions. This column is made possible by a grant from the Institute for Nutrition & Behavioral Sciences. Write to info@thedietdetective.com.
