6 Tips to Prevent Weight Gain on Vacation

Wow, is that an oxymoron?  I know most use vacation as a time to destroy bags of Cheetos and hang out at all you can eat buffets for hours.

This is not my idea of a vacation, but that does not mean you need to be all worried about your nutrition every waking hour–it is VACATION remember?

The question I get is what to do on vacation so that you don’t return 5 lbs heavier than when you left.

This past Nov Jodie and I went on a trip to S. Padre TX and since we are in Baja right now,  I thought this would be a great time to give you an inside peak into the vacation fridge and offer up some tips.

A look in my vacation fridge

Here is one tasty breakfast we had!

6 Tips to Vacation Nutrition

1) Pick an active vacation

If you move around more, it is just way easier to burn calories.  This does not mean you need to do marathons for your vacation (although I know those that do, which is cool), but sitting in the sun for 7 days in a row rubbing coconut oil on your ever expanding gut gets old.

2) Hit up the grocery store

You don’t need to troll the buffet for every meal!  Get a place with a fridge so you can store some healthy foods and save some dinero too

3) Bring some basics

I like to bring a good protein powder with me, just in case I stuck somewhere without much for food.  Proteins are usually the hardest to get when traveling and most of the time they require the most prep too.  If you have a good protein powder (I like protein factory), you can easily find some veggies or fruits to go with it.

4) Intermittent Fasting

Yikes, I just said that you can fast on vacation!  I know that sounds insane, but if you know you are having a crazy travel day, food may be hit or miss and airport food is crap-tastic, do a 24 hour fast.    It would be a great way to start off in a bit of a caloric deficit too.     Check out the interview I did with Brad Pilon of Eat Stop Eat HERE (1 hour of audio free).

Review of Eat Stop Eat : Intermittent Fasting to Lose Body Fat

5) Exercise!

I know that sounds nuts too, but go for a run on the beach, do some body weight exercises or bring your TRX Gym in a bag (I brought mine to S Padre and I have it here in Baja with me too)

Push Up Variations

6) Exercise volume

I like to plan my deloads around my vacation time and this works well with clients too.  If you know you are going to be gone in 5 weeks, I have them do a ton of volume (again, I use the Gym Movements DVD on biofeedback to help plan day to day variations) before they leave.   On vacation they can just hit up some work from #5 above and they are set.

The downside is that you may be a bit sore during the first day or two, but it works great.

Summary

There are my 6 tips to prevent the travel/vacation weight gain.   I normally tend to lose weight on vacation and I do enjoy a dark beer (no piss water please) during the evening watching the sunset with Jodie.

If I have a great kiteboard run, my treat is pop tarts.   You don’t need to be neurotic, but it takes a bit of planning.

What tips do you have?  Let’s hear ‘em!  Leave them in the comments!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

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TRX Suspension Trainer Exercises:

The Professor Does Push Up Variations via Video from the Lab

The Professor is back in the ice cold lab here in Minnesota with his super warm lab coat to bring you some chest exercises for you using the TRX suspension trainer.

As you can see in the video above, it is always fun to do those push ups after a nice bench press session!

Comments

Let me know what exercises you want to see the professor do next time by leaving some comment love below!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

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TRX Suspension Trainer Review

by the Professor via video from His lab

The professor is back again in his lab conducting more experiments on unsuspecting athletes. Today we are playing around with TRX Suspension Trainer to do some new exercises.

The first question is

Is This Easy To Set Up?

The short answer is YES, as shown in the video above. It only takes a couple minutes (at most) to have it set up. No more excuses about getting to the gym, bring the gym to you in minutes!

Never Miss A Workout Again!

The TRX Gym in a Bag weighs in only at 2 lbs and can fit in your suitcase, even with all the crazy new airline restrictions.

I personally find it that is is awesome when you travel since you can hook it up to pull up bars, trees, overhangs, and they even have an option that lets you use it from a door!

Excuses, Take a Hike!

No more excuses to not exercise when you travel now!  I love kettlbells, but they are a bugger to travel with and the TRX suspension trainer works great to do some unique exercises that you can’t do with just your bodyweight.

You can set it up almost anywhere!

It is also a great option for military personal that many times are left with less than stellar locations to get in a good training session or much equipment at times.

What’s In the Bag?

TRX Force Kit

From the Fitness Anywhere website about the TRX Force Kit:

Get into Peak Operational Readiness- or, in civilian terms, the best shape of your life. You’ll take your strength and endurance up to the level of America’s highest echelon of fighting forces when you follow TRX® creator and former Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick and Fitness Anywhere Director of Education Fraser Quelch through this one-two punch of a workout. Designed to be performed on alternating days, the two programs begin at a moderate level and ratchet up the training aggressively over a 12-week period, The DVD includes a bonus warm-up routine, two-real time workouts, exclusive tips and techniques from Hetrick and Quelch, and a handy workout log to track your personal progress.

Who Can Use It?

Just about any body can use it since the straps adjust and let you custom the effective weight to your strength levels.  There are many professional athletes from NFL quarterbacks to extreme sport athletes to soccer players such as:

• Drew Brees, NFL Quarterback, New Orleans Saints
• Heather Mitts, Pro Soccer Player, Two-time USA Olympic Gold Medalist
• Carmelo Anthony, Pro Basketball Player, Denver Nuggets
• Ronnie Faisst, Freestyle Motocross (FMX)) Rider
• Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Freestyle Motocross (FMX)) Rider
• Holly Beck, Professional surfer and Surf Stronger athlete

Summary

If you are looking for something to have in your home gym or start your own home gym and take it on the road with you, this is great and I would recommend it.   If you have access to a full gym all the time it may not be for you, but even just taking one day  “off” from the normal gym and doing some bodyweight and TRX exercises at home will save you some time.

Stay tuned for more TRX exercises coming soon!

Any and all comments, let me know below!  I want to hear what YOU think!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

Click HERE To Buy a TRX Portable Gym in a Bag today!