How To Eat a Lot On Vacation and (Try To) Not Gain Weight
Stone stairs in Croatia
When I picked my Airbnb, it was not from a topographical map. I had no idea that Dubrovnik was vertical. My booty was tired. But I also ate and drank like there was no tomorrow and I didn’t gain any weight. I was very proud of the women in their 70s traveling with me that walked these stairs 3-4 times a day. They called their HIIT trainer back home to assure her that they were not slacking while traveling.
As a person who loves to travel and eat but has always struggled with weight, I am adamant about keeping up my workout routine when traveling. Cruises are easy. Virgin Voyages has over-the-top gyms and classes and the whole ship is adults only.
Las Vegas gyms have the best workout experiences that you can find. I have been working out in Vegas for the 20+ years I’ve been visiting them regularly. They used to be free but now they are included with your resort fee (that’s another blog). The Waldorf Astoria (formerly Mandarin Oriental) had Pilates classes. I ended up getting a private lesson that day because no one else felt like working out on Christmas Eve (why would they?).
Yoga studio at Mandarin Oriental. Photo courtesy of MGM.
If you’re into weightlifting, these resistance bands are pretty great and pack light in your luggage. Walking is absolutely the best way to get that exercise in. I am obsessed with how many steps I take when traveling (look, Honey, 27,000!) especially when I’m in London. Those steps packed extra punch in Croatia (see above, the stairmaster). Find some stairs. Barcelona is not as hilly in the tourist spots but I found some stairs in a park and ran up and down until I thought I had earned a bottle of wine, jamon and the pan con tomate that I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Steep stairs in Barcelona
My favorite way to get a workout when traveling is with my ClassPass membership. I go to a Pilates studio in the Elephant and Castle neighborhood in London that is super fancy and costs $16, In Miami, they ask if it’s ok if the class is taught in Spanish (sure, why not). In Buffalo, I actually got a call canceling a class because it was snowing. Barely!, And aren’t you used to the snow? If this Los Angeles woman can put on wintery UGGS to walk 3 blocks in shoveled snow and ice to work out, you can come teach it. I took a nice class there the next day with a teacher who wasn’t afraid of a little weather.
How about a vacation where you do nothing BUT exercise. I always think I have it in me to go to a “health camp” but I’ve heard they make you hike for 6 hours a day and then you get a chicken breast, broth and a vegetable for dinner. Truthfully, I need this and although they can be a luxury vacation, it’s a commitment to do this on a vacation,
If you are a person who works out five days a week at home and wants to take a break from working out, I applaud you and will call you an uber.
Want to go on vacation so you can work out and eat a lot?
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Off You Go, Then!
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