Take no vacation from eating well, exercising

Published: August 14, 2007

To diet or not to diet, that is the question — when on vacation. It's a tough one. However, eating well and keeping active on vacation can make for a more enjoyable trip.

With that in mind, I've come up with a vacation diet cheat sheet.

Always try to plan the "food” part of your trip. You spend time planning all the other details, but you often neglect the food and fitness parts. Here are a few examples of good "packable” foods:

•Cereal in a cup: These are portion controlled at 1.5 ounces, and they're easy to store and use (under 120 calorie per ounce).

•Sandwiches: Pre-cut them into portion-controlled sections. Try chicken, turkey, cheese or peanut butter and jelly (on whole-wheat bread).

•Water: Dehydration can exacerbate hunger and fatigue.

•Energy bars: While they can be high in calories, they are often better than pizza or candy bars.

•Nonfat yogurt: A wonderful portable snack (although perishable).

•Peel and eat tuna and salmon cups: Chicken of the Sea makes these easy-to-open cups that give you a quick protein source.

•Nuts: They're a good source of protein and can help fend off hunger. Portion them into 1-ounce bags (about 160 calories each).

•Dried or freeze-dried fruit: Eat dried fruit in moderation; it's high in calories.

•Fruit: Stick with resilient fruits, such as apples and oranges.

•Look for supermarkets. Go online to www.google.com and to the ZIP code of the location.

•Fast food can help. You can eat healthy fast food on the road. Just explore the chain's Web site to get nutritional information and make the best picks in advance (or go online to www.dietdetective.com/content/view/2119/156/). For instance: McDonald's Southwest Chicken Salad has 320 calories, 9 grams fat, 30 g carbohydrates, 30 g protein and 7 g fiber.

•Stay in health-minded hotels. Newer properties usually have the best fitness facilities with the latest equipment. Go online to www.athletic mindedtraveler.com to help you find accommodations in various cities that promote a healthy lifestyle ($19.95 per year).

•Scope out the territory. Find healthy restaurants. Try calling the concierge or hotel manager at a few local hotels (even if you're not staying there) to get recommendations. Find out if the menus are available online so you can make decisions before you get there.

•Get moving. Ask if there are hiking or walking trails nearby, local fitness facilities or other interesting activities that require you to move. If your motel or hotel has no gym, try The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association Passport Program, which gives members of participating clubs guest privileges at more than 3,000 clubs worldwide. Find a club by going online to www.healthclubs.com/passport.

•Find a farmers market. For information on places to find fresh, healthful food, go online to the U.S. Agriculture Department's Web site at www. ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets.

•Get a kitchen. Ask if your hotel has rooms with kitchens, or ask for a fridge and microwave in your room — even if you have to pay a small fee. Not that you should spend your vacation cooking in your room, but you can stock up on fruits and vegetables and use the microwave to make snacks such as popcorn or even microwavable packaged foods such as those at www.simplyasia.net or www.world pantry.com/anniechun/home.html.

•Get wet. The free online database www.swimmersguide.com provides a detailed directory of public swimming pools at 18,266 facilities in 165 countries.

•Get out and walk. Again, go online and do a search at www.google.com or www.yahoo.com. Type in "walking tours,” "hikes” and/or "bike rentals” and the location you'll be visiting. Walking burns 246 calories per hour.

•Go sightseeing. Download tours to your MP3 player at www.audio steps.com and www.tourcaster.com.

•Give it the old college try. Visit nearby universities or colleges, a beautiful way to spend an afternoon just walking around.

•Go for a hike. Here are a few sites to visit: Trimbleoutdoors.com (http: //backpacker.trimbleoutdoors.com/backpacker/home.aspx) offers thousands of day hikes and includes interactive maps, photos, video and downloadable GPS files; Localhikes.com ( www.localhikes.com); Trails.com ( www.trails.com) with descriptions and maps of more than 38,000 trails charges $49.95 per year, but it does have a 14-day free trial; and Recreation.gov ( www.recreation.gov) is the U.S. government's one-stop shop to the outdoors with information on things such as monuments, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, water-skiing and rock climbing, wildlife observation and caving. It lists 388 National Park Service areas, 3,200 federal recreation areas and 16,741 miles of trails.

•Do yoga. Find a class at www. yogafinder.com, or do yoga using your computer with www.yogatoday. com, with free daily classes online.

•Hire a personal trainer or take a lesson. Once you make an appointment, there is a high likelihood that you'll show up (especially if you're committed to pay).

Look for trainers certified by the American College of Sports Medicine ( www.acsm.org), the National Strength and Conditioning Association ( www.nsca-lift.org) or The American Council on Exercise ( www.acefitness.org). Or take lessons in activities such as tennis, yoga, volleyball or horseback riding.

Here are a few other activities to explore: Rent bikes (burn up to 562 calories per hour), kayaking (burn 352 calories per hour), horseback riding (burn 281 calories per hour), canoeing (burn 281 calories per hour) and water-skiing (burn 422 calories per hour).

•Fitness DVDs. Join www.netflix. com or buy them www.amazon.com. Find great workout DVDs at www. fitnessmagazine.com/fitness/story. jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/fitness /story/data/1135884562421.xml.

•Fitness cards. Try the wonderful and handy fitness travel cards by Sane Fit ( www.sanefit.com) or Training Fan ( www.trainingfan.com) (i.e., yoga fan, and training fan). They're both great.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions.

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