Travel: the best bikini operation
1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TRIP TO IMPROVE YOUR HABITS
We can, for example, take advantage of vacations to change our eating patterns towards healthier ones . "If you want to lose weight, a trip can help modify eating habits , since it is a certain parenthesis or change in the life of the person who can motivate you -although it is not usually the usual-), explains the Professor of Nutrition at the CEU San Pablo University, María Achón y Tuñón.
For Alex, the travel blogger behind **Finding the Freedom**, with half the world behind him and no home other than the road to return to, the simple fact of leaving his country supposes a weight loss -without having to make an effort to do anything in particular-: " I am a healthier person when I travel . It's not that I try to be, I get it. I eat better, sleep better, exercise without realizing it, and have less stress," he explains.
For some, traveling and getting fit are all one.
two. WALK!
"Weight gain or loss depend on the energy balance of the tourist. If the calories ingested during a trip are greater than those spent, we will gain weight. This can happen, for example, if the getaway has a strong gastronomic component and the traveler enjoys generously tasting the products and culinary preparations typical of the destination, without compensating it with timely physical activity , which could be, for example, strolling or walking around the city you are visiting", explains Achón y Tuñón. In short: for it to happen to you like Alex, lost ten kilos in a two-month trip , you have to try the food of the country, yes, but without forgetting to make a lot of tourism on foot.
"I have a rule: when the GPS says that my destination is less than five kilometers away, I walk ; It takes me less than an hour. If you walk ten kilometers or more a day, you will be burning an insane amount of calories and you will lose weight without realizing it . The first few times your feet will hurt, your legs may even burn, but hold on, princess, and keep going Alex advises.
Achón y Tuñón corroborates this: "If physical activity involves greater caloric expenditure, the traveler can lose weight," she explains, while " If physical activity and local gastronomy are combined in a proportionate way, it is most likely that you will not gain or lose weight, but will maintain your usual weight , especially if the trip is not very long".
Walk, walk and walk!
3. FOOD ON LOCAL PRODUCTS
Alex is clear: the best thing you can eat on the road is the same as the natives. Y no fast food! (don't lose sight that the guy is American) : "Think about the crap they put in the fast food you eat at home, where the regulations are strict. Now imagine eating things like that in countries where laws are lax at best, if not outright non-existent. How does your BigMac know now?" he begins.
And he continues: "Most of the bread, cheese, vegetables and many other dishes abroad they are fresh . In fact, sometimes preservatives do not exist and not even the fridge is an option . If you eat the same as the locals and don't overdo it, you will lose weight. oh and stay away from any western food in non-western countries : You're not doing yourself any favors with that crap," he recommends.
Four. DON'T TRY TO LOSE WEIGHT IF YOU DON'T NEED TO
However, while fast food is by no means appropriate (at least not in large quantities), It is not a good idea to lose weight without advice from a nutritionist : "If it is a person who must lose weight according to a health criterion (because they have an overweight or obese Body Mass Index -BMI-, and not for an aesthetic criterion), and they wish to make a trip, It is more sensible to consult the nutritionist so that he or she can guide you regarding the most suitable food options , considering the destination. If in said destination it is easy, pleasant and possible walk to places , and there is a wide gastronomic offer (own kitchen and international cuisine, to be able to choose less caloric foods), it will possibly be easier for the traveler follow the directions of the specialist to lose weight," says the CEU professor.
Think global, eat local
5.**GO OFF THE ELEVATOR, SIGN UP FOR THE TREKKING AND GO TO THE GYM (OR HOTEL-GYM) **
Another factor that the blogger manages to achieve a negative calorie balance and stay in good shape is change the elevator for the stairs : "If you have in mind to lose weight while traveling, elevators are not your friend. In fact, they are not anyone's friend: they are claustrophobic little boxes of death waiting to catch you ", he jokes.
Added to this is the possibility, under certain circumstances, of train you for very little money (because there are facilities in the hotel or because it belongs to a country with a lower standard of living than ours) : " I've been to the gym in Bangalore for three dollars each time . If he had signed for a month it would have been cheaper, but that is too much commitment for this man, "Alex ironically.
Of course you can also enroll in adventures that in themselves require a lot of energy , such as the Camino de Santiago or, in the case of the blogger, the route of Annapurna trek . This Nepalese mountain climb not only required 12 hours a day on the road , but also included a diet based on Dal Bhat, a traditional local food based on rice and lentils.
However, if you fancy something more relaxed -and pleasant-, you can sign up for **programs such as Stay Fit, at the Hotel Indigo ** (Madrid), which includes a running route and a healthy breakfast with the check in, or even stay at the Kimpton and enjoy its facilities for training, as it offers yoga mats in each room, classes and routines accessible 24 hours on television, free bicycles, basketball, kayaking and even climbing walls in some of its hotels. And that to name just two possibilities.
And what if you try a stay that includes a sauna (its benefits are uncountable), that ** have nearby ski slopes ** or require that you ** get on a surfboard **? (There are already doctors who recommend it!)
Surfing, the perfect recipe
6. AVOID ALCOHOL... AND SIGN UP FOR DETOX
Of course, another topic that helps a lot to keep the line is not drinking alcohol: " This is obvious: drinking makes you fat . Plus, having beer and cocktails every night doesn't do your body any good," explains Alex, though he cautions that everything is fine if done in moderation , and he admits that sometimes it's hard to avoid: "Traveling and partying go hand in hand for a lot of people, and that's fine when you spend three months in Southeast Asia. You've gone to party and "find yourself" , you tell yourself, although the reality is that you are there to party and find a member of the opposite sex . At that time, you're not looking at things like losing weight," he satirises.
However, if you think that the temptation is too strong and that you will fall, yes or yes, you can also try **stays in hotels with detox programs** (there are more and more), which also promise to get rid of toxins and "reset" your body to start healthy from scratch (Basically, what Joe Cross proposes in the documentary we were talking about at the beginning).
The detox thing goes a bit like this
7. REDUCE YOUR STRESS LEVELS
And what about the stress that Alex was referring to when he said that reducing his levels also minimized his weight ? According to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in Australia, this relationship exists, because in the face of sustained stress, the brain secretes a neuropeptide (Y2) found in adipocytes (fat cells) producing an increase in their size and a multiplication of the same, which l in turn increases the amount of fatty tissue in the body . This would explain why many people fail to lose weight and even can increase it despite consuming few foods or even following strict hypocaloric diets.
As being on the road - especially for long periods - we tend to withdraw from the stresses of everyday life, it may be easier to lose weight. Especially if our destination is ** one of these paradises of disconnection in which there is not even coverage **, some Spanish hotel lost in nature or, even better, a remote five-star where you only have to take care of existing . **And what about doing a yoga or meditation retreat ** before the summer to get to the beach fit and rested? Let us know how it went for you!
Yoga is quality of life!
*** You may also be interested in...**
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