Travel

10 Easy Steps to Lose FAT FAST Before Your Vacation

Yikes! It's a month before our vacation and we realize that our stomach is flabby. We could lecture ourselves about life-long eating habits, or developing a daily exercise regime, but now is not the time. There is a flab emergency growing on our stomach and thighs!

Here is the tested regime we do a month before vacation. These are simple, and while you may already know them, we show easy ways to make them work. Get out a post-it and take note to start these today.

1: Keep your metabolism going all day.

  • Start the day with something as simple as 20 jumping jacks, walking the dog, or jogging in place for 5 minutes.
  • After dinner go for a walk, run the stairs in your house, clean, or do more jumping jacks.
  • Park farther from the door, take the stairs, don't watch TV.
  • Eat 6 small meals per day at least 3 hours apart and no closer than 2 hours together. For example, 6:30 AM breakfast, 9:00 AM snack, 12:00 PM lunch, 3:00 PM snack, 6:00 PM dinner, 8:30 PM egg-white snack (see below).

2: Prevent night eating.

  • Cook up lots of hardboiled eggs. Somewhere between dinner and bedtime eat 2-4 egg whites (discard the yolks). The protein keeps you full and the digestion keeps up your metabolism up through the night.
  • To help prevent night eating, brush and floss teeth right after eating egg whites.

3: Exercise longer.

If you get on the treadmill or elliptical machine for 40 minutes instead of 20 you will see better results in loosing fat. If you can't get to the gym each day, it's better to do 3 days of 40 minutes than 5 days of 20 minutes in battling flab.

4: Exercise on an empty stomach.

If you can do this, it helps burn fat faster. Then, eat within 30 minutes of completing your workout. This is a body-builder secret to look super lean before competitions.

5: Carry healthy, low-calorie snacks in your purse or car.

Our favorite is low-fat string cheese, the protein helps keep you full and the glycemic index is low (meaning it is low in sugars).

6: Plan and pre-prepare your meals/snacks.

Remember, we are talking about loosing fat fast - you need to be objective when you make or choose food. Make your breakfast, lunch and snacks the night before. If you are moms like us, you tend to prepare in advance everyone else's food but your own. If you divvy out your food in advance, you won't end up eating 20 corn chips with your salsa. Don't wait until you're hungry to prepare meals.

7: Eat only true serving sizes and limit carbohydrates.

You know the drill on serving sizes, meat the size of a deck of cards, half an apple, 1/3 a banana, 1 cup of berries, etc. Try WASA brand crackers in lieu of bread, take the bun off and cut that burger in half, say no to white (rice, bread, sugar).

8: Stop or reduce lattes (for a month).

You hear this all the time, but why are lattes bad? I use non-fat milk!? A non-fat latte is about 60-90 calories depending on the size and amount of milk. The problem isn't just the total calories, it's the glycemic index on non-fat milk. To your body, non-fat milk acts a lot like pure sugar creating more flab on your stomach. We switch to Americanos or drip coffee during this month. You could even put in 1 tablespoon of half and half (only 20 calories and a better glycemic index).

9: Drink 2-3 liters of water per day.

Many times when you feel hungry, your body is just thirsty. Water also helps flush out excess salts that can create fluid retention and give you a "fatter" appearance.

10: Wear a band or special bracelet each day.

We use this to quickly remember our goal. It's easier to say "no thanks" when those gourmet truffles or homemade cookies arrive in the office if we have a friendly reminder of our goal.

Join us in the battle against vacation flab! Write in how these tips helped you, or how you modified them to work. Share your tips on loosing fat fast and help other readers.

Is Constipation or Stage Fright Your Travel Problem?

Traveling can interrupt your normal routine for diet and exercise and can even affect your bathroom schedule (in other words, you may suffer from constipation). If you experience constipation from traveling there are couple of simple remedies. Be proactive and take these steps to avoid problems:

  • Stay well hydrated (that means 2-L or 64oz. per day)
  • Eat snacks that keep you regular (dried prunes work great!)
  • Stay away from lots of carbohydrates that don't provide fiber (try WASA brand crackers as an alternative - loaded w/ fiber)
  • Eat as much fresh fruits and veggies as possible – we always order extra salad or fruit sides at each meal
  • Pack fiber pills that may be used in a pinch (remember, effects are 24 hrs. later so consider taking 1 the night before)
  • For your stage fright look for secluded and private bathrooms:
    • Starbuck’s coffee shops usually have individual bathrooms
    • Most hotels have a set of bathrooms one floor above the lobby that are less frequented – ask a staff member where the bathrooms are
    • If you are attending a work conference, use the restroom during a presentation rather than at the breaks
    • If you are staying at a relative's house, turn on the shower and fan, if that doesn’t work, offer to pick up lattes at the neighborhood Starbucks (see above)

For more information visit the MayoClinic.com.

It’s All in the Bag

One of the most useful items for packing is Ziploc bags. Here are just a few ways that they can be used:

  • To protect your clothes from any liquid items such as shampoo or sunscreen, double-bag all of your toiletries and be sure to squeeze the air out of the bag as you zip it.
  • To contain smaller items such as underwear and socks. Bring an extra bag so that you can keep dirty and clean items separate. Once you get home you can just empty the dirty bag into the laundry and put away any clean items.
  • To pack wet swimsuits. If you or the kids want to take a last dip in the pool before you leave (this is a good way to exercise the kids prior to flying) you can pack up the suits without getting the rest of the items in your bag damp.

Since these bags are not recyclable, we try to re-use them as much as possible. I keep bags used for my toiletries with our luggage and use them on future trips. You can also re-use bags used for clean clothes. If you travel a lot you can buy re-usable travel bags that are water proof at travel or outdoor equipment stores like REI.

Pack Emergency Meals

If you are traveling with kids, be sure to leave some room in your checked suitcase for food that can be prepared without having to hit a restaurant when everyone is exhausted, eat fast food, or make that late night stop at the grocery store. Foods such as instant oatmeal, individual apple sauce packs, or macaroni and cheese (with the squeeze cheese packets) are ideal because they only require little to no preparation. Now you can relax knowing you won’t have a food emergency. You can also put these in a purse or backpack during your vacation so you have instant meals kids eat.

E-coli on Airplanes?

If you haven’t heard, ice served on airplanes can be contaminated with things like e-coli. If you get a soda with ice, the acid in the soda would most likely kill any bacteria, but who wants to take the risk? We order drinks with no ice and order bottled (no tap) water. By the way, the water in airplane bathrooms is even worse so after washing hands use hand sanitizer. Who thought your hands could be dirtier after washing them?

For more information on drinking and bathroom water on airplanes visit the U.S. EPA website.

Handy Items to Have in Your Car

  • Windex Wipes
  • Disposable Camera (for car accidents)
  • Hand Sanitizer*
  • Napkins (save extras from your to-go food)
  • Pen or pencil (for writing down phone numbers or directions)
  • Bandages and anti-bacterial ointment
  • 20 dollar bill and change for parking
  • Old pair of sneakers or walking shoes (so you don't have to change a tire in your kitten heels)
  • For dog owners: extra leash and plastic baggies
  • Because we have kids: spare 100% juice boxes, granola bars (w/out HFCS!), facial tissues, wipies, and for infants – 2nd graders, a spare change of clothing.

*We don’t advocate regular use of hand sanitizer, but it’s great to have on hand just in case!

Pack Your Panties?

One of the most valuable items to have in your carry-on: an extra pair of panties. We know it sounds silly, but changing your underwear in the middle of a long travel day is rejuvenating! It is also smart to have an extra pair with you just in case your luggage is lost, your flight is delayed, or you just want a fresh outlook on your day. We like to carry ours in a small, ziploc bag that keeps them separate from other carry-on items and provides the container for your old pair.

Watch Our DVD Intro and Meet Us!

Watch the introduction to our new DVD, "Traveling with Kids - Flying Made Easy", and meet us! Our intro is live on YouTube. We're two moms with plenty of frequent flier miles. In our upcoming DVD we show you all our travel secrets that save parents time and keep kids happy.

Our DVD Trailer is Live on YouTube!

We are excited to have our DVD trailer ready and live on YouTube. We are working night and day on final production of the video and editing is going really well. We are looking forward to having our video ready Summer 2008 right in time for Summer Break with the kids!

Check out our trailer and stay tuned for more on the offiical launch date of "Traveling with Kids - Flying Made Easy."

Groundbreaking Spot On Ideas

We are so excited to launch the Spot On Ideas blog today. This is new territory for us, but the idea of being able to provide Spot On Ideas in a format that allows you to submit your comments and feedback here, gives us a whole new opportunity to reach out and create conversation over Spot On Ideas.

We look forward to sharing our tips with you and provide guidance on how to translate our tips into action. We explore ways to plan for the day-to-day activities we all engage in from around the house to typical experiences in work life and career. Use our tips to streamline your life.

Remember our mantra: Plan | Relax | Enjoy™.

By Beverly & Amara, Spot On Ideas Founders

Spot On Ideas creates and uses simple systems to save you time and reduce stress in your day-to-day lives. Spot On Ideas is founded on the principles of our mantra - Plan | Relax | Enjoy™.

About the Authors
As busy working moms, Beverly and Amara have put years of experience and skilled expertise together to give you Spot On Ideas. Visit our website to learn more about us.

© 2008 Spot On Ideas, Inc. All Rights Reserved.