Travel and weight loss really don’t go together. When you think about it, food and culture are closely intertwined. Why travel if you can’t appreciate the local culture? When we travel, there’s always an excuse to indulge.
“Hey, we’re in Chicago! Gotta have a deep dish pizza.”
“Hey, we’re in Oregon! Gotta have a microbrew.”
“Hey, we’re in New Mexico! Gotta have the chips & salsa and a burrito smothered in green chile.”
Matters gets worse when you profess a “carpe diem” attitude (as I do) that every day could indeed be your last. I mean, if this was truly your last day on earth, would you choose a light beer? Sorry folks, but if I’m meeting my maker tomorrow, I’m going out in a blaze of pizza, pasta, and pale ale.
Weight maintenance is an ongoing struggle for most of us. For me, spending lots of time on the road means that I am constantly surrounded by temptation. It’s difficult to establish a routine when your lifestyle has no routine.
“But you’re in an RV,” you might say. “Aren’t you guys exercising in the great outdoors?”
Yes and no. We do ride our bikes whenever possible, and we love to hike. But you’ll need to do an awful lot of bike riding and hiking to burn off that double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate shake. (“Hey, we’re in California! Gotta have In N’ Out Burger, right?)
Also, there’s no dedicated exercise room in the RV, and there’s no washer and dryer to receive perspiration-soaked clothes. On rainy days, you’re just chillin’ at the campsite. These may be weak excuses, but together they are inhibitors to exercising as often as we should.
Since we plan to hit the road again in about 30 days, I’m embarking on a pre-travel diet. We need to find something that will work for us at home as well as on the road. For various reasons, I’m going with a version of a low carbohydrate plan. Some folks call this a “slow carb” approach. Here’s my strategy, in general terms:
SIX DAYS A WEEK:
No “white carbs” (white bread, cereals, sugars, etc.)
Vastly reduced sugar intake (no chocolate — ouch — or beer — double ouch)
Meals will consist of eggs, chicken beef, cheese, spinach, beans (pinto, black, northern)
Snacks will be nuts (almonds, macadamia) and Atkins sugarfree / low carb treats (here’s where I get my sugar free chocolate fix)
Alcohol? I’m allowing myself red wine with dinner, but no beer or liquor.
ONE DAY A WEEK:
I’ll have a scheduled free day, and consume whatever food and beverage I want.
EVERY DAY:
I will do at least one 30-minute workout on our treadmill, which burns at least 350 calories. So in 30 days I’ll have completed 30 workouts burning 35000 calories.
We’ve also picked up a Wii Fit — more on this device later — and intend to take it with us on the road.
The workouts alone translate to 5 pounds of weight loss. What about the additional 15? I’m counting on the slow carb to modify my metabolism and pick up the extra slack.
Will my strategy work? Any advice? What’s worked for you?
In two words… good luck. The battle begins…
Ya biking and a lot of physical work should help but as to the metabolism… well!!!
The X decided to go on a weight loss program… she tried just about everything from yoga to field and stream cross country running. We got one of them EXPENSIVE bikes that she would wear this spandix body suite to ride… Every Sat morning it was down to the field .. where other women were also suited up…(smile) That lasted about 2 months… Then she went on one of them diet ranchs where you have your own personal drill instructor yelling at you to hut hut hut… I am not saying she didn’t lose any weight but… it was always complaining something was not working right.
One day I came home and she had taken these pills she got at the health nut store…her girlfriend also takes…(by the way she looks good in spandix too) They looked like horse pills… as I picked up the bottle.. she exclamed that they really improved her metabolism. Why she said that she had taken just three of them..a hour ago… .thereafter… washed, dryed and waxed the dog, cleaned all the house from one end to the other made a 9 course dinner from scratch…and wanted to know if she should wash and wax the car, trailer and then mow the lawn….before we sat down for dinner. I mean she was really moving…. I later found out that the pills were natures best at a UPPER… pop two of them in the morning and her motor would not stop rev’n around the house all day. Drove the dog nuts… After about 8 hours come bed time… she would say good night and . wham… lights out… till the next morning. I mean the house could be infested with naked cops shooting their guns… and she would never wake up… she slept solid as a rock.
She went to the doctors for her check up and their they said she had lost 15 lbs in a week… wow.. amazing they thought.. how are you doing it… was the question… when she pointed out that she was taking these over the counter pills from the health nut store.. the doc said.. no no.. bad ju ju… quit.
She did.. and wow now instead of a person running on all 8 cyc.. she resorted back to sputtering around and only hitting on two at the most. The weight came back with a few extra pounds… I must admit before she quit… the yard and dog never looked so good… after she quit… well lets just say it was like slow motion and I hired the gardner back. .
Ahhh now she was watching TV… and we started getting all these weard contraptions. We got one that rowed like a boat, a cross country skier, a complete workout station… and the one I like best… this little box that had a adjustable setting on it that administered a control electrical shock to some stick ons you attached to your bod… the little chineese guy on the tube said .. hook this up and leave it on… you too will have sic pac abs.. women will re-develope curves and become atractive again…not to mention a slight twich when she had it hooked up… runs on a 9 volt battery… not included…. We went though a lot of 9 volt batteries… I came home one night and it was setting on the table.. I hooked it up to the dog… and turned it on… wow… look at sparkie jump like a frog… every time it unloaded… crank it up and he jumps even higher… put antlers on ’em and he would look like a prancing deer… well that thing lasted about 3 days…before the X gave it up… then it was Jenny who… some food deal that about the only thing I could see is .. it was so expensive for the special stuff that you couldn’t afford to go out to eat. Having tasted the stuff… I had a liking for sparkies doggie treats better… but they did have someone that spur’ed you on… unlike the DI who yelled at you.. these folks would brow beat you to death if you didn’t lose the wieght.
Finally one day she came in and plopped in the chair… I give up she said… I guess I am getting old and can’t lose the weight. Ahhh then why not try one of them Dr Phil , Southbeach, atkins book diets… Ops that was a mistake… as she headed off to the bookstore to check ’em out. Next day we had Dr. Phil in the bathroom, Atkins in the kitchen and southbeach out on the back deck. I picked out several pages and found that what one says don’t do the other says to do…
Well bottom line… she went to the studio and checked out the dietition that keeps all them good looking women .. good looking. Their message… don’t eat as much.. exercise by taking walks, swiming, surfing, biking… lots of fruit ..n water… (no beer) it didn’t come off over night however… as the doc said .. ideal 2 lbs a week… and as you lose.. so also does your metabolism slow down… ops… bet you didn’t want to read that…
Now she lost weight.. but I kinda liked her being normal instead of a hyper active taz twister buzzing around the house. Doesn’t drive the dog nuts anymore either. Oh and we gave everything away to the good will except that little shock box… which I threaten sparkie the dog with…. when he starts behaving bad… and a thing called a cardio glide which I use to test my stanama with.. Says that if you can get on and work this thing for 10 min your in good shape… so far I can hit the 8 min mark…I don’t even think MH could work that thing for 10 min…. without having a cornary… I use it to make bets with my friends … all they have to do is stay on the thing for 10 min… and they can have my C note… otherwise.. I get theirs… so far I am 500 bux to the good.
Just remember… right hand wax on… left hand wax off… do at least a dozen cars a week and you will be in buff shape… once again… those two words…. Good luck…
ya I want to see you use that Wii fit thing… film at 11… now will this be inside the trailer or out side where everyone else can see you do your thing?? Make sure you get one of them spandix body suits … drives the gals crazy… but, doesn’t leave much to the imagination from what I have seen on the gals… ain’t life good…
The adventure contenues… hut hut…
ooohh…still no beer eh? (sorry, Canadian dude here…I guess that slipped)
One of the secret reasons that we opted to not buy a second vehicle while over here in the Netherlands is that, once upon a time when we were “on assignment” in Puerto Rico, muggins here packed on an extra 15 pounds. Okay so, I’ve been a pretty skinny guy all my life, so that was just bad. Worse thing is, even though I lost it all within six months of going back to work in Canada, it was not a fun six months, (first week back to work I thought I was gonna die!) so this time around, we shipped a scale, and I’m being vigilant. Went to Paris last week for a couple days and put on a couple pounds. So…what? if we stay a week, do I go up seven? Sure hope not! It’s gone again, thankfully, but that may also be partly due to having to go everywhere by bike. Hey, it’s a bike friendly country, so ya gotta get out there.
Only thing is….after about six p.m. ….all bets are off. Gotta have at least one beer.
Bottom line. I feel yer pain. Keep at it.
LOL GMAs… I don’t think I’ll be doing Wii Fit in public (or on video), at least not until I get into much better shape!
The great thing about Wii Fit from an RV standpoint is that most exercises will be doable in the Airstream. You don’t need a lot of space. You just need a place to put the balance board, and a TV. The exercises are of the balance/aerobic variety and are mostly done on the board itself. It will be a little tight on our Airstream, for sure, but I still think we can do it.
We have gone through all the usual exercise gadgets over the years. The only thing I’ve found myself doing regularly is treadmill (bought a very nice one a couple of years ago). But as I get older, the pounds just aren’t dropping the way they did in my 20s. Maybe I need to take some of those horse pill uppers and start doing housework.
By the way, I don’t know how they do it in Hollyweird, but most people on TV are anorexic skinny. I can pretty much guarantee you that I’ll never be a walking skeleton like the average TV talking head. I’ll be more of a Will Ferrell type. 😉
Bob, my brother says he lost 25 pounds by simply eliminating beer and bread from his diet. I’m not sure my metabolism works the same way. (So far it doesn’t, anyway!) But I do know that every beer I drink seems to expand my midsection, guaranteed.
Yes, you are right about travel and gaining weight. When you’re in a different place, it’s almost impossible to avoid sampling the local food and brew. And dining out really packs on the pounds. This spring I’m going to make an effort to get more exercise while we are on the road.
In the next couple of days I’ll post our upcoming travel itinerary in the Sidebar Blog. I will also eventually be doing a piece on the Wii Fit, because I think it could help a lot of RV’ers. Cheers!
Hmmmm you mean your not the hunk that Kristie married just a little while ago… LOL… Ya its one of them things as you get older… but, YOU ARE NOT ALONE… just wait.. what goes around comes around… my X says… that she is miffed about why I keep looking the same.. and she is getting that pear shape… hmmm I cross my fingers and say.. but hon.. your still the one… to which I get a punch or stare that kills… oh well… isn’t matabo fun…
Make sure that Kristie puts X duct tape over the windows… that way when you fly using the Wii fit board you won’t be taking the WHOLE WIDNOW out of the airstream.. grin…
Of course you could always start the little ankle bites… rug rats… whatever… and they will keep you going big time also… to lose the weight… only problem is … they are not like the beer can… that you can get a redemption from when you turn it back in… i.e NO RETURN…
Well even thought it seems dumb looking.. and of course it seems slow in todays society… bike riding to the store… and or any other activity is probably the better way to go… anything physical.. so the doc says…
As to the hollyweards… no one would think they go anorexic but not true.. most are pretty healthy… of course the have personal trainers and diet people making their lunches and PE time… most are products of the beach activites… no Wii for them… real time .. real activity… but, like a race horse… you can bet they have those pro’s and carb’s nailed down to a science…
Cher is one that comes to mind… not being a youngster.. she can be found down at the beach , Malbu, jogging almost every day… and yes she is about as thin as a hitching post… but she is not the only one… they all do about 4-6 hours a day worth of cal burning… and very little eating… the trainer and nuturion people keep em well trained… and you would be suprised at what they do eat… when they do… Most people are of the mind to order a big plate of food… yet do you really need all of it… ?? A lot of it is recreational food… even though we think its main stay… not…
I was once told.. that as you get older your bod stops growing.. up and instead now starts getting ready for winter.. and packing on the fat… only problem is we don’t ever find winter… thus the stuff just hangs on and on…
Hey did you know that the’re is a BEER Diet… only problem is.. you don’t get steak n stuff… just beer… which then makes it boooooreing…
Naw… get more active like you did when you were young… well.. younger… the lbs will come off.. exercise is pain.. but as they say.. no pain.. no gain… (wait till you fall of the Wii Fit board and hit the sides of the AS.. and you will find out what pain is.. grin) Kristie.. you best be spotting this bird… so he doesn’t destroy the trailer or himself…
So to lose weight … you only need three little words… none of this … we need this to lose that stuff… oh and those words are Go… Go.. go… +
By the way… I think your advancing in the video stuff too.. like the VO in the last one… really getting professional now… and as you said should be getting easier to tell the storyline… adding some background sound also can make it very interesting.. besides music… Your next attack should be transistions… Using the begining and end of music score in your trailers… is a good opening and ending…too… with it fading to the diesel audio increasing… rattle…rattle.. at the end…
I still say that the net… should get togeather a whole group of directors and producers and have a RV mobile video seminar… where the up coming video people can see whats being done with the simple approches in their own… productions. Sort of a RV film fest… maybe at Malbu beach??? Where all can come and see.. meet and improve their video abilities… what ya think… ??
I had the pleasure of holding a RV’rs camera for him and his wife at the last outing… where he /his wife said that they were just getting into the recording of their adventures… with a couple of extra things from out of our trailer… hooked into their video camera… they were suprised at how much better it turned out… Of course as we said to them.. what do we know… just simple touristro… grin…
By the way if Ted and Jenny are reading this… we enjoyed helping you all out…its always fun… keep up the good work and use some of the things we talked about… you have a good camera that should bring you lots of enjoyment through the years… but, like owning a 4×4.. its not the vehicle that makes the difference but the person driving it… tech’neek.
The adventure contenues… on the road again…off to a new site…GMAs
I’m with you on the weight gain from traveling. I picked up 10+ pounds during our Mexico/Central America travels – mainly around the old beer gut thanks to my amigos Sol, Victoria, Belekin and Gallo.
I managed to lose most of it this winter and sculp rock hard abs (Ok the ab part is still on the to do list). Here’s what helped me:
-I use a heart rate monitor when I work out so I know exactly how many calories I’m burning and how hard I’m working.
-I log all my workouts on spreadsheet in Google Docs that I can access from any computer connected to the Internet.
-When biking and hiking I use a Garmin GPS and upload to a free site that shows my workout on google maps and gives you all kinds of cool stats. http://www.motionbased.com/ You can also use this site to find places to run, hike and bike around the US uploaded by other users.
-I always try to do something fun like hiking, fast road rides, mtn, biking because treadmills, stationary bikes are boring and you are more likely to keep excersing if you’re having fun.
-When the weather is bad I take a spinning class which is a lot of fun and a killer workout (upwards of 1,000 calories per hour)
-For breakfast I have slow cooked oatmeal, whole wheat toast, and fruit. This really stays with you and keeps you from starving by lunch.
-Scott
GMAs, you are correct about the exercise. We carry our bikes with us on the road. We really need to make a habit of using them every day.
So far, the Wii Fit appears to be working. Actually, what’s working is a combination of Wii Fit, treadmill, and “slow carb” meals. I’m down about 4.5 pounds in 2 weeks. While that’s not spectacular, it’s not bad either. I’ve been enjoying wine and plenty of good food along the way, so it hasn’t been a struggle.
With regard to the last video, thanks! I was also pleased with how it turned out. I think the real upside of that video was that we had a story to tell. (Is that what you meant when you referred to using “hooks” ?) Our videos this spring probably won’t always be so cohesive, but for the Argentina one I had a little time to write and edit. But that being said, this spring I will strive to incorporate more scripted VO into our videos.
In a way, I think we could shoot a documentary film guerrilla style and release it 5-minutes at a time! Who knows, maybe that will be a spring goal.
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Scott, I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who collects beer in the ol’ midsection. It seems like whatever frosty beverage I consume goes straight to my belly.
I like your exercise tips. My sister teaches spinning; there’s no doubt that it burns huge amounts of calories.
With regard to keeping records, one major upside of Wii Fit is that it automatically keeps track of your progress. The balance board actually works like a scale, weighs you, and calculates your BMI. It also charts your progress over time. It even remembers what time of day you weigh and exercise. It’s really well implemented.
We are planning to be on the road for 2 months this spring. We’re taking the Wii Fit with us, and keeping close track of our weight. In the past, I’ve always packed on pounds when we traveled; hopefully this time will be different!
Hi there, I just recently found your blog and we are just about to begin our long long honeymoon ourselves. We got married two months ago and are hitting the road for about 6 months and wintering in the southern states, we are Canadian.
To help lose weight and not put any one while traveling we plan to do the following:
– our trainer has given us a work out that we can do on the road using small hand weights (5lbs for me, more for my husband), kettle bells, exercise balls (full ones and bosu 1/2 ones for balance), and a TRX system (google it). Our plan is to do our workout first thing in the morning, then eat, then do the day’s activities whatever that might be. We’ll see how that goes, LOL.
– eat in as much as possible and try to dine out only once a week or less. We do that at home now and choose restaurants where we know there are healthy choices and they let us customize our meal (EI, no rice but more veggies instead).
– we believe that food is 80% of the issue, not so much exercise. You need both, but even my trainer told me that number – he said you can exercise all you want but if you still eat crap you’ll stay fat. He said weight loss is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise.
As for some of the comments and trials above, yes your metabolism will slow down if you eat less food – cause your body think it’s starving and conserves it by slowing down. That is actually a good thing, as the slower your metabolism, the longer you will live. However – not so much for weight loss.
We actually coach people on how to eat better. My husband once weighed almost 500 lbs and lost 300 by himself, just by learning about food. So he’s always getting asked “how did you do that?” So now we tell people and he’s written a book on it and what he’s learned.
We avoid foods like: white carb anything (rice, potatoes, flour, baked goods, pasta) and choose the higher fiber cousins (brown rice, sweet potatoes, alternative flours like sprouted grain or spelt, brown rice pasta, etc.) We don’t eat those very often and eat very little bread if at all. We also avoid all dairy foods and buy organic meat and produce from farmers direct when we can. We plan on finding farmer’s markets along the way and blogging about that too.
If you want to know more about his book just let me know and I’ll send you the info.
We’re looking forward to our journey! Thanks for inspiring us.
Hi and thanks for your informative post!
Hmmm, with regard to weight loss, what can I say? I haven’t exactly achieved my original goals on that front. (Surprise, surprise.) I was doing well for a while, but once we hit the road my willpower was slowly broken down. By the time we reached Quebec, I was saying “pass the poutine, please.” 😉
I agree with you about the food / exercise relationship. My observation is as follows: as I get older, I must do EVERYTHING “right” in order to lose weight. For me, this means (1) a healthy diet -avoiding the white carbs you mention, (2) plenty of vigorous exercise, and (3) abstaining from alcohol.
I can do a vigorous workout, but drinking a couple of frosty beers (the kind of beer I like) quickly negates the calorie-burning benefits. Sure, there are other benefits from exercise, but I won’t be getting any slimmer.
Although we brought the Wii Fit on the road, quite honestly there’s not enough space in our Airstream to use it. It’s theoretically possible, but would require a lot of hassle with every use (folding up tables, storing laptops, etc.) so we never really did it. People with larger RVs might be able to do so.
I do think that routine is crucial, and there lies the rub. When you are traveling, you constantly experience changes in routine. It will require a lot of self-discipline to stick to your exercise agenda. It sounds like you share similar goals as a married couple, so that will help!
As January rolls around, I usually make some effort to lose weight. Stay tuned… I will update the blog with whatever attempt happens this year!
What great info from Her View Photography – thank you for sharing it with us! My weight goes up and down, up and down and at this point I know that all around health has got to be a lifestyle choice…eating real food (and not so much of it!) and excercising the body and mind. Sounds simple enough…but I sure love my food, and it does seem that I am built for comfort more than speed.
However, I have been working out to videos through the winter months as I am determined to be in shape for spring and summer here on the Cape. Like Bob, I am hoping to be out there on the bike (and the blades, and the boat). I think the biggest thing for most of us is drinking less (empty calories) and staying far far away from the white carbs.
Basically, I feel that if I work up a sweat at least once a day and eat the foods my ancestors ate I am doing good. It IS hard living with a man who eats and drinks what he likes and never gains or loses a pound (sounds like you may be blessed with those same genes, GMAs!).
Anyhoo, Sean…I think this is a great subject as so many of us struggle with the extra weight. You and Kristi look absolutely great on film but I know how it feels to just have a few extra pounds weighing you down (even if nobody else can see it).
Sorry to hear the Wii Fit isn’t a good fit for the Airstream – I have been wanting to try that for a while now. Also, I think using the Garmin and heart rate monitor (like Scott) would be a great habit for me to get into. It really is all about getting into healthy habits and sticking with…
Thanks Valynne, it is certainly an ongoing battle. Every time we make a little progress, it seems that we slip back into old habits.
One technique that I find helpful is to have a printed sheet of goals and measurements — to enhance accountability. This sounds more complicated than it really is.
For example, we keep a weight chart. It’s very simple… you weigh every morning and jot down your weight on the chart. When you see an upward fluctuation, you know that it’s time to hit the brakes. (Hmmm, why didn’t I have one of these 10 years ago?)
And with regard to making REAL progress, I usually print out a sheet with the specific daily goals (ie. workout, no alcohol, proper diet). For some reason, having a hard copy of the goals & results is motivational for me. Also, it’s nice to have the records as the years go past! We can pretty much pinpoint specific weights (for better or worse) over the past six or seven years.