So one of my problems while I’m traveling – for work or for pleasure – is eating the plane and the hotel out of house and home.

Work trips are the worst for this reason. You are expected to go out to eat at somewhat nice restaurants and you know everything is going to be reimbursed, so maybe you order the bagel and salmon with cream cheese instead of just smoked salmon for breakfast.

Or you’re on the plane (like I am while writing this) and even though you brought your own items to snack on (a kids’ Clif Z Bar – excellent energy bar snack option – and an apple) I still almost got the cookies they were offering along with cran-apple drink because it was free and they offered it to me.

So here are my top 3 tips for avoiding the travel @fatroll fails:

1. Bring your own snacks on the plane and in your luggage for the trip back. Keep it healthy while making sure it isn’t perishable. Fruit and nuts are great for this.
2. Don’t order room service. It’s a bad trap. Find a coffee shop near your hotel (and maybe a nice stroll to burn a few calories) to get something that saves your budget (or your company’s) while reducing your calorie intake. Plus, you’ll get more of an idea around the local offerings then being a lazy sloth. (Me in Vegas = Lazy Sloth)
3. If you are going to a nice restaurant, be sure to look up their menu online and pick out something in advance. This keeps you from making the “Oh, it’s only this one time” snap decisions that lead to a fattening wedge salad, lobster bisque soup and a 10 oz Fillet. Or maybe not. At least you’ll have time to prepare at the gym for that fail though.

You have any tips for traveling? Share in the comments!

Aloha! My family and I were in Hawaii this past week for a much needed vacation. It was my first real vacation since the start of OoCFR, so I was a little nervous about what would happen after a week of laying on the beach, floating in the pool, drinking fruity cocktails and eating way too much.

To try and avoid a huge fat fail on the scale upon my return, I decided to pack some workout clothes so I could hit the hotel gym in effort to counteract the inevitable overeating-while-on-vacation syndrome that I suffer from. The fact that I even THOUGHT to place workout clothes and tennis shoes inside my luggage is a huge win for me. What’s even more shocking is that I gave up some of my precious luggage real estate for something other than heels or a cute purse. I’ve truly changed.

While I’m proud of myself for packing workout clothes and actually hitting the hotel gym twice, (in the past, I had only heard rumors of gyms within hotels and wondered who the hell exercises during vacation?!), I think the massive amounts of calories I consumed each morning at the breakfast buffet probably canceled this out… and then some. Our hotel rooms included free breakfast (normally the price of $50 per person) and my whole family took advantage of this. I’ll spare you the details, but four out of five of us (cough, Josh) ended our breakfast each morning with dessert (usually a chocolate croissant). FAIL! Luckily we were able to skip lunch every day because no one was hungry until well past 6:00 pm.

At least I got back into my routine yesterday with the help of  the 2x week boot camp classes Jenni, Ashley and I now attend. Not only was I able to stay up long enough to attend, but I came in second place during our wall sit competition! Maybe I should workout while jetlagged more often : )

 Here are some pictures from the trip:

Josh’s Breakfast, Day 1 – double that and you’ll get an idea of what my plate looked like.

Us eating again at a luau

And lastly, my sister, Sarah, and I jumping on top of a volcano because I thought I should probably include one non-food related picture.

As the scale and tracker indicate, my trip to Peru was in fact beneficial to my weight loss goals. Before I left, I wrote a piece outlining the difficulties of dieting while traveling.

And, truth be told, I had my share of difficulties. But, overall, this trip was an exception. My food intake and habits were and are still the same. I still ate carbs (actually a TON of carbs), pastries, ice cream etc. . The biggest difference – the walking. We hiked or walked almost everywhere. And, rarely did we sit around twiddling our thumbs.

Sure, I’ve lost 8 lbs in 7 weeks, but this is also a healthy amount per week. It just seems like a lot since I haven’t been in town. The challenge will be to maintain this weight and to continue losing weight every week. Yes, let’s hope that I don’t suffer the freshman 15 part II.

I’m also pretty sure a lot of the loss is muscle related. Ask me to run more than a mile, and I might die. But I’m only four pounds from my personal goal and with seven weeks left, I better reach that goal. I may not win the challenge, but I’m definitely pleased with the outcome thus far.

Hola!

It has been a good three days since we arrived in Peru, and boy has it been a whirlwind thus far.

I’d have to say that despite what I had imagined to be a fail-safe weightloss program, I forgot to take into account the relative cheapness and conversion rate. Thus, putting me in a position to afford and eat almost anything.

But, I think we’re just getting it all out of our system. I’m still hedging my bets on a massive bacterial infection in my intestines. My new friend who also flew in from SF definitely got it and was on IV fluids for his second day. Yay! Jk

The food here is absolutely amazing. And, no it’s not like Mexican food. I, actually have not had a quesadilla or anything drenched in queso. Tons of beans (frijoles), potatoes (papas) y chicken (pollo). Average meal costs about $2 US (6 nuevo sole). Cheap eateries called “chifas” serve two courses for nothing.

The trap is in the pasteries and rice! So much goodness. A gigantic empanada is 1 sole or 30 cents US.

Yesterday, we splurged a bit and tried the tres leches cake, guinea pig (picante cuy) and cebiche (yes, spelled with a “b”).

The general warning is to avoid street food; but our Peruvian friend (Julius Cesar-who was our waiter and later tour guide), helped us navigate the most local areas to try the cuisine. Mmm maze y queso.

On the beverage front, the national drink -Pisco- is made of grapes and taste somewhat like tequila. Pisco sour is like a Peruvian margarita with egg whites. Not sure about the calorie count, but there’s protein!

Also, there are several fruit drinks like papaya, mango, pineapple (pinas) etc..

I also gave Inca Kola a shot. It’s a bright neon yellow and tastes like bubble gum. Uh not my cup of tea. But, the beer is good and obviously so is the bottle of water.

My only saving grace is that we walk for 4-6hours straight a day exploring the city. We’ve seen a ton and ventured up a small mountain already.

We’re leaving Lima today to begin our real journey around the country. Hoping the increase in activity will be good!

Luckily, I have a grace period this week- thanks @fatroll! I needed it.

Good luck today ladies

Now, it’s off to Huachachina for some totally rad sandboarding!!