Motel Madness! Staying Fit on the Road...
By: Randy Mclean

Wow! For the last three weeks I have been out of town, in a room with no kitchenette and no fitness center. I thought "Randy, you've taken it too far this time!" I had decided to take some of my techniques to the extreme and put them to the ultimate test. The 'ultimate' experiment where I was the guinea pig! Keep reading to see exactly what I did!

How I Started

Since all I had was a fridge, cooking was out of the question. I knew what I had to work with, whole wheat bread being a good choice and a solid foundation. Remember, it's not always the food in question but what you put on it that will come back to haunt you.

Now that I had my cornerstone laid out I needed something to build upon it that wasn't going to cause my expectations to come crashing to the ground. I opted for turkey breast. Turkey is really low in fat and is pretty tasty in a sandwich, especially with mustard. Chicken would also be a good choice. They are also high in protein which is beneficial to maintaining muscle mass. Remember that muscle is what burns fat and besides, it's always best to include carbs, protein and fats in your meal planning. But with fat you don't even really have to try and get it, you always will... It's always wise to study and look at foods and their contents so you will have in mind what foods are best to consume. Especially true if you are out and have to choose on the spot without any books or guides.

Variety

Now I knew I wasn't going to live on turkey sandwiches the rest of my stay, I needed variety and balance. I started slowly by supplementing peanut butter once in awhile for the turkey, mostly to give my taste buds a rest. Since I knew that peanut butter is higher in fat I didn't have it quite as often as the turkey. This is where the benefits of muscle tone and a high metabolism kick in. For people who have reached their goals or who are close to them the following statement is true, "If you tend to keep well maintained and even overcompensate a little while you can your body will be very efficient at burning calories and lots of them, even under prolonged circumstances..." such as the one I was in. If you are still working toward this goal and need some help, check out article number 3 in our library entitled "The Metabolism - What Is It And How Can it Work For Me?" Click below to access it:

http://www.weightlossguidance.com/article3.html

As the need hit me, the odd time I would go out to eat. Keeping things in mind I decided to go for subs. They make really healthy ones nowadays (under 6 grams of fat) and they are quite tasty as well.

You can also lower your portions, if I was craving even more variety I would get a bag of chips or some chocolate. As a side note you can also get fruit but I'm not much for that :) In this way you will just be feeding your metabolism while keeping the calorie content a little lower. This is where instinct comes in. Remember that practice makes perfect!

Beverages

As far as drinks were concerned I drank diet pop. I knew that my calories might have been a little higher so I didn't want to make it worse by adding other things that weren't going to fill me up. I was also looking for taste. Since the pop I was drinking had caffeine, it also served to speed up my metabolism even further while suppressing my appetite a little.

Since we're on this topic remember that taste and hunger are the two biggest factors in any diet program. You want to be reasonably full and also provide yourself with palatable things to get you there. Nothing will make you give up faster than those two things.

Frequency

I also tried to eat at least 3 times a day, smaller meals. Nothing will jam up your metabolism faster than eating once or twice a day. I'm sure you know as least one person who will eat 1-2 meals daily and then wonders why they can't lose weight. Or you might even notice this yourself. There are people everywhere with pot bellies who only eat 1 or 2 meals a day, way less than most fit people.

I had already in my mind a 'set amount' of food for maintenance or even weight loss. Again, this is instinct based on practice. An example with me is the '2 sandwich rule.' I know it sounds funny but it's true. If I eat more than 2 sandwiches constantly for any length of time I will gain weight. Especially later in the evening. So I know right away that one meal or serving for me is 2 sandwiches. It always pays to experiment and know your body, pushing it as far as you can. Why eat less when you can eat more!

Activity

Since running on the spot in my room didn't appeal to me the best and easiest way to accomplish this task was by walking. I only walked every second or third day for 20-30 minutes which was apparently enough to keep my weight in check. I would actually say it was more than enough considering the kind of foods I was eating as well as the quantities.

Application

While these circumstances are a worst case scenario (besides being stranded in the forest) these techniques can help you when something quick comes up and you have to leave home for a couple of days (or possibly longer) and can't take much with you. Sudden business trips or unfortunate tragedies such as funerals can reverse your progress and all the hard work you put in. Don't let it happen to you!

The End Result

To my surprise when I arrived home I weighed exactly the same as I did when I had left! I thought I had gained a few pounds judging by my appearance in the mirror but would later find out that it was water weight due to the high sodium content in the foods I was eating. You would be surprised at how much your appearance can change from day to day just by the foods you eat. If you eat 'clean' most of the time you will look 2-3 pounds lighter right from the beginning.

These techniques are very advanced and are taken from my weight loss ebook Instinct - Master Your Mind And Your Body. While this article is just touching on the techniques that one of the chapters describes, one thing remains clear...they work!

About the Author

Randy Mclean has a diploma in Fitness and Nutrition from Education Direct, a YMCA individual conditioning certificate and is the author of Instinct - Master Your Mind And Your Body! For free tips and tricks visit www.weightlossguidance.com

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