5 Ways to Avoid Spring Break Diet Disasters

By Gregg Rossen

Just as February has its own odd tradition (the societal stalking of a Pennsylvanian rodent to see if it can spot its shadow), March also has its own distinctive seasonal rite—spring break, when college students (and families, too) set out to have some fun in the sun and take a break from northern chills. Panama City, South Padre Island, Pensacola, Rosarito . . . These are just some of the legendary names in the pantheon of spring break destinations.

If you've watched the "Healthy Eats" disc of the ChaLEAN Extreme^® program, you know that Chalene and her husband Brett made a commitment to teach their son Brock and daughter Sierra the benefits of a solid diet. Here, in Chalene's words, is a little insight on how they did it.

But hitting the road and taking part in this yearly tradition contains pitfalls that have little to do with sunburn and flat tires. Actually, instead of flat tire, think "spare tire," and you're on the right track, as spring break offers the uninitiated dieting pitfalls that can affect how summer is going to shape up—literally. With this in mind, whether you're a college senior headed to Cabo or a senior citizen headed to New Braunfels, here are five ways to avoid spring break diet disasters.

1. Stick to your nutritional road map. Some spring breakers believe that nothing starts a road trip off better than a Big Gulp, a gas station hot dog, and a family-size bag of Cheetos. Others might believe that it isn't a vacation until the RV is pulled over to sample the roadside temptations that each highway exit has managed to brand as a "local specialty" (pecan logs, saltwater taffy, "homemade" fudge, etc.). But starting a trip with an eye on which high-calorie, high-fructose-corn-syrup, and high-fat items you can suck down is also a great way to get a head start on having your belly hang over your belt. Sure, we all know that what these food items lack in nutrition they make up for with calories, but never underestimate the power of the self-deluding mantra, "Hey, I'm on vacation."
   
   Ah, the sad conundrum. While relaxing is vitally important to the overworked, stressed-out rats-in-a-maze that many of us have become, sadly, our metabolisms don't know the difference between vacation mode and every other day of the year. So as tempting as it might be to throw caution to the wind, a little restraint is in order. Sensible dining options DO exist on the interstate, even when fast food is the only choice. Fruit plates and salads can be found in many fast food chains, and avoiding deep-fried mozzarella sticks, french fries, and onion rings always makes sense. It's all in what you order. Even if the mini-market at the gas station is your only dining choice, healthier options might exist. Check out "Best and Worst Gas Station Cuisine" in the Related Articles section below for some hints about sensible snacking—and what to avoid—while on the road.
2. Pass on the Panama City pizza party. So you've reached your destination and you're ready for some fun. Just don't forget that spring breakers subsisting on a diet of pizza and beer are ingesting around 270 calories for each slice of cheese pizza and 150 calories per beer. To its credit, pizza does an adequate job of delivering calcium and some other nutrients, but overall, pizza makes for a relatively high-sodium, high-carb, and high-calorie meal—not something to be eaten daily for a week. Likewise, those of the noncollegiate set who are out for a little spring adventure might find all the adventure they can handle on their dinner plates instead, when they unknowingly order a 1,000-calorie entrée (think the Olive Garden's Chicken Marsala, which weighs in at 973 calories).
   
   The solution for all sets of travelers is to make the same sensible choices you might make at home. Salads (with dressings on the side) are a healthy alternative to fried appetizers. A meal with a low-fat protein (skinless chicken or fish) and low-glycemic-index carbs (like broccoli or other vegetables) can make a delicious substitute for, say, cream-based fettuccine Alfredo (which might sport 1,370 calories per serving as it does at Macaroni Grill). And light beer makes a great alternative to regular beer, with almost half the calories. Buying fresh food at a local grocery store as an alternative to fast food and restaurants might prove to be the best solution of all. Not only is it less expensive, but the sushi, salads, sandwiches, and fruit from nearby supermarkets give you the chance to see exactly what is going onto your plate, and into your body.
3. Avoid drinks with little umbrellas. Okay, that's mean. The little umbrellas aren't responsible. They didn't do anything other than get brought into this world in some factory—and now they're being singled out for harassment! Well, no. The umbrellas are fine—you're not going to drink them (hopefully)! But the other elements that go into the sorts of drinks which usually have umbrellas in them, well, those bad boys often combine into cocktails with absolutely staggering calorie counts. For those who find a dram of something helps put them in the vacation spirit (never while driving any sort of vehicle, of course), these extra calories can mount up and quickly. An 8-ounce daiquiri will ring in at around 450 calories, while a margarita with 2 ounces of tequila, 2 ounces of margarita mix, 1 ounce of triple sec, sugar, and lime can come in at around 550 calories. These drinks are tremendously high in calories, not to mention that you could find yourself drinking more than one drink per sitting. In two drinks alone, an unwary reveler could approach half of his or her daily caloric needs.
   
   Don't worry, though. You can enjoy alcoholic beverages while you're on vacation, beverages that do not rack up such massive calorie counts. For starters, stay with simpler drinks which don't blend in cream, fruit, or large amounts of sugar. "What's wrong with fruit?" . . . Nothing is wrong with fruit. However, the fruit-flavored syrups used in many blended drinks have a large amount of high fructose corn syrup and calories. Drinks that already have a lower calorie count (like a gin and tonic, with around 150 calories) can have their calories reduced further by substituting club soda for tonic, which reduces the overall count by around 50 calories. Wine is an excellent alternative to these other drinks as well, and a wine spritzer (4 ounces of white wine and club soda) comes in at only 80 calories. Of course, one way to avoid any of these calories is to go dry, and if that's in your vacation planner, more power to you.
4. Go to bed. Late nights, dancing, partying, hanging out—these seem like innocuous hallmarks of the spring break experience, right? Actually, these sorts of late nights could easily take a toll by making you pack on extra vacation pounds, as several recent studies have drawn interesting connections between the amount of sleep people get and obesity rates. According to studies conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), those who sleep 5 hours a night are 73 percent more likely to become obese than those who sleep 7 to 9 hours per night.
   
   Some scientists point to how inadequate sleeps interferes with the production of hormones that play a role in communicating hunger and satiation. In studies, when test subjects were denied sleep, the hormone leptin (which conveys the message of being "full" to the brain) decreased while the hormone ghrelin (which conveys the message of hunger) increased. The end result is that partying into the wee hours and getting irregular sleep can result in a perfect storm, making you put on extra pounds. So when you're on vacation (or when you're at home, for that matter), get a good night's rest to fortify your body's hormonal metabolic rhythms.
5. Dance, dance, dance. One of the best things about vacations is the way they get you out of your rut and into an environment where moving your body can take many forms, all of them healthy. Take dancing, for instance—a staple of spring break (or at least movies about spring break). Dancing on tables, dancing on the beach, dancing under the limbo pole—wherever you choose to dance, you'll be burning anywhere from 60 to 110 calories every 15 minutes. Oh yeah, it's also fun and an excellent way to relax. And you can even dance in your hotel room—just Push Play with Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs^® or Rockin' Body^®.
   
   If dancing's not your thing, there is no shortage of other vacation activities that offer ways to burn calories while relaxing. While scuba diving might be available in Boston, for example, most of us are far more likely to give it a try in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico—and, in the process, burn as many as 490 calories an hour. Gentler activities play their parts, too. Frisbee burns 210 calories an hour, the equivalent of two light beers, as do other quiet beachside pastimes like horseshoe tossing or shuffleboard. Few activities provide as much bang-for-the-calorie-burning-buck as swimming, as even leisurely swimming can burn well over 500 calories an hour. The point is to avoid parking yourself on a chaise lounge and flipping through Us Weekly while sipping on a 500-calorie daiquiri. It might feel good, but so will going into summer without carrying extra weight.