GET YOUR BODY MOVING: WHEN IT COMES TO EXERCISE, THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

April 23rd, 2009

For most people, vacations and plane travel are times to sit back and relax. For 48-year-old Kathleen Rayson of Munich, Germany, they’re a signal to start moving.

Kathleen, her husband, Tom, and their son, T. J., journey to Florida twice a year to spend time at their second home in Sarasota. In the past, Kathleen barely moved on the 9/i-hour flight from Germany to Florida, and she consumed anything that the airline attendants offered her, because there was nothing else to do.

To make matters worse, Kathleen’s activity level didn’t improve much when she touched down. “I didn’t do any formal exercise in Germany, but I was up and down the four floors of my house dozens of times a day, and I always biked to the food shops,” she says. “In Florida, I sat in a ranch house and drove everywhere.”

Kathleen suspects that all the inactivity pushed her weight upward. “Of course, when I was back home in Germany, all that high- fat German food didn’t help much—nor did the German beer,” she says. By January 1998, she reached her top weight of 184 pounds. “I had kind of been accepting my weight gain, but what that scale said was really a shock,” Kathleen recalls.

Trying to slim down in a country that’s known for its sausages and potatoes was, to say the least, a challenge. But Kathleen worked on reducing her fat intake and eating more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. For exercise, she joined a fitness club where one of the personal trainers on staff customized a workout regimen for her that included toning and cardiovascular routines. She also attended aerobics classes. By the time she arrived in the United States that summer, she was down 22 pounds.

She didn’t want to lose ground by being idle in Sarasota. “Instead of sitting around all day, my husband and I walked every morning for an hour, then used free weights and did situps for another half-hour,” she says. “The activity curbed my desire to eat.”

On the flight back to Germany, instead of just sitting, Kathleen got up and exercised six times. She went into the galley and did deep knee bends and ran in place. She also walked laps around the big 747. She repeated the routine about every hour. “I didn’t gain a pound that trip,” she says. “And what a great way to beat the boredom!”

Now 40 pounds lighter, Kathleen takes her walking shorts with her wherever she goes, even if it’s a weekend trip to London to visit relatives. And she always stands up and moves around the plane. It not only prevents boredom and improves her circulation, it stops her from eating.

WINNING ACTION

Traveling? Take your workout with you. I’ve learned that exercise doesn’t have to take a vacation. Pack a pair of comfortable walking shoes and take a brisk walk every day. I’ve found that going for an early-morning walk in a new city is the best way to really get to know it and feel like you’re actually there, even if you’re on a business trip. On long flights, walk around the plane cabin and stretch.