Holiday Travel Tips for Staying Lean

There is no place like home for the holidays but you have to get there. That can mean being served cookies, pretzels, and/or peanuts and being offered soft drinks and alcohol all at a time when you may feel bored, anxious or like it just doesn’t count if you are above 10,000 feet. Some people say this can be solved with a handful of almonds, an apple and a bottle of water. If that works for you, I applaud you. But what if you forget your provisions or find yourself tempted inspite of them. What can you do?

This is an idea I got from my junior year in college at Stanford University. I lived in the American Studies house and one night a spontaneous activity began. A group of us were in the dining area studying and eating randomly. Someone suddenly stood up and read the ingredients on their packaged junk food. Everyone paused, listened to the unpronouncible words and smiled. Then someone else stood up and did the same thing. One person stood on a chair to read theirs; think Sally Field as Norma Rae. The next person read theirs out in a loud and commanding voice. Other people began to come into the room. A movement was born. Someone got the idea to chuck their manmade conglomeration of nonpronouncible gobbly gook into the trash and many followed suit. A few admittedly ate theirs anyway.

So don’t just smugly eat your almonds looking down on the rest of us mere mortals with our hand on a coke glass and our mouths full of peanuts. Rise up. Stand on the chair if you must. Stop us. Stop us now! Please comment below. The best holiday travel eating tip will receive a prize, a commendation and the envy of the group. Comment away you mighty movers of men.