As many carolers like to sing, there's no place like home for the holidays. But those last two pages on the calendar more often than not send people zipping around airports, streaking down highways and visiting distant relatives in distant places during the busiest travel time of the year.

Between office parties, family buffets and fast food lurking just off every exit on the interstate, these are the times that try our patience, stretch waistlines and send us "over the river, through the woods" and straight for the bathroom scales in early January.

Maybe, just maybe, there are a few alternate routes that bypass the "heavy" traffic (and possibly some clogged arteries.)

Travel light

Last summer, two UNC undergraduates decided to provide a road map for greater fitness while traveling. The result was a pamphlet of Carolina Fitness Complimentary Travel Tips called "Travel Lightly," (www.campusrec.unc.edu/fitness/travel_guide.pdf) jointly written by seniors Ellen Thornburg and Brittany Ackley.

The tips offered aren't limited to any months, however, and are just as applicable to the greater community as to students during the Holidays, traditionally the busiest travel days of the year.

"There's a lot to be said for getting to a gym to do a workout," Thornburg said, "but a full set of weights just isn't always going to be available when you're staying at a hotel or with family."

The students' message on nutrition, in fact, offers the perfect alternatives to holiday bingeing:

•Keep portions small, track calories, put half of your meals in a to-go ("doggie") box or even ask restaurants if they serve half-portions. Hidden calories often lurk in bread baskets, and you can also ask for requisite dressings, butters, and oils to be served on the side rather than on meals.

•Steamed veggies make perfect substitutions for starchier foods like pastas, potatoes and rice.

•When staying in hotels for several days, avoid dining out too often. Choose rooms with refrigerators and microwave ovens and then make trips to a local grocery store to buy healthy, easy-to-prepare meals.

•For breakfasts, avoid the sugary muffins and sweet rolls. Instead, choose a whole grain cereal with low-fat milk at the continental breakfast bar. Fresh fruit provides fiber and vitamins, while yogurt or hard-boiled eggs provide protein.

In the car

"It's just easier to grab the bad snacks for the car," Thornburg said, "so we also tried to give ideas on healthier on-the-go snacks."

Thornburg and Ackley recommended stocking up before long rides with healthy food to keep within reach, including fresh-cut vegetables and fruit, whole grain crackers, and plenty of water.

The Healthy Travel Network echoes the two students' tips on healthy finger-food (i.e., peanuts, soy nuts, dry cereal, raisins and protein bars) as well as the emphasis on hydration, suggesting that travelers skip diuretics like coffee, tea, sodas or caffeinated beverages and instead carry water with them, drinking at least eight ounces per hour.

YMCA Health and Fitness Director Abby Dennis said hydration is far too often overlooked in travel fitness.

"A lot of people will decrease their hydration because on long trips they don't want to have to stop (for restrooms)," Dennis explained.

Keep moving

Maintaining an exercise routine can be a challenge when schedules are anything but routine.

Fitness experts say that a little activity can go a long way when a long way from home. And a little money can go a long way in terms of simple, mobile exercise equipment.

"I really like resistance training ideas with the exercise band," Thornburg said. "It's just simple toning and it can be done anywhere."

Thornburg and Ackley's pamphlet offers visual demonstration of several exercises performed with an elastic exercise band.

It can give you an all-body workout anywhere, even in a hotel room. Or, you can exercise by carrying your kids.

A terminal case

HealthyTravelNetwork.com noted several ideas and suggestions on how to exercise and avoid injury when engaging in air travel.

•Leaning across seats, twisting, and turning to wrestle overhead bins or a baggage carousel for your luggage can cause problems. Instead, wait until you can properly access heavier bags without a strain.

•Because some airlines don't re-circulate the air between flights while on the ground, get off the plane for fresh air during layovers.

•Bring athletic shoes in your carry-on bag, wear travel clothes that are comfortable as workout gear, and take a power walk around the terminal during layovers.

•Skip the people movers and escalators and walk or take stairs. Some airports even have small workout facilities for longer layovers. Carrying bags even doubles as weight-lifting.

On the Web site TravelFitness.com, Bill Tulin, C.S.C.S. and Rebecca Johnson noted several additional tips for healthy air travel.

"The best thing you can do to adjust to a new time zone is to expose yourself to natural light as soon as possible," Tulin said.

They also recommended naps, no more than 45 minutes, upon arrival.

"Longer naps leave you groggy," Tulin said.

In flight, the online resource www.Ehow.com suggests getting out of your seat every hour or two on longer flights. While you're in your seat, squeezing a tennis ball or racquetball with your hands until they're tired. Calf raises with feet planted helps to move blood through the lower extremities, and crossed-leg stretches and neck and back stretches while you're in your seat can also help relieve strain.

Why weight?

Perhaps the best way to meet that New Year's resolution to lose 20 pounds is to not gain 20 pounds in the first place.

"I think the key is moderation, especially over the holidays, when it's all about bingeing for several days straight," Thornburg said.

In fact, most fitness experts suggest beginning a new exercise regimen prior to January 1.

"I think the sooner you get into a fitness center and get committed to a fitness regimen the better," Dennis said. "It usually takes three to four weeks to get used to a program you're actually going to follow, so if people begin now, they're going to be ahead of the game in January.

"I'd encourage people not to wait until the New Year," UNC Recreation's Rams Head Recreation Center Director Lauren Mangili said. "It's a time of year when it's harder to fit in exercise, plus there are more temptations in terms of Holiday treats."

At the same time, Mangili said not to let obsession with weight ruin the Holidays.

"You want to be aware of it, but you don't want to completely deprive yourself either," she explained. "I think you're more tempted if you tell yourself you can't have anything at all."

Contact Randy Young at chnsports@nando.com/