 Travel makes eating well difficult
One of the biggest challenges I face in weight management is traveling.
It’s so hard to know just what is in food you haven’t prepared yourself. If we are having a long day driving, I certainly don’t want to drink my usual amount of water. We’d never get to our destination with all the pit stops we’d be making.
Travel generally entails more than one meal of eating-out to plan for and the scope of preparation can be daunting.
If you are traveling by car, pack as much as you possibly can from your regular food supplies. Start off with a cooler full of fruit. The little 100 calorie snacks that are available these days make wonderful car snacks the whole family can enjoy. Stop at a grocery store along the way to replenish your supplies.
Every morning, when I’m at home, I start my day off with a protein shake. If I’m traveling by car, I pack my shake mix and my blender. I make a shake in the hotel room and either use the gym if one is available or go for a brisk 30–60 minute walk. This helps me get my day started well and makes me feel like I’m staying with my routine. It also helps me to stay on track the rest of the day.
Although any healthy weight loss plan will tell you to eat many small meals throughout the day, this just may not be plausible during travel.
Start your day off with a good breakfast. My typical travel breakfast consists of oatmeal, egg whites, fruit and cottage cheese. For eggs, if you just can’t do all whites, have three whites with only one yolk. Just about any coffee shop restaurant can handle this order. This is a good, balanced and satisfying breakfast that keeps me going for a long time during the day.
Usually I can make it to dinner with a small snack in between, something like fruit or half of a sandwich.
For dinners, follow the typical dining out rules. Start with a salad or broth based soup. With salad, get the dressing on the side. Skip or limit the bread. Eat all of your vegetables and order the small cut of meat. Eat about half of your potato.
If you are going to be traveling for a while, you might want to skip dessert as often as possible or perhaps order the fruit plate. If you really want dessert, share it, or eat only some of it.
Remember, most “tastes” are satisfied after three or four bites. Savor every bite and take an assessment after each to determine if you need another.
Actual weight loss is quite difficult while traveling, though it can be done. Your goal will likely be the more conservative concern of weight maintenance, or at least limited gain.
As often as possible, drink lots of water and try to stay active.
Just being consistently conscious of your concerns and goals will go a long way toward avoiding shell shock on the scale upon your return.
Until next time, stay healthy and be happy.
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