If you travel frequently for work or pleasure, you know the challenge of maintaining a diet away from home. Whether your eating goal is to lose or gain weight, lower cholesterol, avoid allergy triggers, observe cultural or religious traditions, or be vegetarian or vegan, with planning, you are on track to enjoy an incredible journey and maintain your diet.
Tips for Staying on Your Diet While Traveling
– The first rule of traveling is to stay hydrated so that you know when you are hungry. Your body often confuses signs of dehydration with hunger. Why not find a reusable water bottle and be ready for any adventure?
– If you can, stick to a food schedule. If it works well for you at home, it’s excellent on the road. Experienced travelers like Claudette Rickett Schwartz believe that with planning, you can maintain a disciplined diet.
– Consider sharing a plate or eating one main meal of the day. Restaurant portions are often more generously proportioned than you’d serve at home.
– Pack snacks for on-the-go nourishment and an energy boost.
– A simple piece of fruit, a handful of nuts or raisins, a chocolate square, or an energy bar can revive flagging spirits and energy, and with planning, you can keep a disciplined diet.
– Choose the main meals based on your criteria. Popular choices include vegetables and lean protein, such as chicken or fish.
– Consider portion control with bread, tortillas, soft drinks, and desserts.
Pacing, Special Diets, and Indulgences
It wouldn’t be a holiday without sharing a beer with friends, a talk over a hot chocolate, that glass of excellent hand-squeezed orange juice, or that piece of 7-layer cake. But maybe it is a small piece. A sample. Because you wisely made a salad your primary course of the day.
Whatever tricks you use at home will help guide you. For example, are you a big breakfast and a minor snack eater? Do you prefer a big midday feast? Or did you do a liquid fast for lunch and are now ready to eat at that unique restaurant?
Many restaurants post online menus, and it’s easy to check to see if there’s a tempting dish that fits your guidelines for healthy eating. There are ever-increasing numbers of vegan eateries. And many traditional restaurants include heart-healthy, low-cal, and meat-free options.
Do As the Locals Do
Hit the supermarket and find your pre-made salad; use only half the dressing packet.
A smoothie is a meal you can hold in your hand. It provides hydration, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and an exact calorie count in one cup.
Consider all the ways to seek hydration, care, and comfort in a cafe, from a cup of black coffee to flower-infused tea, from a mineral water-based lemonade to an iced coffee infused with lemon and rosemary.
If you stay in a place with a kitchen, cooking your meals at home allows you to discover unique food at markets, stalls, and grocery stores while customizing it for calories or local/sustainably harvested ingredients.