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Healthy Travel Made Simple

By Tim Baird

Maintaining healthy eating habits while traveling can be challenging for even the most disciplined eaters. In the land of plenty, there are plenty of temptations facing travelers on the road and in the skies. To add to temptation, most travelers go for extended periods of time without eating, which can make poor food choices look appealing. Despite the lure of fast food advertisements and candy shelves at service stations, travel doesn't have to be a health conscious persons worst nightmare. There are plenty of ways to get to where you want to go without succumbing to hunger and cravings - all it takes is a little planning.

Below are some simple tips to help keep you on track no matter where you go.
  1. Keep healthy snacks on hand - Like MasterCard, you should never leave home without your healthy snacks. Keeping healthy snacks in your car, your purse or your briefcase will allow you to satisfy hunger without having to attack the vending machines or stop for fast food. Healthy snacks include fruits and vegetables, protein bars, low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, whole grains and nuts to name a few. If you do a lot of driving, keep a cooler in your trunk so you'll always have nutritious food options in your reach. If you travel by plane, pack a small lunch cooler with healthy snacks and bring it as your carry-on.
  2. Know your options – Do some research prior to leaving on a long trip. Try to find out some of the food venues that will be available at your destination and along your route of travel. Many restaurants have nutritional information that can be found online for each of their food selections. Accessing these menus and printing them out will allow to be prepared to make wise choices while eating out. Also, if you know that you won't have access to healthy foods for an extended period during your travels, you'll be able to pack your healthy snacks accordingly.
  3. Eat every 3 to 4 hours – By eating small meals every 3 to 4 hours you'll avoid drops in your blood sugar levels, which can lead to hunger and cravings. Additionally, by keeping your stomach feeling full you won't be so inclined to overeat at any one meal. Another great benefit to eating frequent small meals is that it keeps your metabolism working efficiently. If you wait more than 5 hours between meals, your metabolism will slow down and cause you to burn calories less efficiently.
  4. Don't drink your calories – When people travel, they have a tendency to indulge in caffeinated soda and high sugar drinks. One of the fastest ways to rack up empty calories is by drinking them. Drinking regular soda is one of the easiest ways to ruin months of good nutrition. It's loaded with calories and it doesn't fill you up. Not to mention, it contains no nutritional value at all. If you need to drink caffeinated beverages while you travel, select diet sodas or regular coffee and tea.
  5. Use protein bars as meal replacements – Protein bars can be a dieters dream while traveling or sticking to a busy schedule. Some people shy away from this meal replacement option because, while nutritious, many bars have a reputation for tasting badly. However, bars have come a long way in taste over the years, and there are many bars available that taste good and are good for you. The convenience of protein bars makes them the perfect travel companion for dieters. Just remember that you shouldn't rely on protein bars to replace more than one or two of your small meals in a day. When given the option, healthy whole foods are always a better choice than protein bars.
  6. Take a good multivitamin – This is important whether you're traveling or at home. No matter how good your diet is, or how prepared you are for healthy eating while traveling, unexpected situations always occur. It's important to take a good multivitamin everyday to ensure that you are fueling your body with the proper amounts of essential vitamins, which may be difficult to consume through food alone. Multivitamins will also increase your energy levels and decrease your susceptibility to illness.
  7. Make smart choices – Making smart food choices is the foundation of sticking to any healthy eating plan, whether you're at home or on the road. Even if you fail to plan properly by packing healthy snacks, you can avoid common pitfalls by simply thinking about what you eat before you eat it. Even fast food restaurants offer at least one or two healthy food choices on their menus. All you have to do is make the right selections.

While eating healthily on the road may not be easy, it is possible. If you're serious about proper nutrition, travel plans and hectic schedules won't throw you off track. No matter what your day looks like or where your travels take you, there are always ways to maintain a healthy eating plan, you just need to plan ahead and make smart choices.

About the Author:

Tim Baird is a certified Personal Trainer and founder of Toodfood Weight Loss & Fitness in South Melbourne. Visit his website is at http://www.toodfood.com.au