User Post: 7 Ways to keep your diet healthy while on the road

Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance

When you travel, there are things that can throw you off your healthy lifestyle. An occasional trip doesn't normally have that much of an impact, but if we travel regularly, it can do some major damage. Unfortunately, we can't avoid travel, especially if it is for work, but what we can do is prepare for our impending trips and find ways to keep ourselves on track so that we can maintain the healthy lifestyle we love to live.

Here are a few ways to keep your diet healthy while on the road:

  1. Eat Your Breakfast: It is important to eat a healthy breakfast every morning, but when you travel it is even more important. It sets you up for your day and helps keep your energy level high so you can be productive during your trip (especially in the case of a business trip).

  2. Pack Snacks: I'm a big believer in packing snacks. Preferably nutrition bars that won't go bad. They can ward off hunger during the day and help from letting irregular travel schedules get the best of you. When I am on the road, I often will pack one or two per day of travel.

  3. Eat Balanced: Just because you are traveling, doesn't mean that you have to forgo balanced meals. Make sure you incorporate whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats into as many of your snacks and meals as possible.

  4. Pass on the Bread: More often than not, eating out means getting bread before the meal. Try to avoid eating the bread that restaurants provide. It will fill you up with unnecessary, and most likely, empty calories. Restaurants don't really make their bread out of whole grains, but rather more refined and processed flours, which leaves the bread relatively nutritionless.

  5. Order Dinner Wisely: When you go out to dinner, try to eat more lightly than what you might normally. For instance, order two appetizers instead of an appetizer and an entrée. Or order a salad entrée (one that has protein and is sized appropriately).

  6. Take a Doggy Bag: If you order an entrée, and you can tell that the portion is way too big, don't be afraid to take some of it back to your hotel. Most hotel rooms have mini refrigerators where you can store left-overs.

  7. Use the Salt: If you order an entrée that is too big, and you don't have a mini-refrigerator to store left-overs, you can always use the salt trick. Portion your entrée into the size that would be a healthy proportion (a deck of cards worth of meat or chicken, a small bowl of pasta). Then take the salt and pour a lot of salt on top of the rest. (Clarification...this is NOT to cure the meat! It is to make the leftover portion REALLY SALTY so that it isn't edible!)

If you travel a lot, there is no reason you can't stay on a healthy track. What tricks do you use to stay on course?

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