Keeping your Nutrition on Track while Traveling
As I type this, my family and I are getting ready to take a road trip to Washington, DC for the kids’ March Break. We have always wanted to go there, and now that the kids are old enough to appreciate the history and the museums (it also helps that they are free… travelling with 6 of us is not cheap!), we decided this is the year!
I often hear that it’s challenging to figure out how to eat healthy when you are eating away from home, so I thought it might be helpful to share what I do. There are actually lots of good options that make it possible to keep your wellness goals on track while you are exploring somewhere away from home or eating out to give yourself a break from cooking.
Here are my top 3 tips:
Focus on consuming a good amount of protein (at least 30g) versus lots of empty carbs or excess fat. Protein is the king/queen of macronutrients. It is an important building block for muscle, efficiently triggers the satiety centre in your brain and helps to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. In my FASTer Way groups, this is the macro that almost everyone is underconsuming by quite a bit when they start tracking. Protein options could include the chili at Tim Horton’s or a grilled piece of meat on it’s own or on a salad (try to stay away from breaded proteins as they are often fried in unhealthy oils) or a burger without the bun or egg bites at Starbucks (my favourite)
2. Only eat until you are comfortably full. The serving sizes in many restaurants are much bigger than what you would eat at home, which can lead to consuming excess calories. Remember to only eat until you are 80% full. I don’t like to waste food, but you can take your leftovers with you or split your meal with someone else at your table.
3. Bring along some healthy snacks. I find this is so helpful when travelling to reduce the temptation to eat and drink junk. It also helps to save money so that you can enjoy dinner at a nicer restaurant or have extra money to put towards something else fun. Some of the travel snacks my family enjoys include: Mid-Day Snacks (I find these lower sugar, higher protein tasty snacks at Walmart or purchase them directly from the company), RxBars (higher in carbs, but still have protein and are made with only 4 ingredients - found at most grocery stores or online) beef jerky, mixed nuts (not roasted in oil, but a bit of salt is tasty and not bad for you), apples, and seaweed snacks (have you tried these?!? Yum!). For drinks, we like to bring plain water (electrolytes like ReLyte or Organic Extra Strength Electrolytes add flavour without adding sugar), flavoured carbonated water, a few juice boxes for the kids and Remedy Kombucha drinks (so good - I get them at Walmart or the Independent Grocer).
There are lots of reasons why we eat - nutritional, but also emotional and social. My main piece of advice is to be intentional about what you eat - don’t mindlessly consume it. Whether at home or when travelling, when you find yourself really wanting to eat something that isn’t the healthiest option (or drink - I love Bourbon Sours these days), it is totally okay to decide to have it. In that case, I want you to fully enjoy it and not allow any guilt over it.
My goal whether working one on one or in my FASTer Way groups is to give you the tools and awareness of how it feels to eat the right amount and type of food for you. Often I find people don’t know how much better it’s possible to feel or how much more energy they can have until they do. It’s so helpful to have a framework of good nutrition and exercise as a sustainable lifestyle you can keep going back to.
If you are travelling somewhere right now or have plans to in the future, I would love to know where your adventure is taking you. I am always looking for the next place to visit! If you have a tip for eating healthy away from home, I’d love to hear that too.
If you need accountability on your nutrition when travelling or just want to kickstart your health, join me in my next round of the FASTer Way. Click below to find out more!