In the last week I’ve been to four different states in Australia. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT. It’s not unusual for me to travel like this and it’s happening more frequently which is great because I love travel but it’s also crap because it’s difficult to keep on track with my life style when I travel. If I’m at home in Melbourne, I eat pretty much the same thing every day and my body chucks a full on tantrum if I try to do anything else while I’m away. There’s also a big difference between holiday travel and work travel.
If I’m on holiday, I relax a bit. If I travel for work, which is almost every week, I still need to stay on track. It’s unrealistic to expect to be able to make myself a high protein meal three times a day every where I go so here are 5 ways I eat well while travelling…
1. Avoid packaged food
Even if I make ‘healthy’ choices like protein bars or bags of fruit and nuts they’re more nutrient dense than I would consume in an every day snack. If I’m travelling, I make a concerted effort to snack on fruit and vegetables. It not only makes me feel better and keeps my energy levels at an even keel.
2. At least once a day order a salad
It’s inevitable when travelling that I eat out a lot – often for every meal. I usually order a salad for lunch to get those nutrients in because who knows what I’ll be eating for dinner.
3. Drink lots and lots of water
If I’m not sitting at my desk, I always forget to drink enough water. I carry around a foldable water bottle every where I go so I can keep hydrated. It’s not terribly pretty but it folds up inside my handbag when it’s empty so I don’t have to cart around a giant bottle. I also have a water reminder timer on my Apple Watch that taps me when I should be drinking water.
4. Choose 1 out of the ordinary food per day
If I travel, I’m presented with unusual to me foods all day and night. Biscuits at meetings, rich lunches, afternoon wine, fancy dinners. And while it’s all delicious and very lovely, if I say yes to every tasty morsel I’m offered, I end up feeling pretty dreadful. My tactic is to avoid all out of the ordinary foods and take the very last one offered up, which is usually a glass of wine with dinner or some chocolate for dessert.
5. Avoid over eating at breakfast
I tend to have lots of breakfasts out when travelling which is kind of annoying because I’m not really a breakfast person. I always order avocado on gluten free toast or an ommelette. If I’m not forced to eat breakfast out, I’ll have a porridge packet in my room if I have a microwave. A good rule of thumb is to try to only have one fancy meal per day.
How do you keep on track with healthy eating when you travel?
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