Tips & tricks for eating on the road...from a former road warrior!
Are you someone who knows how to eat healthy but struggle when you are on the road? You are not alone! Eating while traveling is definitely challenging. Whether it’s availability, will-power, stress, or just plain peer pressure (yes, this is a thing even for us grown-ups)… Even the strongest healthy eater is left feeling guilt for unhealthy choices.
Let’s dig a bit deeper on these challenges and some tips to help along your journey.
Availability: It is helpful to have a mental checklist of what is most important to you. For example: my priority is no meat. My preference is no gluten or dairy. My goal is low calorie and plant protein. Having this list on your mind helps you to make decisions on where to eat and what to order.
Will-power: This one takes a lot of practice but as they say ‘practice makes perfect’. If you know in advance where you are eating a meal, look up the menu and decide what you are having before you arrive. There is a dive saying “Plan your dive and dive your plan”. The same principle applies here – decide what you are having and stick to your decision, which was made when you had no outside influencers. If you do not know where you are eating, have the ‘availability list’ in your mind and make decisions based on that criteria. Also, try saying no up front to things like bread on the table or not getting a dessert menu! It’s a lot harder to resist once it’s in front of you!
Stress: The irony of stress is that it causes us to make poor decisions, then those decisions cause us stress. You see the problem here, right? Healthy food actually calms our body. Choices such as fried food, sugar, caffeine, and yes, even alcohol – cause our body to be tense and anxious. So in making those short term decisions, we are actually exacerbating our stress situation.
Peer pressure: I know this sounds funny for us as adults but I know from experience that our travel companions (often unknowingly or without meaning harm) pressure us to go to one more bar, binge on dessert, get one more bottle of wine, or something even something as simple as foregoing a pre-planned meal on our own to eat with the group. All of these decisions add calories and non-optimal food choices to our day. Be strong in your objective!
One additional suggestion that really does help is to carry bars, protein powders and snacks that fit your goals. Having those will help crowd out some of those other less healthy choices.
Finally, don’t beat yourself up for a meal, a day or a trip that doesn’t live up to your healthy eating standards. Good health is a journey and we all take detours. Try to use the experience as a reminder of how it made you feel so you can make different choices and/or avoid those pitfalls next time.
I would love to help you on your health journey if you need ideas, support or help getting back to nutritional basics. You can reach out to me via vivewellnessllc@gmail.com or my website www.vive-life.com
In good health,
Jackie