When you are on vacation it can be very difficult to keep control over the food you eat and stick to your diet for fast weight loss. It’s harder to cook for yourself when you are on the road and you may want to sample the local cuisine, which may or may not conform to your meal plan. Traveling can be a life-enhancing experience, so in a certain way it complements dieting, which is also about creating a better life for yourself. Don’t abandon your travel plans just because you do not know how to diet and travel at the same time, because there are ways to do it. Following are two options for being faithful to your weight loss diet while you travel.
Option One: Eating Out
Consider this scenario. You have just arrived at your destination 15 hours after leaving home. You have eaten all the healthy, low-calorie food you brought from home. The turkey sandwich with mustard and lettuce on a whole grain tortilla is long gone. You shared the carrot sticks with the person in the seat next to you on the plane, after politely declining her homemade chocolate chip cookies. You bought a tasty salad at the airport, but you ate that several hours ago.
It’s late and you are hungry and tired. You are in an unfamiliar town and don’t want to start exploring the dark streets. You know you will not be able to fall asleep unless you get some food into your stomach—and sleep is important for losing weight. You could raid the candy machine, but you hate to go off your diet just to eat junk food. There’s a café, more of a bar, in your hotel that is still open. You decide to see what the bar offers.
The menu is very limited, and clearly not designed for low calorie dining. You take a deep breath and remember what you have learned about how to lose weight quickly:
- Eat small, nutritious meals
- Choose lean protein
- Eat more vegetables than carbohydrates
- Stick to whole-grain, complex carbohydrates
- Go easy on the alcohol
- Skip dessert
- Eat slowly
With these principles in mind, you order poached eggs instead of a hamburger. Eggs are healthy protein, and protein makes you feel full. Poached or boiled eggs are cooked without butter or margarine, so they have fewer calories than fried eggs or omelets. A broiled or grilled hamburger made from lean meat could be a good choice, but you have no way of knowing the quality of the meat this café serves.
Your eggs come with hash brown potatoes, but you ask for a small salad (vinaigrette dressing on the side) or fresh fruit instead.
You decline sausage, bacon, and biscuits. Unlike eggs, these side dishes are high in saturated fat. Ask for whole wheat or whole grain toast, and order it dry. A dab of jam or jelly is a better choice than butter on your toast.
You ask for low fat or fat free milk for your coffee. You drink lots of water. Despite the late hour you take your time eating, chewing each mouthful well before picking up your fork again.
There you are. You have taken a difficult situation and made choices that are consistent with your diet for fast weight loss.
Option 2. Making Your Own Food
If you want to have more control over your food when you travel you can choose accommodations where you can prepare your own food. An apartment with a kitchen or even a room with a microwave or hotplate and a refrigerator can be adequate for a week or two. If you are in a town with a farmers’ market, you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables as well as healthy local specialties. It can be fun locating the best shops in town for fresh and healthy food.
For breakfast you can make oatmeal in the microwave in just a few minutes. Don’t buy instant oatmeal in packets because it is full of sugar. Instead, add cinnamon, nuts, and dried fruit to your plain oatmeal for an energizing and low calorie breakfast that will keep you feeling full for hours.
It’s easy to make your own lunch. Buy whole grain bread and mustard and your favorite sandwich fillings: slices or lean meat, vegetables, and/or low fat cheese make a portable lunch you can take with you as you sightsee and eat whenever you want. Add a piece of fruit. Carry water with you, because not every place sells bottled water or has water fountains, and you don’t want to be forced to drink soft drinks to quench your thirst.
You can make a simple, diet conscious dinner of whole grain pasta or brown rice and a stir-fry. For protein, add tofu, beans, fish, or chicken breast to the stir-fry. If you have an oven, or even a toaster oven, you can broil a piece of lean meat, poultry, or fish and make a salad to go with it. Fresh fruit salad makes a tasty dessert.
Keep a supply of healthy snacks on hand. Depending on what is available, you might choose fresh fruits, energy bars, dried fruit, low-fat cheese, or whole grain crackers.
Vary your menu as much as you can so you don’t get bored with your food and give in to a high calorie temptation.
Traveling and Dieting Can Go Together
You have the most control over your diet when you do the shopping and the cooking yourself. You can continue to do that when you travel, or you can make careful choices at restaurants. Traveling does not have to be doomsday for your diet, just plan ahead and make a commitment to yourself and your diet every day of your trip.