The Road is
a Hungry Place
(Food for Thought)
It’ s easy
to maintain your eating habits when
you’re at home in your comfort zone, but
as soon as you leave your zip code the
chances of straying from your meal plan
are at least twice as high.
While traveling we all fall victim to
our location, you’re held hostage by
whatever type of food, or lack thereof
you may find; and as we all know if
you’re hungry enough, “health” goes out
the window and you’ll eat whatever is
available.
Remember, a restaurant’s main objective
is to try to get you to patronize their
establishment again and again, thus
making the restaurant more profit.
There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s
the American way. However, their main
objective might not always match your
main objective, especially if yours is
to lose weight. One little trick
restaurants use to get us to fall in
love with their cooking is to add lots
of sugar, salt and fat to their food.
It isn’t always realistic to eat
completely clean while on vacation, but
if you’re interested in avoiding the
guilt and consequences from overdoing
it, here are a few simple tips:
1.) Eat Salads. No one ever got fat from
eating fresh fruits and vegetables. I
know it might seem a little boring, but
even a basic salad will still provide
you with some nutrients and minerals.
If you know you’ll need more food, you
can always add steak or chicken to your
salad. You can also order an entrée for
a second course, but the advantage of
eating a salad first is that your mixed
salad should fill your stomach with
enough fiber that you might just be full
enough to eat only half your burger or
steak. (Just be careful with the
dressing, as there might be as many as
30 grams of fat covering your veggies.)
2.) Drink plenty of water. Have you had
at least 100 oz of water for the day?
Especially if you’ve flown to your
destination, or are spending time at an
altitude higher than you’re used to,
you’re going to feel dry mouthed and
hungrier than usual. Humans feel the
need to eat whenever we’re dehydrated,
so start your day off with at least a
third of your requirements of water
before you put in a single piece of
food. This way you’ve given yourself the
feeling of a full stomach before you
ever get hungry. It’s like hitting your
sales quota before your first day of
work even starts.
3.) Pack snacks. Everyone gets hungry,
but the smart ones have an insurance
policy ready when hunger strikes. If you
pack snacks while traveling you’ll save
a substantial amount of money as well as
ensuring you don’t make a stupid mistake
because your hunger pains drove you to
junk-food. We recommend traveling with a
few pieces of fruit, a bag of almonds
and a few Clif Builder bars. Sometimes
you’ll find that you won’t even eat all
the snacks you’ve packed, however
knowing you have healthy food ready will
help you to pass temptation by.
Vacations are an opportunity to relax
and enjoy doing whatever it is you enjoy
doing without the stressors of everyday
life. Just be sure to prepare for the
obstacles of finding healthy food;
you’re far more likely to enjoy your
holidays if you don’t have to worry
about working off the 10 pounds you
gained from eating the wrong things.
Written by
Lindsey Crouch and
Daniel Crouch, True Balance Health
and Wellness
Personal Trainer & Wellness
Guide.
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