What Not To Do When Dieting While Traveling
Dieting while traveling can be difficult. In this post, we offer tips to help you stay on track even while you’re away from home.
The best diets aren’t short-term stints of deprivation, but rather are long-term plans for healthy eating habits. Don’t ditch your diet while you’re traveling, or you could bloat that bikini body you’ve worked so hard for. Stay on track no matter where your adventures take you, and avoid these critical don’ts when you’re away from home.
Don’t Forget About Meal Tracking
Meal tracking provides a valuable way for you to step back from your meal-to-meal planning and see the big picture. With the right app, you can easily log what you eat and get a quick picture of your calorie intake, nutrient break-down, and overall budget. Don’t take a vacation from your logging just because you’re out of town.
Tracking tools become doubly handy when you’re dining out and consuming foods you’re not familiar with. Logging your meals can help you stay on track while you’re out of your usual comfort zone, so you can keep making weight loss progress.
Don’t Eat Every Meal At A Restaurant
Dining out is a key feature of many vacations, but you should try to avoid eating restaurant fare for every meal and snack. Choose a hotel with a kitchenette or mini-fridge and microwave so you can skip the pricey and calorie-laden breakfast buffet downstairs.
Instead, opt for something nutritious in your room, like yogurt, walnuts, and berries. Keep healthy options on hand for snacking while you’re out and about, such as a granola bar or apple, so you can avoid the temptations of pretzels, popcorn, ice cream, and other snacks you may encounter in tourist destinations.
Don’t Wing It On The Road
Failure to plan is a common dieting mistake, and it’s particularly detrimental when you’re trying to focus on specific food groups, as in the low-carb diet. Take some time to plan your meals and snacks before you depart so you’re not faced with the challenge of finding a healthy restaurant on-the-go. Most restaurants provide their nutritional information online, so you can look up destinations that offer meals in line with your dieting goals.
Don’t Let Your Water Bottle Run Empty
Staying hydrated is always an important goal, but it can become particularly pressing when you’re traveling. Air travel tends to cause dehydration due to the low humidity levels and recirculated air you’ll find in the plane.
If you’re participating in physical activities during your trip — such as hiking, zip lining, snorkeling, or other adventures — you’ll need the extra hydration to fuel your body for action that you may not be accustomed to. Avoid the temptations of alcoholic beverages or sodas which can dehydrate you. Keep your favorite water bottle on hand wherever you go, and drink up.
Final Thoughts On Dieting While Traveling
When you approach your dining mindfully, you’ll find that you can enjoy a fulfilling trip without ruining your diet. Learning how to stay on track with your eating goals on the road is a key part of formulating a long-term habit of healthy eating. Before you know it, it will become second nature anywhere you go.
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