Keeping healthy eating habits can be a challenge when travelling. Our daily routine is thrown out the window and new environments make it challenging to find the same foods we usually eat. And let's be honest, we don't associate travelling with staying lean and fit (at least I don't).
I've found a few tricks that help me stay in shape regardless of where I travel to and what foods are available eat. These will help you make better nutrition decision while on the road and still enjoy your trip.
Expectations and goals
There are only two goals I have in mind with my nutrition while on vacation.
Explore and taste new culture's foods. This is a huge part for me when discovering new countries. I enjoy discovering new flavours, I usually don't travel for too long and I want to explore as much as I can through food. I also enjoy drinking good alcohols while travelling, especially scotch, beers, and wine. So when I find myself in front of a unique restaurant, brewery or winery, I go in for a taste.
Keep my body composition similar to what it is at home. Key word "Similar". I know it won't be the same. The goal is not to add too much weight but also not to lose too much either. I find that if I don't eat enough I lose muscle mass, which is something I try to avoid.
With these in mind, I have a clear mindset when I'm on the road: enjoy myself and don't under eat.
If I want to stay lean and in shape, this will mean I have to prioritize certain foods over others, which is the what the next two points are about.
Prioritize protein and veggies
Protein helps maintain your muscles, keeps you satiated and a plethora of other benefits for your body.
I tend to eat out more when I'm away and found no issues whatsoever getting enough carbs and fats in restaurants. It's usually the protein component that is more elusive.
For this reason I tend to eat a little more meats and animal products to make sure I get my daily protein requirements. I aim to eat at least 140g of protein every day.
Restaurant foods are usually delicious for a reason. It's cooked heavily with fats (butter or oils) and sugar can be omnipresent in breakfast or desert dishes. Yes I eat deserts all the time when traveling.
Finding dishes that feature a piece of meat and veggies is what I look for in all of my restaurants outings.
Some countries are going to be tougher than others for this. Italy had amazing pasta dishes that I tried out, and Turkey and Greece had easier protein and veggie choices.
The goal is to eat as healthy as possible on the go.
The next point is about controlling the total amount of calories you eat.
Portion control
This is something that becomes very important for me when I'm on the road.
It is very easy to over eat. One yummy restaurant over here, one buffet over there, some delightful street food, and next thing you know you've over consumed you caloric budget by a mile.
Controlling my portions, for me, means restraining on foods I would like to have twice. This also makes the food and restaurant choices strategic because I want to prioritize the good ones.
I always try to eat at local shops and avoid chain restaurants.
As a rule of thumb, I follow the following guidelines:
Carbs: No more than a handful and a half on the plate
Fats: Limit as much as possible at the restaurant. I mainly eat fats with nuts as healthy snacks. No more than a handful throughout the day
Protein: Unrestricted
Veggies and fruits: Unrestricted
These are guidelines I've found that work for me, because I can still enjoy everything I eat.
My one weak spot: alcohol. I try to limit myself to a no more than a couple glasses per day but the reality is usually a little different. It's one of these things where I take the L and deal with it when I get home.
Cooking from hotels/airbnbs
Home cooked cuisine is less caloric than eating out more often than not. I make an effort to eat at least one meal from my own kitchen, regardless of it's equipment.
Sometimes in hotels there is nothing to cook with so I try to make myself some healthy wraps or sandwiches with some fruits. I keep bags of nuts around for my snacks.
When I have access to a more equipped kitchen I cook the same meals I do from back home.
If I can get breakfast and either lunch or dinner from home I find that makes the above tips very easy to follow.
Here are a few ideas you can do:
Breakfast in equipped kitchen
Oat bowl with yogurt and fruits.
Breakfast in unequipped kitchen
Bananas or other fruits and nuts.
Lunch or dinner in equipped kitchen:
Keep it simple with a healthy type of grain, brown rice, quinoa, a piece of meat along with some veggies.
Lunch or dinner in unequipped kitchen:
Pick yourself some high quality bread, whole wheat if possible and some cold cuts along with cheese slices. You can buy all of it at the store and make it from. the hotel.
Or even better go have a picnic!
The PHD rule
When looking at a food ask yourself can you pick it, hunt it or dig it?
If the answer is yes to any of these three, the ingredient you have in front of you is most like from a whole unprocessed source.
If the answer is no to all of them, the food has most likely been processed one way or another and should be consumed mindfully. Not eliminated altogether, but mindfully.
The PHD rule will help you eat healthier meals and avoid junk food.
Drink water
For some reason I never drink enough water when I'm traveling.. I don't know why, I just stop thinking about it as much as I do back home.
Drinking water not only helps your body function properly is helps lower hunger pangs. Think about it, you're putting something in your stomach, so even though it's not full of food, at least it's not completely empty and yelling at you to feed it.
I've gotten in the habit of always bringing my water bottles with me and make sure to drink the full amount at least twice a day.
Best travel snacks to stay in shape
Snacking is key for me. I don't keep the same eating patterns as back home because I usually have no clue what the day will entail (unless I travel with my fiancée in which case I have a detailed itinerary) and don't have a fixed eating schedule.
This mean I'll sometimes go long periods of time without eating. Since I don't enjoy being hungry in museums or sightseeing I always have snacks on me.
This is a list of my favourites:
Any types of nuts. Ideally unsalted
Any types of dried fruits
Dark chocolate (80% cacao)
As you can see it's straight forward, I can usually find all of these in a supermarket. I load up on them at the beginning of the trip restock whenever I need to.
None of these are high protein because I find those types of snack require more prep which I'm not willing to do on holidays. I also refuse to bring supplements with me on vacation. It takes room in my luggage and I already have enough of those back home.
So I focus on having protein during my main meals and my snacks are predominantly fats or dried fruits.
I found that going hungry while travelling is a dangerous thing for me. Since I end up far from home, it's easier to rationalize going out to the restaurant. And when I enter a restaurant hungry I load up on the bread, order more than one dish and disregard all the above points.
For that reason, I snack, to limit hunger.
Maintaining a fitness routine when travelling
I try to walk as much as possible on vacation. It's the perfect way to discover new places and it get my steps count up.
On top of that I do a couple other things when it comes to exercising.
A short, daily workout. My go to is a five minutes push ups challenge. Push ups can be done anywhere and don't require any equipment. Five minutes is short enough that it's hard to say no. I set a timer for 5 five minutes and try to do as many push ups as I can in that time frame. The goal here is not to do crazy workouts or even over think them. This is a super simple way to give your muscles some action. You can choose any exercise that you like, as long as it's easy for you to do them. I used to bring a skip rope with me in the past because it was also easy to use and super light.
I try to go to a fitness studio once a week. This makes me discover parts of the city that is usually outside the touristy area. It also gives my body a more intense workout. This could be a spin studio, a gym, a hotel gym, or any other activity. These workouts are more intense than my five minutes one, but the goal is still to have fun. As a trainer I tend to geek out new machines I don't have access to back home. I also love discovering what other countries have for fitness.
Staying fit while traveling conclusion
Maintaining a healthy routine while on vacation is about balance. Staying active will give you a solid energy boost which may actually help you have a better time.
For vacations longer than 2 weeks, I find that exercising is also a way to avoid that "starting-from-scratch" feeling when we start working out again.
Here are the tips/guidelines I've found to work for me. With time and practice, you will be able to create your own.
Get a clear understanding of your fitness goals while travelling
Prioritize protein and veggies
Control the amount of food you eat
Try to cook from your hotel/Airbnb
Use the PHD rule to avoid junk food
Find healthy snacks that you like. These will usually be the same ones you have back home
Maintain an easy fitness routine
Want me to take care of you fitness routine wherever you go? Schedule a free consult and let's chat about online training options!
Happy travels,
Clem
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