Conference for work - how to sneak healthy food?

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abcdcm143
abcdcm143 Posts: 933 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I will be attending a conference for work next week. I just got the email with event details and the food that will be served. Each meal is plated and not healthy. Do you have tips for lunch and dinner that I could bring and essentially eat during a break or in my car that do not need to be refrigerated? Thanks!

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  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Most places will work with you regarding special dietary needs/allergies. Can you call the place ahead of time and talk to them about it?
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,325 Member
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    imagine we have to "sneak" our health requirements. so sorry :|
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited April 2018
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    Call, email or fill out a form for special dietary requirements, if it isn't too late. There is no guarantee that vegetarian meals will be healthier, but they usually are. I used to request the cold seafood plate (always was shrimp cocktail) on flights back when they cared what you wanted in coach.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,596 Member
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    Soooooooo, what are they serving?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    What are they serving? What is so unhealthy that you can't possibly eat what you're being served?
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    When I go to conferences it usually includes a room at a nice hotel. That usually means a nice gym for free as well. I generally eat what is provided for lunches, skip their dinners and go out with peers or my wife (if she has the time off to go with me) and eat out and choose something half way healthy, or if all else fails, a lot of protein!

    But seriously, when I go I hit the gym every morning to make up for it, and eat whatever I want while there. Gyms in hotels sometimes are rarely used early in the mornings so usually you have your pick of equipment.
  • abcdcm143
    abcdcm143 Posts: 933 Member
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    For lunch they are serving chicken salad sandwich on a crossiant with chips. Veggie option is a mushroom puff pastry sandwich. Dinner is meat or veggie lasagna with bread sticks. I can live with these of course, but would rather use my calories on food that sound good! I am just asking because I get the most creative and smart tips from this community.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    For lasagna, I eat the good stuff and leave the pasta. This kind of thing usually has a side salad.

    I would probably do something similar for the chicken sandwich. Although that mushroom puff pastry sounds awesome, that might be where I splurge for the day!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    abcdcm143 wrote: »
    For lunch they are serving chicken salad sandwich on a crossiant with chips. Veggie option is a mushroom puff pastry sandwich. Dinner is meat or veggie lasagna with bread sticks. I can live with these of course, but would rather use my calories on food that sound good! I am just asking because I get the most creative and smart tips from this community.

    I'm not seeing anything particularly unhealthy here, particularly in the context of a singular day.

    I'd probably have the sandwich and chips for lunch and the lasagna for dinner and skip the bread sticks.

    I'm not sure what you would sneak in other than snacky kind of food and I'd personally hate to be eating some snack food while the guy next to me was eating lasagna.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    The main thing I found annoying was lack of protein, so I took protein bars and shakes with me. Yay mini fridge! Calories can be negated in the gym, otherwise I say enjoy yourself. Carbs = energy, hit the elliptical or treadmill ;)
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
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    Definitely would be a rough calorie day, considering a chicken salad sandwich calorie estimate on the internet are 450-600 for the whole thing, which I would eat because it isn't much protein. Then a bag of chips could be 150-300 calories. Also low in fiber and protein so I'd eat all of those.
    Considering I need usually a couple hundred calories for breakfast to stay full till lunch.
    Then by dinner I'd be starving again but I would have leave me a calorie average of 415 left for dinner, so one square of lagsana......

    It would be so easy to eat way over my calories on that meal plan.
    I'd do some number crunching beforehand if I ate protein bar for lunch and brought some healthy snacks, could I eat more at dinner, so I would only go over by a little.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    Would be good if the meals weren't plated. Then you could choose to have smaller portion sizes without actually refusing what they cooked.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,596 Member
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    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Would be good if the meals weren't plated. Then you could choose to have smaller portion sizes without actually refusing what they cooked.

    Well, there's no law that says she has to be a member of the clean plate club.

    Altho, I totally would eat every last morsel because I can't resist anything carby...especially if it's something I don't normally eat.

    But others have way more will power than I do. :)
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
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    Keep a small cooler in your car. Put whatever you like in there, and go out to your car for lunch. Or fill up an insulated lunch bag with the things you want to eat. Bring a banana or an apple with an ounce of cheese into the venue for your snacks, but skip tuna and crackers because the fish smell might bother other attendees. Take a water bottle and sip on that to keep hydrated and not crave as many munchies. For dinner? Go ahead and have the lasagne because you've eaten lower calorie food throughout the day. Cut it into half or thirds and eat whatever amount you think you can get away with. Eat the side salad, or hopefully the salad bar. Alternately, call the hotel a day ahead and ask that you be given a plate of what you'd prefer (chicken? broccoli?). Most hotels want to keep their guests happy and will accommodate special requests if they have some advance notice.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    You only get one life. Enjoy it. Losing weight isn't a punishment, it's a journey to a longer and healthier life. That journey isn't going to be a short one nor is it a race. Eat what you need to or want to during your conference, embrace some extra exercise to make up for it and have fun. ;)
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
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    Why can’t you just limit your portion sizes?
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
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    pomegranatecloud wrote: »
    Why can’t you just limit your portion sizes?

    For some people, they won't be full be eating the same amount of calories as a high fiber/high protein meal vs a meal consisting of carbs. Croissant and chips are high and calories but I might as well be eating air. Attending a full day workshop being constantly hungry sounds quite miserable to me.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
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    Is it one day?
    I wouldn't worry about sneaking in anything or eating in your car.
    Openly bring in a protein bar or protein shake ( protein is the issue??) if you need it to feel fuller and eat what is offered, skipping any really high calorie components if you want to - ie don't eat all the chips or the bread rolls ( nothing wrong with such things. But they are higher calorie, if keeping calorie level down is an issue. )
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    a small lunch bag - put some yogurt, fiberone bars, sandwich etc in it for snacking on

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