Help! Eat out all the time!

onmyway1101

My husband and I travel for our jobs all week long. We are gone Sunday thru Friday, only home on the weekends. We eat out every day! It is so hard to stay focused on my weight loss when we are always eating at a fast food or sit down restaurant. I try and work out everyday for at least 60 minutes but it is so hard making the right choices. I am also concerned about all the processed foods that comes along with eating out. Any suggestions? Thanks!

shipleyak

I would take snack foods to munch on throughout the day(i.e. fruits, cheese, and multigrain crackers would make a great lunch). The more you fill up on healthy foods the less likely you are to blow it all when you eat out. A meal out a day is do-able if you plan in advanced. Plus you are going to want to watch your sodium with all that processed foods.

themommie

You could start bringing some things with you like granola bars, special k fruit thins,rice cakes, microwave light popcorn, if the hotels have a refrigerator you could buy some lowfat yogurt, laughing cow cheese wedges, pocket bread, sliced turkey, fruit. maybe some bagel thins, bread, peanut butter. then at least you would be covered for breakfast and lunches. then you would only eat out for dinner , or eat out for lunch and come back to the room for a sandwich and fruit. Also look up the calorie counts on the restraunts you frequent and find the best options. I hope this helps

onmyway1101

Thanks for the advice!

megsta21

I agree! Healthy Snacks during the day are a great idea!!

As a meal idea I would suggest some of these:

- Steak and salad (no chips)
- Pad Thai Noodles
- Subway, just be careful what you get!
- Soups that are made at the restaurant (not pre-made ones)
- Salads, with the dressing on the side
- or most restaurants have Low - fat or low carb options now... have a look at them... they taste better than you think!

Edestiny7

You should also look online to see if each place you eat at, has their nutritional info available. That way, you can make much better choices when you see the differences. Or even ask at the place when you go in. I know Panera brought out a big binder filled with the information when we inquired. Outside of high calories, the sodium is ridiculously high as well! One meal alone can have more sodium than the 1500 the American Heart Association recommends for everyone.

stringsNlinks

That's a lot of eating out. I love fiber one with vanilla yogurt or berries and milk for breakfast. Is that something you can plan ahead by bringing the cereal with you and just get the milk/yogurt at the breakfast bar. Lunch for me is easier cause I love veggies and salad, as long as I keep it pretty clean and don't dump all the "junk" on it I do great and it fills me up. Dinner I would suspect would be hard to eat out all the time. What I do when we are planning dinner out is I go to this site and pre-plan, it helps me stay on track. Sodium is the killer (excuse the pun) when eating out so try to order as clean as possible and look stuff up because you would be surprised at what appears healthy on a menu and what actually is. Restuarants are pretty accommodating these days too so don't be afraid to ask for your food to be prepared differently (no sauce, double veggies no potato, etc.)

I hope you find lots of tips from other travelers....I will be watching for them too!

Best of luck
Gina

shannagan74

If you happen to travel together, share an entree instead of separately ordering-there is usually enough calories in one meal out to serve 2-3 people's needs. If you are not together traveling, the healthy snacks are great ideas. I always take a little insulated bag with me with 2 yoplait light fat free yogurts and a string cheese. They are easy 100 calorie snacks that are a healthier choice. I agree with themommie- if you have a favorite place(s), look their menu up on line ahead of time--most of them have nutritional content and some are getting very interactive. Some of the things one would think were a healthier choice, sometimes are not--hidden sugars and sodium. Good luck! I know it is difficult....but if you do take in too much, just make time for the hotel gym before bed or in the morning It's tough- but just keep the focus and goal in mind and it will eventually become easier.

onmyway1101

Thanks for all the replys. Sometimes it is so hard because I may be on the road and need to go through the drive through. I try and order like grilled chicken and I wont eat the bun. I have started a journal of fast food restaurants so I can know how many calories are in an entree before I order it, but I was just looking at the calories and not the sodium. YIKES!