eating healthy on the road

evenduchess83

I will be going to Minnesota in July for a trip. We are driving there. I know that there are healthy foods out there but how do I eat healthy while on the road and still be able to lose weight? Any suggestions? I don't want to gain the 2 pounds that I have lost so far. I know two pounds is not much but I am actually making progress here. lol.

evenduchess83

bump

mawray2

I'm road tripping too in July. I am making a list of restaurants that have low calorie or "diet" menus and printing out nutritional info on each to take with me since I will have to eat out virtually every meal. I actually had a bit of a panic attack yesterday because I really don't wont to gain either! I'd love to find some more chain type restaurants that have a portion of their menu for dieters.

The only other advice I can give is to drink plenty of water and plan lots of rest stops!lol

evenduchess83

That is good advice. I am not 100% sure of the kinds of restaurants there are along the way. What restaurants do you have on your list? I know subway is a good one....but we might not encounter one every time I want to eat.

608sol

We also are traveling in July and will be gone for 2 weeks. 5-6 days of that time on the road and looking for healthy eats in car and at stops so we both, hopefully, will come back home not gaining.

sr4ca

make up a couple of sandwiches on nature's own sugar free bread. Fifty 50 peanut butter with no added sugar and sugar free jam/jelly. Make up a few bags of "Food Should Taste Good" chips (10 large chips for 1 sugar calorie). Take along some 100 calorie packs of Diamond Dark Cocoa Almonds. Take some water bottles, and maybe a couple of FUSE Slenderize Tropical Punch (only 1 grm of sugar). When eating at a restuarant, opt for baked pork chop and baked potato (low cal, low sugar, good potassium). Or maybe have breakfast, a couple of eggs, or an egg and cheese omlet.

Good luck.

IveLanded

Taco Bell has an excellent "fresco" menu with good choices that are low calorie and low fat. If I HAVE to eat at a drive thru, I almost always eat there.

In restaurants, every restaurant has some sort of chicken salad, I just order it with no cheese and dressing on the side. You can't go too wrong with a nice basic chicken salad.

I kind of feel like Subway is deceptive.....it's very carby and actually a lot of their servings are pretty high calorie and pretty high fat. I don't eat there if I can help it (but, for me, I try to stay low carb especially if I'm not getting work outs in).

For snacks, I would buy things ahead of time like Larabars. You can also almost always find some sort of fruit even at gas stations......most will have some bananas or apples near the coffee area. Most gas stations carry protein bars, too, and if they don't carry one's I normally buy, I try to stick to as close to 200 calories per bar as I can.

IveLanded

make up a couple of sandwiches on nature's own sugar free bread. Fifty 50 peanut butter with no added sugar and sugar free jam/jelly. Make up a few bags of "Food Should Taste Good" chips (10 large chips for 1 sugar calorie). Take along some 100 calorie packs of Diamond Dark Cocoa Almonds. Take some water bottles, and maybe a couple of FUSE Slenderize Tropical Punch (only 1 grm of sugar). When eating at a restuarant, opt for baked pork chop and baked potato (low cal, low sugar, good potassium). Or maybe have breakfast, a couple of eggs, or an egg and cheese omlet.

Good luck.

Good tips and this reminds me of my other "go to" at restaurants...
for breakfast, I order veggie omlettes but I ask for just egg white. I've never had a restaurant say no.

unlocke

The key is to do your homework before you travel. Pack a cooler so you can take along healthy snacks such as fresh veggies with hummus, fresh fruits, cheese strings, almonds, etc. Then you won't be tempted by those billboards along the highway or convenience store junk foods. If you stop to eat, choose the healthiest option on the menu...grilled chicken or fish, steamed veggies, salad with low-fat dressing, etc. If you must eat at a fast food place, get a small hamburger (no cheese or mayo), skip the fries and cokes, eat an apple or salad on the side and drink water instead. It's all about the choices you make, which are much easier if you prepare your mind ahead of time. You can do it!! Looking forward to hearing about how your trip goes.

rheath07

I think the biggest thing when you are on a road trip is portion control. Make sure you have healthy snacks in the car while you are driving. When you are eating out at a restaurant obviously choose something healthy. But also don't eat everything they give you. We all know restaurants servings are oversized. Good luck on your road trip. You can do it!!!

verptwerp

This is what we do .... pack a cooler with healthy food & drinks (and ice) ..... find a scenic spot with facilities, of course, and have yourselves a little picnic ..... walk the kinks out & you are good to go ...... think of it as healthy tailgating :drinker:

And enjoy your trip !

evenduchess83

Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice. My hubby and I are planning on bringing a cooler with us. I think all the hotels we are staying at do have fridges too....so that will help. I will just have to make sure that we pack plenty of fruits, nuts and stuff to make sandwiches. That might help lower the cost too.

Krys_140

I'm working on creating a list of "go-to" orders at all the major fast food restaurants. I'll store it in my phone, and that way, I'll be able to search for the restaurant and come up with what's on "my" menu at that restaurant.

Here's my list so far:
Taco Bell
McDonalds
Burger King
Chick-Fil-A
Potbelly
Subway
Pizza Hut
Domino's

What other fast food joints should I include?

And, for the OP - I think you've chosen the best option. A cooler is an EXCELLENT way to go. We do that on our 2x annual drives into Indiana to visit family. We also plan to stop at two places on the way down there (both high in calories, but each is a special treat only available on this particular stretch of road), so I portion out my calories accordingly.

Safe travels!