Eating "On the Road"

martinkristyk
martinkristyk Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any tips for advice for how to log your calories when you are "on the road" for either a vacation or business travel? I find it frustrating and often just skip logging on thsoe days, but I know that's not a smart move. (Thank goodness I only travel a handful of times a year.)

I find that, unless I eat at chain restaurants, it's pretty tricky to calculate my calories accurately. I try to make smart choices- boneless chicken breasts, veggies, things like that, but sometimes it's a guess, especially if I'm attending a catered work event where I'm not choosing my own foods.

Any tips/techniques would be greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • Edenar
    Edenar Posts: 7
    Only real vacation I took was last year, and even then it wasn't a calorie infested mess. Just remember even though your not home you can leave your dietary plans behind.

    I went to BJ's restaurant while I was in LA, instead of getting like a burger or something fried I just had a salmon salad. Light, SUPER DELICIOUS, and not too many calories. Plus I haven't been to a chain restaurant lately but I know MFP has almost anything you can think of in the journal so you can still log it and make sure you're within your limit.

    Hope this helps,
    Edenar
  • maggiam
    maggiam Posts: 28 Member
    Have you considered making yourself up a sort of japanese bento box? It doesnt have to be raw fish sushi, but if you look on the internet there are all sorts of ideas for what you can put in one of these boxes, and it is the sort of thing you can snack on too :)
  • hiddensvelte
    hiddensvelte Posts: 53 Member
    It would take a while (several minutes) to "build" your meal from individual items. You won't have a scale, but you could estimate sizes/servings from your experience. Also, if there are any sauces or dressings, you can estimate those from a volume and base, like cream or butter (most sauces are 1/4 c or 2 oz).

    The safest bets are to stick with sandwiches and salads with side dressings. Most places nowadays will allow you to substitute steamed veggies for something on the plate.

    I've found that this order works best - drink 1 - 2 glasses of water, salad (dressing on the side), broth based soup, veggies, main course, and the berry dessert (if offered or available). And drink water during the meal.
  • n_rockey
    n_rockey Posts: 52 Member
    It's tough. 10 years ago I went through this journey the first time (I swear this is the last time), and I was on the road about half of the time. Luckily for me most of the time I was in Mexico, and since I hate most Mexican food I pretty much survived off of the nutrition bars that I packed and took with me and did just fine. When we did go out I found that the best that I could do was estimate what I was eating, but I always tried to estimate high since I was neither absolutely sure what I was eating or exactly how much of it. I also used the uncertainty as a reason to go hit the gym at the hotel (at home I find things to distract me, and don't get there as much as I should). I was never gone long enough at a time that I worried too much about pushing myself into starvation mode, but by exercising more and being careful about my selections I didn't find it to be too bad.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    At a restaurant: Order ala carte. Be specific with your server about what you want, for instance grilled chicken, steamed veg/ no butter/ no salt, green salad, dressing on the side, plain baked potato. Order cruets of oil and vinegar with your meals as condiments.

    Order from the kids menu, if possible. Some places the kids menus are worse than the adult's, so be careful.

    Hotel Room Service for breakfast: Black coffee, with cream on the side. Oatmeal, plain (You must be specific or they will add in brown sugar and cream). Banana or other fruit cup. Scrambled eggs or eggbeaters if they have it. Only order yogurt if you can get it plain. Most places load up their yogurt with sugar.

    Buffet lunch: Lots of greens! Most buffets have green salads and fresh fruit. Avoid rolls and any steam table items like pasta or casseroles. If they offer a "build your own sandwich" table, take the meat and cheese and add it to your green salad. Italian dressing is best choice. Raspberry vinaigrette is pretty good too. Avoid Caesar or creamy dressings. For desserts cookies or small dish of ice cream will have fewest calories. Cakes, pies and cheesecakes are the heaviest on calories.
  • cruzcrzyMarie
    cruzcrzyMarie Posts: 251 Member
    Consider packing your scale or order a travel scale(they have them on Amazon). My dh is retiring in a few months, and we will be doing some traveling. We WILL take the scale and weigh daily. We will also try to avoid eating out as much as possible. Some places we are staying we will have a kitchen, so that helps. If not, it is still doable. If possible, go to the grocery store and choose foods like yogurt, string cheese, washed fruits, prepared veggies like celery/carrots. There is also low fat deli meat/cheeses, nuts. You get my drift. We have worked too hard to lose this weight, and I have no intention of gaining it back.

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