Vacation Eating

pack a cooler of healthy snacks, like yogurt, salad, etc. If you do stop at fast food, get a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo or a salad with reduced fat dressing. I went on vacation last week and ate out all the time and still lost 1 lb! You can do it!

I've found that baby carrots and unpeeled oranges are pretty stable in the car for a day or two on a road trip without a cooler. We also like to stop at Wendy's if we need fast food because they have decent salads. The half size Baja chili salad is 450 calories with dressing (Without its 350) but you feel full because its more of a meal.

In a way, there's less temptation on a road trip. You're not faced with the entire contents of your refrigerator, your cabinets, etc. No microwave, no oven. All you can eat is what you brought with you- and you can store food in the trunk to keep it out of sight. The only temptation is all that stuff in the convenience stores. I'll get string cheese and diet soda or coffee if I'm between meals and just want something to tide me over. (Yeah if it's coffee I need a pit stop shortly thereafter!) We buy beef jerky before we leave home- it's expensive, and worse in the convenience stores. Lunch is a sandwich from Subway or things picked up at a grocery store, where there's a better variety and better prices. Remind yourself that whatever gooey treats are in front of you in these places that you just need to resist temptation till you get out of the store. Then it's gone! Bring other things to occupy yourself on the trip- knitting, Sudoku, books on DVD, a pile of stuff you've been meaning to read, etc.

Finally, bring a swimsuit and workout clothes. DH and I do a trip this long every year at Christmas and I always get in a workout at the hotel before turning in for the night.

well when you're actually traveling, as in driving or flying, just eat like you normally would, bring a cooler with cut up veggies, maybe some cut up chicken or something, a salad dressing, a sandwich something. If you stop for fast food order just grilled chicken and put it on your own bread, or order a salad and bring your own dressing and toppings, have protein shakes and things that are sweet that will keep you from stopping for a candy bar.

When you're actually on vacation you'll probably be eating out. So look at the menu before you go and decide. good options, have 2 starters so you don't go over on portions. Some of my go-to starters are any sort of like raw fish or like seared fish, or shrimp cocktail or crab meat, a veggie salad dressing on the side, or a non-cream based soup like a gazpacho or a minestrone kind of thing. If you don't want to do 2 starters, for the main course, stay away from red meats, chicken, turkey, fish, or pork are good, get veggie sides instead of potatos or something, get any sauce on the side and just use a little bit of it, stay easy on the booze, and if you want a dessert either splurge big one day, or a few times have something light like a sorbet or a chiffon pie (eat out the filling) get fro-yo. And most importantly just think about what you eat, and if you can log it as best as you can, it might be hard but try logging each individual ingredient.
I eat out all the time and I don't gain weight.

I "make" my own trail mix and pack it into individual snack bags. The recipe option lets me control the servings and calories myself, so I actually have a few different versions: some with raisins, some with dried cranberries, some with candy pieces, some pistachios, some cashews, and some that the kids like. And they all taste a lot better than the store bought stuff.