Airport Food & Plane Food...

You are travelling = do it, drink the latte (and, if this is me, eat the chocolate croissant/bakery ham sandwich/pretzels/whatever you feel like), log it, move on.

I travel a lot...I try not to go crazy in airports/train stations during possible layovers, but I don't sweat it if I do. I don't go for candy bars and try to get stuff that I think will keep me relatively satisfied, and I might grab, say, a bag of mixed nuts and a bottle of water from the grocery store before I leave on my trip...but that's about it. Train station lattes are probably the most satisfying thing I can think of at the start/end of a long travel day...

If this is vacation, enjoy it. If this is something you do often, pack some snacks for on the plane.

Hi Chrissy,

I travel a lot for work too and it isn't always easy to stick to a healthy eating plan when on the go. Travelling and staying in hotels is one of the reasons I piled on the pounds (=boredom eating).

There are a few things you can do, it obviously depends on the kind of travelling you do (long haul, short haul) and time of day.

If I have a very early morning flight I tend to either prepare a smoothy the evening before so I don't have to faff about in the morning. Adding a handful of bran flakes to it helps to bulk it up and make it more filling. Porridge is always a good alternative too. it is quick to make, filling and keeps you going for a while.

I also prepare some snack packs of nuts in advance. these are little bags of nuts which I make once a month (yes a bit much I know, but it helps). You can make your own and save them under your recipes so you can log them easy too. I tend to take a couple of those with me when I am driving or flying. Much better than a packet of crips or a bar of chocolate.

When you fly long haul, take a bit of time when booking. Quite often you are given options on what food you want/need. Most people will skip over this but a lot of airlines will give you an option to pick a "special" meal. This can be bland, low fat, fruit, gluten free, vegetarian, ... whatever they have as an option. These meals tend to be a lot healthier than the usual fare, but you do have to book them in advance as they are special order. I have tried some of these on the airlines I fly on and they are pretty damn good.

Personally I have also stopped going for the coffee places at the airport as the temptation is also too big to give in to any of the extras. In my mind coffee was always paired with a croissant/muffin/biscuit so it was a way to break the habit.

Hope this helps a bit

I travel on a regular basis. I find it easiest if I take a large water bottle that I can fill after security. I also take a meal in my bag, such as apple slices and peanut butter or a sandwich with carrot and celery sticks. Even salad with chicken. Once even meatloaf leftovers. No need to treat it as something special as an excuse to go overboard. It is just another day.

I've always travelled a lot and used think airport/plane calories were free calories... just like airport shopping was free Now I don't eat on planes as I'm mostly only flying a couple of hours. When traveling I always pack snacks to help me avoid temptation or splurging cos I'm ravenous. I do find a milky coffee can often get me through to my next meal though - but now that I live somewhere with no Starbucks or any similar kind of coffee chain I've got it down to mostly coffee with just a bit of milk foam and a Starbucks style coffee flavored milk drink now turns me right off!! We CAN change even the most ingrained habits, it just takes a little practice.