Hello!!!

By on the go, do you mean you are in the car daily or at hotels regularly?

I frequently travel and used to find it difficult to meet with clients while sticking to my "plan"! But, since January, I do a few things differently when I travel, which allowed me to lose almost 20 lbs, even though for almost six weeks of that time frame I was on the road (hotels/other people's offices). I even lost 4 lbs while on a 2-week cruise without feeling (terribly) deprived! Here are my hints:
- always have healthy snacks on hand. Some things you can keep in the car or your laptop bag are granola bars (check for healthy versions because there are some nasty, high calorie versions), 100-calorie snacks, sugar-free gum, mints. Something to keep your mouth busy.
- always have a refillable bottle of water on hand - car, luggage, laptop bag. Before you head through airport security, be sure to drink it all up or they'll take it away. I haven't found an airport yet that takes the empty bottle.
- I always have oatmeal packages on hand for breakfast (in a hotel) or lunch (in another's office). I can use their coffee area to heat up some water and drink the oatmeal from a mug if I don't have utensils or any other options.
- If possible, say you are too busy to join them for lunch, especially if you are also going out for dinner. Then, you only have one restaurant meal to contend with each day.
- I always ask for a fridge in my hotel room and ask the desk to send up dinner plates and utensils when I arrive. Sometimes the fridge is an extra $5/day, but well worth it.
- If you are in the same place for a week - stock up on fruit or veg, whichever you like best. An extremely filling breakfast that usually keeps me going until lunch is fruit with no-fat yogurt. If I do stay at a breakfast-to-go hotel, I might also grab a hard-boiled egg. Protein keeps you feeling full. I always eat breakfast this way...keeps me away from hotel buffets or hotel-size breakfast servings (and also avoids the eating 3 meals a day in a restaurant problem).
- Having your favourite fruit or veg at the hotel (or on car trips) also wards off the munchies where you may regularly grab a donut, chocolate bar, or something from room service.
- If the restaurant portion sizes are obviously crazy huge and not what you would serve yourself at home, ask for a take-away container immediately and put half of it away (or if you are with guests, just 1/2 the meal early so you know which half you will leave). You can save money (and calories) on night #2 by putting it in your fridge.
- If you are going out with clients to restaurants, eat close to the earth. By that, I mean choose things you could pick from a garden or farm. Choose single ingredient meals - i.e. steak with baked potato and fresh veg. STAY AWAY FROM THE BREAD SERVED - you'll want more if you are anything like me. Stay away from "au gratin" or meals with lots of sauces. Know the fat content in various meats you like, so if you are short on calories by dinner, you can choose the lowest calorie meat. For example, I believe chicken has fewer calories than lamb, but you also have to watch portion sizes because lamb portions are often smaller than chicken.
- If you are going out with clients and order booze, pace yourself. Always drink at least one glass of water for every glass of wine. The waiter will fill everybody else's glass first if you are still working on yours!
- Always order water as your restaurant beverage. Sparkling water sounds good if you don't want to seem like you are dieting.
- Always say your are too full for dessert. If everyone else is having something, have a no-fat latte or just a coffee so you are doing something while they are eating. You'll often have someone tell you to try their dessert, feel free to take a little bit and savour it.