MicheleStitches wrote: »

Hey ya'll! I am pretty new to this group, and I would appreciate the benefit of your experience. I have been following Keto protocols for almost 3 weeks now and feel pretty good -- over the withdrawals, no more cravings, and down 4-5 lbs.

So here is the deal...I am going to be away from home for 6 days travelling cross country from WY to NC to attend my son's wedding and all the accompanying festivities. This means meals where I have no control over the menus (bridal luncheon, rehearsal dinner, etc) plus the addition of celebratory drinks, etc. I am trying to plan ahead how to best handle this. I do NOT want to be drawing a lot of attention to myself and my "strange diet." I see a few options:

1) Throw caution to the wind and go wild, eating and drinking whatever is offered. This IS a celebration, right? Of course this means probably coming home right back where I started, up 5 lbs., frustrated, discouraged, and disgusted with myself.

2) Do the very best I can with whatever choices I am offered, staying away from breads, croutons, sugary treats, etc. but cutting myself a little dietary slack and not stressing it.

3). Fast...a lot! Stay strictly on plan, even if that means quietly not eating what is offered.

How do you guys handle these type of situations when you are away from home and at parties, celebratory dinners, etc.? It would be easier if I were in my home environment-- I could eat healthy before each event, but in this scenario, I will be in a hotel room. Heck! I don't even know what happens when you go off plan? I don't want to make myself feel sick by flooding my system with carbs (can that happen?)

Any experience and/or advice is much appreciated!

I say option 2. if the meal is steak, mashed potatoes, and greens just eat the steak and greens. Most dishes will have a main with a few sides - stay away from breaded main dishes and bread/pasta based ones and just enjoy the yummy food. Don't worry about things like sauces which may have some carbs/sugar. Also, it's your son's wedding! Honestly, if you have a piece of cake that's not the end of the world. Try to fit in some exercise. If you do gain 5 pounds, a lot of it will be water and you'll shed it fairly quickly

What's with MFP not allowing edits (again) on the web version?

My only important edit to my post above: If you enjoy alcoholic beverages, there's no reason to skip The Champagne Toast!

I travel a fair amount, and find I do best when I plan for a meal or two a day to be strictly on-plan, or lower carb than normal if I know I'll encounter a meal with higher carbs later. It's easy to plan a hotel-room breakfast, although it might look more like a packed lunch than a usual breakfast. Lots of gas stations and grocery store delis have low-carb options if you look, so it's not too hard to find grab-and-go options you keep in the hotel.

At the wedding meals, focus on the protein options and eat those first, then the low-carb sides/ veggies that for your plan. If it's served buffet style, take an extra serving of the protein if you need. You can always be "too full" for the starchy side dishes. Pre-log the meals if you can, at least an estimate if you know the menu. Don't forget to log the cooking oils, sauces, etc. estimate the best you can.

If you're going to have cake and drinks, plan for them ahead of time. Pre-log then into MFP, and be honest about how much you'll have. Plan for more than you think if you're worried about it.

Give your weight 3-5 days to balance out once you get home. Just traveling causes a weight shift for me, not sure if it's an altitude thing, or more sitting than usual.

If traveling and eating out is a common thing for you, you might want to account for the logging error that occurs-- I've read that restaurants tend to underestimate calories by 25-40%. I add a fake food entry for that-- I call it "33% restaurant overage." I built it with my goal macro percentage. I log the meal, multiply the calories by 33%, then add that into the meal too. So, a 300 calorie scrambled egg meal becomes 400 calories, with the 100"fake" calories helping prevent the calorie creep that happens when you eat out a lot.

MicheleStitches wrote: »

kpk54 wrote: »

Enjoy NC! I live in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Go Duke!

Thank goodness, you did not say "Go Tarheels," I would not be able to be your friend if you had! Greenville was my home stomping grounds, (Go Pirates!) but three of my kids now live in Raleigh.

Lol. My husband is an ABC (Anyone But Carolina) guy and a huge State fan. House Divided. We do love our ACC. My (step) daughter and son in law are both ECU grads. Great school. Great town. I spent a lot of time overnight in Greenville in the 1980s and early 90s with work. Venter's was my favorite joint to eat. Chicken Pastry, collards and sweet potato biscuits. Bea's Bbq was pretty good but my favorite was bbq was Mitchell's in Wilson then Wilbert's in Goldsboro.

I digress...keep your sodium up while here. It's still hot!

I don't find travel to be too much of a challenge, but it takes more planning - I usually try to find places that offer breakfast all day (Denny's, IHOP, etc), since I can always eat an omelette and stay on plan...plus I just love breakfast food and I rarely eat in the morning so if I'm going to have breakfast food it's usually at dinner time. Also, Red Robin has become amazing at offering substitutions like lettuce "buns" and veggies instead of fries...I'm sure other burger joints will follow suit if they aren't already. I also usually travel with a cooler stocked with hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, cheese sticks and such for snacking on the road or for quick lunches at rest areas. And, if I'm going to be at a hotel long enough to cook I have an electric egg cooker that I picked up on Amazon for $10 that makes boiled, poached, or omelettes - so hotel cooking is quite possible...also I usually hit the grocery for things like cracker cuts of cheese, or salad bar items (olives, lettuce, etc). For the meals you don't control, just eat what you can and avoid what you don't want, if you stay on target the rest of the time, those handful of meals are unlikely to be an issue.

midwesterner85 wrote: »

Personally, I would go with option #3 and stay on plan. That doesn't have to mean fasting. There are usually meat options at meals, diet soda or unsweetened tea. Otherwise, you can always have a snack or something beforehand or afterwards.

As to traveling, are you going by car or air? If by car, burger places will sell without the bun. Subway restaurants have salads. If by air, get the nuts if they offer them on the plane. Or just skip the plane snacks.

That's my vote, too. Until I tried fasting the first time I was away from home after starting LC, I had no idea how totally doable and liberating it would be.

Thereafter, I started putting travel kits together with small collections of high-calorie, LC foods, like macadamia nuts, olive oil, hard-boiled eggs, and, er.... vodka.

I personally am aiming to be able to go off plan briefly for special occasions and to hop right back on once life returns to normal. If I traveled a lot or was the type of person that had big social events on a very regular basis, I wouldn't, but for me these things are few and far between. I don't really worry at all about a week off keto, I worry about my ability to not spiral out of control and to get back on track after that week for a special trip, but that's a discipline I'm actively working on.

I don't think there's a wrong answer here though. Whatever works best for you in your given situation.


Also, Go Heels

MicheleStitches wrote: »

A hearty THANK YOU to all who replied so far. To answer one question: I am flying, so carrying a cooler is not in the plan. I think tomorrow, I will take string cheese, pepperoni, nuts and a cut up avocado to avoid airport temptations. As for libations, I will go for a little liquor with plain soda water and a twist instead of beer. As for the rest, I am going to play it by ear, choosing the best options offered, and/or abstaining if I feel like it. I am just having too much success with eating low carb right now, and I don't want to blow it.

One great thing about the foods on this WOE is they do not require near as much space. For instance a small bag of nuts will keep you satisfied longer than a large bag of chips.

That said, when I travel, I do not go off plan, at all. I do a combo of 2 and 3. If possible/practical, I may eat beforehand so as to not be hungry.

Fortunately, I have been doing this long enough that the crappy carbage is no longer a real temptation anymore. I went and tried some of my old favorites back in February (ice cream and popcorn) only to realize they did not taste as good anymore and made me breakout like a teenager and feel bloated for a few days.

I eat this way for BG control. I don't want to be on meds, at all and plan to be around to play with my grandchildren. My daughter recently turned 12, so hopefully that is not any time soon.

I know a lot of people eat this way to lose weight. I have no more weight to lose, and quite honestly, compared to the health benefits, weight is not really all that important. The (fill in fake food item here) is just not worth it to me. Just give me my steak wrapped in bacon, cooked in ghee and smothered in blue cheese with a side of broccoli covered in butter and cheese and I'm happy.

tcunbeliever wrote: »

I usually try to find places that offer breakfast all day (Denny's, IHOP, etc), since I can always eat an omelette and stay on plan

You probably already know this, but for others reading, IHOP at least puts pancake batter in their omelettes.

kirkor wrote: »

tcunbeliever wrote: »

I usually try to find places that offer breakfast all day (Denny's, IHOP, etc), since I can always eat an omelette and stay on plan

You probably already know this, but for others reading, IHOP at least puts pancake batter in their omelettes.

I have taken IHOP completely off my list of acceptable places since my last visit where the only way to get a low carb meal was to order al a carte. Even then, as you mentioned, you have to be careful. I am not sure how they did it, but they managed to make more than a few of their items higher carb than most places.