To Eat or Not To Eat

You could look for things like low sodium dehydrated soups that you just add hot water to. Also, low sodium canned soups, pack a bowl and heat in the hotel room microwave if there is one. Loaf of bread with something shelf stable to put on it.

Sometimes when I'm traveling, I'll prepack homemade oat mixes that are very hearty (oats, dried fruit, wheat germ, nuts, ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, coconut, cocoa powder) and add a banana and just hot water to it (when I eat rolled oats I don't cook them). I know you have restrictions and am not suggesting you try the oats, but just throwing it out there in case it helps you think of something similar.

jc1695 wrote: »

Thanks again for the advice. Packing a lunch would be an option if this was a one day trip. It is normally 3 - 5 days and without refrigeration, most packed lunches won't tolerate outdoor southern ambient temperature that long. My primary question was is it better to eat fatty foods so that you have some nutrients or skip the meal entirely to avoid the fat. There is some good advice in here and I'll use to figure out a solution.

Your first priority in eating is energy not nutrients. If you are not accustomed to skipping meals then you could be battling fatigue and/or make yourself so hangry you end up doing a binge-like overfeed.

I should also mention that for weight management and loss you need to control your calories. It doesn't matter if a bunch of them come from fat unless you don't find that to curb your hunger enough.

For meals that don't require cooling (just some hot water), I keep high-protein soup, high-protein mac and cheese, and tuna pouches and tortillas in my office because college students are unpredictable and I often have to grab dinner at work. I like quest protein chips, protein hot chocolate, and protein pudding as well.

They can be higher in sodium than other foods, but I find they generally balance out over the course of my day.

Is there a reason your fat is so low? 20% is really the very lowest within a minimally “healthy” range (not even ideal or recommended-just the absolute bare minimum). There are medical reasons someone might need to keep dietary fat that low, so if that’s the case, then ignore the rest of this.

I would nearly always opt for eating something that’s available over eating 800-1000 calories of protein bars (Assuming the 4 you’re eating are 200-250 calories each) or waiting indefinitely (and ending up grumpy and/or over hungry and making poor choices). Even a rural dive will probably have an option for steak, potato & veggies. It’s possible to get a decent meal at McDonalds (or the like) That’s got far fewer calories than 4 protein bars and way more in the way of nutrients. It’s relatively easy to get some non-perishable agreeable foods at a grocery store (instant oatmeal & stable fruits like bananas or oranges are things I often pick up).

If your fat intake needs to be that low for some reason, your options may require more effort and/or be a little more limited. But if not, I would make the best choices of what’s available rather than subsisting on protein bars.