Living Out of a Suitcase? You Can Still Eat Well

"I travel too much to eat healthy. What’s the point of starting if I can’t keep it up?” I hear some version of this often, and I understand it. When you are living out of a suitcase, time is short, and the food on offer isn’t always what you would choose. But you don’t need a perfect diet to eat well on a trip. A few sensible choices, repeated, go a long way.

A typical trip often involves fast food, lots of fried snacks, and soft drinks. These foods are heavy on refined carbohydrates, excess saturated fat and sugar, and light on actual nutrition. A few days of this can leave you tired and sluggish, and sometimes with an upset stomach. Unfamiliar food, disturbed sleep and irregular meal times add to it. The good news is that a little planning makes most of this avoidable.

While You Travel

By Air: Carry your own food. Liquids and gels are restricted in hand baggage, usually to containers of 100 ml or less in a clear bag, so remember that yoghurt, hummus, nut butter and salad dressing count as gels. Rules differ between countries, so check before you fly. Solid, easy-to-carry options work best:

• Fruit such as banana, apple, pear or guava
• Roasted chana, nuts and seeds
• Whole grain crackers or a simple sandwich
• A protein bar, if you pick well

When you choose a protein bar, ignore the “low fat” label. Look for low added sugar, some fibre and a short ingredient list you can actually read. Many bars are really candy in a wrapper. If you can’t bring food from home, you can buy these after security, but read the labels first.

Fresh fruit and vegetables can be restricted when you cross international borders. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and the US are strict about it, so check the rules for your destination before you pack.

Carry an empty water bottle through security and fill it on the other side. Water is your best choice. Soft drinks aren’t dehydrating on their own, but they add sugar and calories and can replace water. The real culprit on a flight is alcohol. Dehydration shows up as headaches, cramps and fatigue, so keep sipping through a long journey.

Don’t stay seated for the whole flight either. Get up and walk the aisle every hour or two to keep your circulation moving.

Travelling by road / rail, Long hours of sitting and a fast-food stop at every halt can wreck your eating plan. Pack food and water so you aren’t tempted by whatever the highway stall is selling. Sandwiches and salads are perishable, so keep them cool and eat them within a few hours, especially in warm weather.

At the hotel

Start with breakfast: A good breakfast can keep you full and stop you from snacking all morning. Whether you are at the hotel buffet or a conference, go easy on the sweet items. A heavy, sugary meal can leave some people feeling sleepy in a meeting, which nobody wants. Some good choices:

• A vegetable omelette with whole wheat toast
• A bowl of oats with fresh fruit
• Whole grain cereal with milk
• Yoghurt or hard-boiled eggs for protein
• Whole wheat toast with peanut butter
• Meat and fish that are steamed, baked, grilled or roasted
• Vegetables that are steamed or sautéed

Stock your hotel room with bottled water, fresh fruits and healthy snacks like high-fibre cookies or roasted seeds, nuts, chana, murmura. This helps reduce the temptation to raid the room's mini bar, which is often stocked with chocolates and sugary juices.

 Keep Moving

Apart from eating healthy, exercise while travelling is of utmost importance. Nowadays, hotels have gymnasiums, which you can use during your stay. Alternatively, you can download exercise programs onto a laptop or other storage devices and work out in your room. As a lower-tech option, you can always jog/walk/run around the local neighbourhood.

So you see, travelling does not get in the way of eating healthy because it is rightly said, where there’s a will, there’s a way.