For many people, traveling is a time to let go off all obligations and enjoy the break from everyday life. Diet included.
It’s understandable. If you thought that sticking to a diet at home is difficult, doing it in another country might be nearly impossible.
This is because you have less control over the food available and sometimes you don’t even know where to buy food. Because of this, some persons don’t even try stay on a low carb diet, or any other diet, while traveling.
And not just traveling either. There are different scenarios in our everyday lives where we wonder if a diet is worth it.
Eating whatever is available would be so much easier. But this is a lifestyle.
And to help you navigate it better, this new series, Low Carb in Real Life, will help you explore easy tips and recipes for any occasion in your life. From travel to work to kids.
When it comes on to travel, it’s easy to stay on a low carb diet once you’ve decided to do it. If you want to find some ways to make it work for you on your next vacation, keep reading for some awesome tips.
7 Tips to Stay on a Low Carb Diet While Traveling
1- Eat Like You Would at Home
Boring, right? However, I don’t mean the same type of food that you’d have at home, although nothing would be wrong with that. But ideally, the portion of your food should be the same.
For example, if your meals regularly consist of 20% carbs, 40% fat, and 40% protein at home, you can follow the same basic principle wherever you are in the world.
If you’ve been on a low carb diet for a while you could probably do this with a visual estimation, but a rough estimate should be good enough.
The bottom line is that being obsessive about macros on your vacation might not be fun for you or the person that you’re traveling with. Finding ways to make it work while knowing that it’s not gonna be perfect might be a good option.
2- Try Not to Go Overboard on Junk Food
It feels so good to let go when you’re not surrounded by the lifestyle you have at home. Trying new things is a must, but don’t go too hard on the junk food unless you’re going as hard on the physical activities.
This will all depend on your health goals. If you’re trying to lose some weight, it’s easier to share a meal or switch out some ingredients for a healthier substitute. If you want to stay on a low carb diet, you can just eliminate the refined carbs in a meal and watch the macros go down.
To make a low carb lifestyle even easier while traveling, try to find restaurants that can accommodate your preferences.
3- Stick To Your Diet Philosophy as Best as Possible
So if you’re on a low carb diet, stick to it as best as you can. If you’re sugar-free, vegan, paleo, or keto, it’s the same.
If you find that this is too hard when traveling, then you can relax the restrictions and just choose to have no (or a small amount) of refined carbs.
You can still be flexible while staying true to your core philosophy of eating a healthy diet. Of course, you’ll be tempted, but remember that making too many exceptions will become a habit that’s hard to break.
4- Pack Snacks
This tip can be applied to almost any scenario where you want to stay on a low carb diet. It’s simply because snacks are super convenient.
They prevent you from making unhealthy food choices when you’re too hungry. And they can help you to save money when you’re on a plane or during a particularly long trip.
With snacks, you also have more control over what you eat and when. Here are some low carb snacks that you can get some ideas from.
5- Take Multivitamins
Just a general health principle to keep your immune system up and kicking.
6- Know Your Limitations
One of the reasons why many of us travel is to learn something new. One thing that I love to do when traveling is trying new food. However, there are some things that you could never get me to eat. You’re probably the same way.
So, when you’re in a new place and the language and culture are different, it’s hard to know what you should be eating. If you’re picky about food, it’s best to stick with what you know.
This isn’t only for dietary reasons, but for general food safety as well.
If you have a hard time finding a restaurant that you can trust, a good tip is to look for places that are always full of locals and are generally busy. This means that the food is good, fresh, and affordable in most cases.
If all else fails, stick to pre-packaged, commercial food, and foods that can be peeled. This means that there’s a smaller chance of contamination if that’s your concern.
7- Stay Hydrated
This is important for many reasons, the first one being that staying hydrated is just healthy.
You can purchase bottled water or bring an empty water bottle on your trip. It doesn’t matter, as long you are drinking enough clean and purified water.
When in doubt- stick to bottled water.
If all else fails…
Just eat the healthiest options that are available. This ensures that you are getting the nutrients that your body needs for your trip. When you get back home, you can get right back to it.
If it is a priority to stay on a low carb diet while traveling, you’ll find a way to make it work. I hope that these tips will help you to accomplish your health goals and enjoy your trip at the same time.