Going on trips is fun; but to stay low carb while traveling, now that’s nearly an act of God. The long hours of traveling you have to go through to reach your destination of choice are anything but forgiving when it comes to diet.
If all traveling required from you was taking long flights, it’d still be tough. Add the factor of lack of meal choices and it suddenly becomes onerous. So why don’t we take away meal choices from this already stressful list of problems?
You’re probably thinking it’s not that easy. But it can be made easy with a little preparation. So, if we have caught your interest then read on as we have top 7 tips to stay low carb when traveling on a low carb and keto diet.
How to Stay Low Carb When Traveling
Tip #1 Don’t complicate it
Instead of overwhelming yourself with a complicated meal plan, go for something simple and basic. Not only will it be lighter on the pocket but it will also keep you from getting hassled.
Most restaurants outside of your city or country will have good meat options available to keep your protein in check. Whereas, vegetables can be found with no hassle whatsoever. So stick with something hassle-free. That’s how you can have a good and memorable trip.
Tip #2 Be Proactive
Regardless of what your holiday destination is, in today’s digital age everything is on the web. So, what you can do is, you can plan ahead and scour the web for the restaurants near your hotel and make a list of meals you can eat while you are on the trip.
However, if you’d be visiting your friends or family, be sure to let them know about your diet regime and the kind of food you want to stick to. If you don’t want to hassle them then you can ask them about nearby restaurants or grocery stores where you can get your preferred ingredients or foods.
Tip #3 Fill Up Your Stomach Before Boarding the Flight
Before you fly or begin your road-trip be sure to eat well and fill up your stomach with low carb food. This way not only wills you keep cravings for unhealthy foods at bay, you will be well-nourished for the journey. Jack Craig, a certified personal trainer from InsideBodybuilding, also recommends drinking lots of water, which will keep your stomach full and cravings at bay.
Tip #4 Pack Some Low-Carb Snacks
While it may be an absurd proposition to tell you to pack up all your meals for the journey, you can carry items with you for the flight or the road-trip.
Canned tuna, veggies, protein powder or vegan protein powder, hard-boiled eggs and nuts make a great snack.
Tip #5 Drink Coffee to Keep Cravings at Bay
Coffee with dense cream or butter is the perfect beverage to shirk away from any cravings. If you are not a coffee person then tea would work for this purpose as well. Be sure to avoid milk and sugar and you will be good to go.
A good fuel source you can put in your coffee is exogenous ketones. Simply add a little bit in your black coffee and you’re good to go.
Tip #6 Consider Trying Out Intermittent Fasting
If you are already using an intermittent fasting diet as a part of your keto regime then that’s great! However, if you are not, you can look into it and see if it works for you. If it does, then gear your fasting intervals towards making your travel easier.
Tip #7 Enjoy Yourself and Move Past Lapses
Regardless of how much you plan your trip, you have to bear in mind that you can’t make everything perfect. There might be some days where you’d end up having to eat foods that you usually wouldn’t. But remember not to be too hard on yourself.
It’s okay if you can’t always stick to your diet regime. What’s not okay is beating yourself up because of that and not enjoying your time while on the trip. Remember not to get too involved in the meal planning bit and keep your focus on enjoying your trip.
With a little planning and dedication, you can stay low carb when traveling and stick to your fitness goals. Don’t overthink it, don’t get inside your head, just think of the end game and how happy you’ll be when you achieve the results you want.