Whether for a vacation or for work, travelling all too often means complete derailment from your structured, healthy eating habits and can leave you feeling defeated, guilty and bloated.

A vacation is a time to decompress. Ideally, you feel free to relax and indulge just enough to enjoy yourself, but take well enough care that you feel good and enjoy your trip to the fullest.  Just like the old adage goes – it’s all about balance 😁

If you’re a competitive athlete, it might be a good idea to plan your travel during off-season when you can let up on your structured diet.  However, if you find yourself travelling during comp training season or when you are amidst of weight loss challenge or other nutrition program, there are things you can do to stay on track.

It may require some planning ahead of time, but if you have a goal, the practical tips below might help you avoid the all-too-common diet derailment when travelling.

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Kitchen amenities.

If possible, get accommodations with a full kitchen. This allows you to purchase your own groceries and cook your own food.

Chose clean at the buffet.

Sometimes we can’t see all the good stuff beyond all the crap!  All-inclusive buffets often have lots of fresh and clean options too. Most buffets are great for having simple whole foods: fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds to dress a large plate of salad; grilled chicken, fresh shrimp and more. Walk right on past the pastry and dessert section!

Bring your own food.

Take as much of your own food as possible. If you’re travelling within Canada, you have no restrictions. I’ve packed cooked chicken breasts, quinoa portions, etc that I froze and then packed with dry ice in a small insulated cooler. Be sure to pack it in your checked bag, as the ice packs are considered liquid and will not be allowed through security.

When crossing a border, usually packaged sealed food items are not a problem; protein powder, clean protein bars. There are stipulations on what you can take through the USA border at the Calgary airport however.   See https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1272/~/food—general-food for guidance on this.

From personal experience, I’ve taken everything from apples to carrots and cucumber slices, to most recently my own homemade protein pancakes! Honesty is the best policy, have the food with you in your carry-on so that when the border control agent asks you what you have, you can take it out and show him. The only food I’ve ever been made to throw out is citrus (orange or grapefruit).

Find a local grocery store.

Purchase a few staples: fruit, cut-up veggies, a package of rice cakes and small jar of almond butter, unsalted almonds, etc.

Take your own grill.  

A small George Forman type electric grill works great if you need to cook your own food. If you don’t have the luxury of a kitchen in your accommodations, you can still cook your own lean protein that you’ve purchased from a local market/grocery store.This is pretty dedicated, but is an option if you’re needing to be super diligent with diet (such as when on a competition diet).

Order extras.

When you find that great clean meal in a restaurant, such as a hearty salad with grilled chicken breast, or a baked fish fillet with steamed rice, ask for extras – or better yet, order two of them and ask for one to go. This way you have your next meal taken care of already and don’t need to stress over it.

Empty the bar fridge.

Microwave.

Buffet extras.

Water bottle.

Pack your own water bottle from home and hydrate, hydrate, and then hydrate some more!  It will keep you flushing out those extra sugars and toxins you might be consuming, and will help to maintain metabolic balance.

What to Pack – Travel Must-Haves:

• Sandwich baggies
• Plastic utensils
• Protein powder
• Protein /Energy bars
• Shaker cup
• Small insulated cooler/lunch bag

A Note on Exercise:

When it comes to exercise, an all-inclusive is also the way to go. I love our adventure or culture-rich travels, but when we hit a beach destination, it’s all about relaxing. What better time to kick up the intensity of your workouts than when you have nothing but time to do so. And just as important, time to rest and recover between workouts. It goes without saying that whatever the venue, a gym is a must when I go away. If it’s not possible at the hotel I’m staying, I seek out the closest gym and pay the drop in fee. And if none of those options work, I pack my own tubing, TRX, and/or skipping rope. Running the stairs at your hotel is another great option. Between plyos that you can do anywhere, body weight exercises, and outdoor jogging, there’s no excuse not to train while travelling.

Just for fun when I travel, I create my own little mini goals to keep myself challenged. Each year we travel to Bermuda for my husband’s business meetings. I call it the “Bermuda 500”. Each day I’m there, I do 500 of something: push-ups, jump squats, tricep dips, etc. I also began my “International Lunge Challenge” a few years ago, in which everywhere I go in the world, I seek out a specific spot to lunge. I’ve lunged from one end of Horseshoe Bay beach to the other, along the Thames River pathway in London, and the outside perimeter of the Sydney Opera House (that was over 600 lunges!). It’s just about making it fun and interesting.

On another note…

Peer Pressure

Is it your friends or family that are driving you to derail when you’re on vacation?  I hear you!  It amazes me how much other people seem to care about what we are or are not eating!

After battling this for many years, I’ve found some easy solutions that usually put an end to grown-up peer pressure.  Check it out here.

The GRIT50 Challenge dishes out loads of tips to help you build the strategies, habits and mindset to stay the course and crush your goals!  Check it out here.

This post was originally published in Jan.2019, updated with more goodies on November 27, 2024