Travelling can take a toll on your system, especially your diet. Be it restaurant food or local cuisine, it’s all going to affect your health in the long run. If you are one those people who travels a lot for work or otherwise, here are some handy diet tips that will help you keep in top shape even when you are on the road for long periods.
Eating Right While Travelling
1. Eating in small portions every two hours boosts your metabolism. So don’t limit to eating at meal times only.
2. While travelling, it is usually difficult to find the kind of healthy food you are looking for. But to maintain your weight, try and cut down on salt intake. Excess salt causes water retention in the body. Your average salt consumption per day should be 10 gms, mostly from bread or breakfast cereals. Just cutting down your salt intake and limiting it to 3gm a day will help you lose 2-3 kgs in a month.
3. Include fresh raw fruits and veggies in your diet and limit your sugar intake. Sodas and aerated drinks should be avoided. This helps clean up the body and increase the growth of hormones in the body.
4. High protein foods such as cheese, beans, tofu, fish which are rich in proteins, amino acids, fatty acids and omega 3 should be eaten as they help regulate the hormones in the body.
5. Drink water at regular intervals and keep your body hydrated while travelling as it leads to synthesis of food and promotes energy.
What kind of foods should be given preference?
Travelling means eating out in restaurants and roadside stalls. But even when you are eating fast foods, skip the heavy sauces, fried foods, cheese and bacon. Instead choose veggies, grilled chicken and salads.
Dried fruits and nuts are the best combo of a healthy snack you can carry in your travelling bag. They will boost your energy levels and keep you full for longer. Stock low calorie dry fruits that are high in fiber such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cranberries and raisins.
Salads with some kind of protein is your next best option if nothing else is available.
How much indulgence is okay when on the go?
Don’t restrict yourself to a particular diet when travelling as it might get extremely difficult to eat right. Treat yourself once in a while with a little indulgence. But make sure you keep a track of the quantities you eat. Too many restrictions leads to increase in stress, followed by negative hormone building which in turn will harm your body.
Always eat until you’re comfortable and not stuffed.The best way to do is to create a hunger and fullness meter in your head using the number 1 through 10. 1 means that you are absolutely famished and 10 means that you are stuffed. Try to stay around 4-8 throughout the day. 4 meaning that you are feeling subtle feelings of hunger and 7 being comfortably full.
Also, always remember to eat slowly and think before you eat. Do not eat just because the food is in front of you.
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