Eating Healthy While Traveling (The Definitive Guide)

Travel guide from the desk of:
Dr. Anthony Balduzzi
Founder, The Fit Father Project
Creator, The Fit Father 30X Program

So, you’re doing pretty well with your healthy eating, weight loss, and exercise routines…

• You’re making healthier food choices…
• You’re trimming down portions…
• Hell, you’re even getting to the gym more…

…and then it’s time to travel.

You hop on the plane/car for your business trip or family vacation, and ALL ROUTINE gets tossed out the window.

It's time face the COLD, HARD FACTS: trying to stay healthy while traveling is challenging…

• Healthy food isn’t always available, so it's easier to make worse food choices…
• We’re eating out at restaurants while traveling, so our portion sizes increase…
• And we're not always able to get your workouts in…

Ultimately, progress stops. And, often, you take 3 BIG FAT steps backward with your health goals.

Have you ever been on that “eating healthy while traveling battlefield”? I know I have…DOZENS of times!

I designed this in-depth guide to be your new BATTLE PLAN to conquer eating healthy while traveling.

**Please note that the PDF mentioned at the end of this video is not available here – This is a ‘sneak peek' of a program video contained inside one of our Fit Father For Life programs, ‘Travel Fit'. **

Your ULTIMATE SOLUTION To Eating Healthy While Traveling

If you’ve been following our Fit Father Project articles for some time, you know that healthy eating and staying fit is about consistent HABITS & ROUTINES.

Your habits around your eating, exercise, sleep, and motivation DICTATE your state of health.

Now, the biggest challenge with traveling is that it INTERRUPTS our normal healthy habits & routines.

So, to fix that, we need a Definitive BATTLE PLAN.

I’m going to share with you 7 of the best strategies to WIN the war of eating healthy while traveling.

We're also going to approach your new battle plan on these 3 MAIN FRONTS:

• Battle Front #1: Planning before the trip (Preparation)
• Battle Front #2: Riding to the battlefield (The travel journey itself)
• Battle Front #3: Fighting the “war” (Managing the trip once you're there)

Welcome to the Fit Father Project Battle Plan of how to eat healthy while traveling.

Buckle up. Grab your armor. It’s time to go to war, my friend…

Step #1: Prepare to win the healthy eating while traveling war

Abraham Lincoln famously wrote, “If you give me 6 hours to chop down a tree, I'll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe.”

Let that wisdom sink in for a quick second…

President Lincoln understood that preparation is the KEY to winning any challenge. His advice couldn’t be more true when it comes to eating healthy while traveling…

Most people who are struggling with eating healthy while traveling simply DO NOT PREPARE TO WIN.

We're going to fix that right now…

With just a BIT of forethought in gathering the necessary supplies, we can virtually guarantee our healthy eating success on the road. And to start our preparation for eating healthy while traveling discussion, we need to ask ourselves the following question:

What Is Our Main “BATTLE TERRAIN” On Our Trip?

Are we fighting our EATING WAR on “the water” or in “the mountains”…?

We need different preparation strategies to meet our specific “battleground.” We'll apply this same logic to our traveling. So, where will you be traveling…?

Are you heading to a hotel for a business trip…?

• Do they have a healthy grocery store nearby?
• Do they have a gym you can use?
• Do they have a mini-fridge you can store your armies’ rations in?

Or maybe you’re heading on a fishing trip with your buddies in the majestic forests of Montana…

• There (most likely) isn't a gym or fridge readily available in the forest…
• For this totally different terrain, we need a different preparation plan.

If we DO have access to grocery stores on our trip… we can purchase supplies once we’re there.

If we DON'T have access to a store… we’ll need to use a few of the following tricks I’ve devised.

Step #1 is knowing WHAT you will have access to while traveling. That will dictate our prep strategy.

Preparing Our Eating Healthy While Traveling Strategy

If you’ve been following our incredibly simple & effective nutrition philosophy here at the FFP, you know the following general healthy eating guidelines:

• Eat roughly every 4 hours after your first meal to keep your energy and blood sugar stable (your first meal, as we’ll see later in this article, can and often should be DELAYED while traveling).

• Eat whole, unprocessed foods (see this article on “building perfect plates” for specifics).

• Make your eating plan DAMN SIMPLE & CONVENIENT with as little thinking as possible.

Fact: when it comes to eating healthy while traveling our #1 Goal is CONVENIENCE & UTILITY.

We aren’t looking for glamorous meals. We are looking to keep healthy, non-perishable food readily available at all times.

By far, the single most effective strategy for eating healthy while traveling is to prepare what I like to call the “Perfect Travel Meal-Replacement” (featured in all it's glory on the right).

This is a “make-at-home” meal replacement you will prepare in bulk BEFORE your trip, store in a ziplock bag in your luggage, and use throughout the trip.

This shake is insanely nutritious and convenient.

I'll show you how to make it in just a second…

First, we need to discuss HOW we're going to USE this “DIY Perfect Travel Meal Replacement.”

Function #1: You can use this “Perfect DIY Travel Meal” as your BREAKFAST.

If where you’re traveling doesn’t provide a good, nutritious breakfast, you can use this as a convenient meal replacement for high energy and fat-burning.

Kickstarting your day with the proper ingredients at breakfast will stabilize your energy and keep your hunger at bay – so you don't overeat later in the day.

Function #2: You can use this Perfect DIY Travel Meal” as a quick & easy meal-replacement during the day.

This meal replacement is ideal between business meetings – or if you are on the road and don’t have time for a sit-down lunch.

In the coming sections, I'll also show recommendations on what to eat/order at restaurants you may (or may not) have access to.

For now, the important point is that this “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement” will keep our healthy eating “on point” in the times we don't have access to solid-food healthy meals.

As you're about to see, this shake is ready to rock in powder form. We'll just add water.

Here's How To Make The “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement.”

The Single Serving Recipe of the “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement”

• 1.5 scoops protein powder (any kind – whey or a combo plant based protein)
• 2 tablespoons of cacao powder – this is an incredibly effective food for energy (we cover 10 superfoods you need in our powerful article: The Top Ten Best Superfoods For Men – Hint: Dark Chocolate/Cacao is No. 2!)
• ½ cup REAL quick-cook oatmeal (from brands like Bob’s Red Mill or Quaker – not the flavored, sugary crap)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

You will simply MULTIPLY this recipe by the number of days you are traveling. For example, if you’re gone 5 days, multiply by 5 – assuming you’ll be using this shake 1x/day.

This shake recipe is particularly powerful because ALL of the ingredients are natural and non-processed.

If you were to try and buy any meal replacement powder or bar, those products would not come CLOSE to the nutrition and purity of this FIY formulation.

How to prepare your “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement” Shake:

Step #1: Get 2x large 1-gallon zip-lock bags.

• We’ll be putting all the shake ingredients in the bag.
• We want the zip lock with the GLIDING TOP – not the Velcro-style top (those pop open).
• We need TWO zip lock backs, because (as you'll see) we'll put one bag inside the other to prevent spilling.

Step #2: Put all these ingredients above into the bag (shake it up to blend the ingredients).

• 1.5 scoops whey
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill quick-cook* oats (*quick cook means finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

This recipe above makes 1 serving. Remember to multiply this recipe by the number of travel days.

Step #3: Slide a measuring cup into the bag with the powder.

1 serving of this will be around ¾ of a cup. We want the measuring cup with us throughout our trip to ensure we're getting the proper serving.

Step #4: Double up the “glide top” zip lock bags to prevent spillage.

We don’t want any explosions in your suitcase! I’ve used this double ziplock method on over 50+ trips with ZERO accidents.

Step #5: Now we'll need a “Golden Chalice” (a.k.a your Shaker Bottle/Mason Jar) to put your shake in daily.

You will need to pack a shaker bottle (or glass mason jar – my preference) to put your shake in daily.

Now, whether you choose a shaker bottle or a glass mason jar is entirely up to you.

The most important point is that this bottle will be the way you drink your shake daily throughout the trip.

Each morning while traveling, you will…

• refill your glass/shake bottle with a single serving of DIY powder (3/4 cup)…
• slide that bottle into your backpack or briefcase…
• and you'll be ready for your “on-the-go” travel meal throughout the day..

When it’s time for your meal, you simply add water! That’s it.

Believe it or not, oatmeal + protein + cacao/chia in water is still pretty tasty.

Above all though, we need to remember that eating healthy while traveling is NOT GLAMOROUS. It’s about consistency and preparation…

This shake is good. Just keep the end goals in mind – simplicity, consistency, & execution!

OK! So we've covered meal replacements while traveling. Onto our next topic…

How To “Snack Healthy” While Traveling

Now that we’ve got our “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement” covered…

I also want to offer another option for a simple “on-the-go” snack while traveling – particularly in the hours between lunch and dinner to keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable.

I recommend a few natural, unprocessed, and easy-to-pack snack options:

1. Quest Bars – these are one of the few bars that actually have good ingredients. Find them on Amazon.com here.

2. Warrior Bars by CORE Foods (purchased in-store at Whole Foods or online) – these are the “Ferrari of the protein bars world.” All the Warrior Bar ingredients are REAL FOOD; as such, they are expensive and perishable (1 week unrefrigerated). Do not confuse these with other imitation “Warrior Bars” out there…

3.Beef/Turkey/Salmon Jerky + nuts (both are easy to bring and NON-PERISHABLE)

4. An organic apple + mixed nuts (both as easy to pack or buy at your destination).

Key Point: All of these snacks have protein + healthy fats to keep both your blood sugar stable and hunger at bay (which is vitally important for eating healthy while traveling).

As a rule of thumb: Pack 1 of these snacks per day. If you’re preparing for a 5-day trip, pack 5 bars, etc.

Think of this as your snack armory. Like carrying different swords to war, you may not use (eat) them all… but you will be prepared.

“Anthony What Should I Do About Exercise While Traveling?”

I'm so glad you asked 🙂

We’re going to talk more extensively about SPECIFIC WORKOUTS you can do while you’re on the trip itself (in the “On The Battlefield” section at the end of this guide).

For now, we’re going to keep the scope of our discussion on WHAT TO PREPARE in order to successfully exercise while traveling.

Now, one piece of equipment that is EXTREMELY USEFUL to pack while traveling – regardless of your gym access – is an ELASTIC RESISTANCE BAND SET (like this awesome kit on Amazon).

With a single elastic resistance band, you can get an incredibly effective workout. Again, we’ll talk more about this later.

OK! We've officially covered PREPARING for eating healthy while traveling. Let's transition to our “Second Battlefield”…

On The Road To Battle: Managing The TRIP Itself

We’ve successfully prepared, and you’re officially on your gallant steed riding to the battle.

Meet our second battlefield – the traveling itself.

There are 2 key facts we need to manage eating healthy while traveling during our actual trip.

Fact #1: Hydration is PRIORITY…

Traveling is stressful on bodies: long hours of sitting, changing timezones, and (often) flying on airplanes.

Hydration is our #1 Priority during the trip as it keeps both your metabolism humming & hunger at bay.

The ideal water formula for an average day: Divide your bodyweight (in pounds) by 2 and then ADD 32; that will yield the number of ounces you should drink per day.

Example: For a 200lb man, the formula would work as follows – 200/2 + 32 = 132oz (slightly more than 1 gallon) water.

Again, you’ll need a water bottle that you are refilling constantly to actually drink this amount of water. Buying $10 airport water bottles is ridiculous.

Thankfully, you'll have your “Golden Chalice” (glass jar/shaker bottle for your DIY shake) already on hand to refill with water.

FACT #2: For long trips, we ALSO need to manage TIME ZONES.

Changing time zones while traveling further stress your body's natural circadian rhythms (body clocks) – this most frequently manifests in disturbed sleep patterns.

New research shows that even one day of disturbed sleep impairs body’s processing of carbs by raising fasting insulin, decreasing your metabolism, increasing hunger, and lowering glycemic control.

In non-sciency terms, this basically means that missing sleep creates the PERFECT STORM for hunger and easy weight gain.

For this reason, it's super-important that you follow a structured meal plan like the Fit Father “No Think” Meal Plans included in all of our Fit Father For Life Programs that use “smart carbs” to keep your body lean and energized.

It's also very important that we do everything in our power to NORMALIZE YOUR SLEEP on the road, which will, in turn, help improve you're eating healthy while traveling.

Now, when it comes to optimizing sleep while traveling…

Melatonin and cortisol are two hormones that control your body clock (circadian rhythm).

If we’re traveling between different time-zones, we can strategically use 2 Strategies to help both our metabolism and circadian rhythms adjust to the change smoothly.

Tip #1: Use Strategic Melatonin Supplementation

Melatonin is a very useful hormone when used properly to help reset your natural circadian rhythm quickly. This particular supplement is proven to work in countless research studies for ameliorating jet-lag and travel-induced sleep disturbances.

I create a little table for you below with some specific strategies on how you might use melatonin based on your travel schedule:

Melatonin is ONE useful strategy to improve our sleep during trips – which indirectly helps with our eating healthier while traveling.

We have a second powerful strategy that will help too…

Tip #2: Use Intermittent Fasting To Burn Fat & Sleep Better While Traveling

We have one more powerful trick to help our bodies adjust to time-zones while traveling…

Here it is: don't eat 🙂

At least not DURING your travel journey itself.

Here's why this works so well…

Using short-term (intermittent) fasting while traveling DIRECTLY helps your burn more fat WHILE ALSO resetting your circadian rhythm to your new travel destination.

Without getting too much into the science behind fasting, here are a few key highlights:

• Our human bodies are BUILT to fast. It's hardwired into our genetic code, as our ancient ancestors often fasted for periods of time without constant food access.

• Short 24 hour fasts increases human growth hormone (a very potent fat burning hormone) by 1600% in men (1). This is a really powerful anti-aging and weight loss effect that FAR SURPASSES the GH raising ability of any supplement.

• 24-hour fasts even build new brain cells and prevent memory loss, neurodegeneration, and Alzheimers (2).

• Fasting cleans out all the “metabolic junk” that accumulates in your cells through a process called autophagy (3).

• 

  Fasting RESETS your body clock to the proper time-zone – which (in turn) improves fat loss, increases your metabolism, and improves your sleep.

In fact, in 2002, researchers put fasting to the test with 186 National Guard personnel deployed across nine time zones. They found that those who followed the fasting protocol were 7.5 times less likely to experience jet lag upon arrival and 16.2 times less likely upon their return (4).

Here's the basic fasting protocol to use while traveling:

• Avoid food (or calories of any other sort) immediately before and especially during your journey. No juices, sodas, or sweeteners are allowed. Remember to drink plenty of water (and unsweetened green tea) to stay hydrated as we mentioned previously!

• Fast for at least 14 hours and up to 24 hours (dinner-to-dinner). Skip the overpriced, undernourished airport food.

• Upon arrival, eat soon after landing, as close to local mealtime as possible. Now that you're at your travel destination, eat on your new “local” schedule.

• If you’re taking a RED-EYE, have dinner at the equivalent “local dinner time” of your travel destination before leaving, and then then fast overnight until breakfast/lunch the next day.

Fasting is a SUPER-POWERFUL health habit for eating healthy while traveling. In our Fit Father For Life programs, you'll also learn how to use strategic fasting to dramatically increase your fat loss and lean muscle progress while NOT traveling).

Now if you MUST eat while you're traveling (not recommended)…

Here are a few resources that will help:

• These two apps help you make healthier food choices at airports (and on the go): GateGuru + CleanPlates.
• Use the “preparation snacks options” we talked about above to munch on while traveling.
• Also, if you are traveling by airplane – here's a a top 10 list of the airports with the healthiest food (data from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine):

We've Arrived At Your Destination! Here's What To Do Now…

OK! We've officially arrived on the battle-field. We've made it to your final trip destination.

Now, if you've followed this guide so far…

• #1: We’ve properly prepared (made our DIY shake &packed snacks/exercise band).
• #2: We’ve properly hydrated and potentially used melatonin/ fasting while traveling.

Now, we’re ready to manage our trip – specifically how to eat and exercise once we've arrived on site!

Step #3: At Your Destination: Eating Healthy While Traveling

For breakfast, we want to have a high protein, lower-carb meal (with healthy fats) to create stable blood sugar and fat burning.

Here are a few ideal breakfast meals that fit these guidelines:

• Meal #1: 3 sunny side up eggs, spinach, 1 cup mixed berries
• Meal #2: 3 egg omelet w/ veggies (hold cheese), grapefruit
• Meal #3: 5-7oz breakfast ham, sautéed veggies, side of fruit

Or, we can always use the “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement” as our breakfast. Most hotel breakfasts have eggs, fruit, and salad, so you should be able to wrangle up something healthy.

For lunch, I recommend a BIG SALAD with protein.

It's very easy to get a healthy salad with lean protein (and dressing on the side) at any restaurant.

For dinner, prioritize protein + veggies + 1 cup healthy carbs.

At pretty much ANY RESTAURANT you can always pair a protein with a side of veggies and healthy carbs.

Here are a few common options:

• Salmon + rice/quinoa + side-veggies.
• Chicken breast + asparagus + brown rice.
• Lean steak + sweet potato + broccoli.

That's it! I hope you got some very actionable tips from this article on eating healthy while traveling!

Here's a quick summary of the key points…

Article Summary: Eating Healthy While Traveling

• #1: Eating healthy while traveling is all about CONVENIENCE, SIMPLICITY, & PREPARATION. We don't need glamorous meals. We need simple nutrition strategies that can keep us “on routine.”

• #2: Preparation is KEY! Make sure to pack something like our “Perfect DIY Travel Meal Replacement” that you can use throughout your trip.

• #3: Stay WELL-HYDRATED and (ideally) use intermittent-fasting & melatonin while flying/driving to ensure you're optimizing your fat burning and sleep-cycles.

• #4: Focus on pair protein + veggies for your meals when you're on your trip. For exact recipes and super-powerful nutrition strategies, check out The Fit Father “No Think” Meal Plan that's included in our Fit Father For Life programs.

Travel healthy my friend!

If you have any questions about our programs/services, email us at [email protected].

Your new friend & health coach,

P.S. Have a particular topic you want covered in future articles? Let us know in the comments below or via email: [email protected]

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*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on Eating Healthy While Traveling.