Hello. I am new to this forum and I am glad that I found it.
I have a new job that I love but I am away from home 3 and 4 days a week. This includes being away overnight. I get spending money for meals and that's where I am struggling. My goal is to lose 50 pounds. Since mid-January I've lost 10 but being on the road has it made it difficult to lose anymore than that.
Does anyone have some suggestions on what I can do to help lose the weight while travelling? I am often in small farm towns in Alberta, Canada and I don't get to restaurants that serve fruit salads or other low-fat, low-calorie type meals (this is beef country and people here like hearty meals).
oh my, I feel your pain! I travel for a living too, as a matter of fact, I am waiting to get on a plane to Pheonex any minute. It is hard! You have to determine that you are going to do IT. You also have to pre plan, and I mean every thing. Hotels with the famous "contintental breakfast" ie donuts and coffee, clients that want to take you out to local traditions (BBQ ribs, mexican!ugh) lunches on the run, airport food that is terrible and expensive (and just the thought of cinnibuns smells are enough to have me hiding in the bathroom) I bring a bottle of water with me everywhere. I find that I can be sustained with having something in my hands and drinking the water (orally fixated...) I also bring pre packaged meals, (slim fast bars, shakes) and live on those when I can avoid the huge meals. I also continue with my eating plan even when it is most uncomfortable, picking grilled fish while everyone else is mowing down a huge steak is hard...HARD!!! But I keep telling myself, nothing tastes better than being thin feels. I also snatch as many apples and banannas from salad bars as I can, munching on those during long car drives or late nights alone in hotel rooms. I find that drinking something warm helps me feel "full" so I live on de-caf. You have to make it a priority, you have to accept the responsibility of living in the world and work around the pitfalls. No one would insist a person with diabeties sit and wolf down a bag of donuts, so expect the same respect. I myself do not announce that I am 'on a diet' as that tends to bring out the 'just one wont hurt' crap, I just do my thing and let everyone wonder why I just ordered a salad with no dressing and a plain baked potatoe. I am in this for the long haul, need to loose about 100 lbs, but have lost 32 so far and am determined to succeed. Keep up the program you are on, plan every possible move and accept that sometimes, things just are not going to work, make the problem as small as possible and deal with it one day at a time.
Thanks Ginya for your response. First, congratulations on losing 32 pounds. Being on the road makes it just that more difficult I imagine. I feel better after reading your response. I actually do many of the things that you talked about. I bring a bag of apples with me and I do munch on an apple when I am hungry, I also bring along single servings of apple-sauce and low-cal shakes since I often stay in places that don't serve decent breakfasts.
I try very hard to eat chicken, salad and pasta with tomato sauces rather than creamy sauces. I did however break down this past week and had some french fries. They were delicious! That was my real only break down this week, but I wasn't as good as I often am at sticking to the good foods - I will work harder at it this week.
I find that when I am spending the day driving long distances, all I can think about is food and where will I eat next. Unfortunately, I am visiting small towns and I don't have many choices of restaurants. But I think I will make up a big fruit salad before I leave and put that in the motel fridge next week. That will help sustain me, I also have not been drinking enough water and I will try to do better now.
We just came back from a trip and before we went, I bagged up and labeled snacks (ie pretzel sticks etc) into individual serving sizes. Yogurt is great for fast breakfast. When eating in a restaurant a lot, don't be afraid to nicely throw you weight around, ie no butter on toast or potatoes, make them bring you an extra plate, cut portion and put rest on extra plate and make them take it away, etc. Stay away from restaurants that don't allow substitutions!
I like the idea of bagging snacks. The place I am staying at this week has a little fridge and microwave so I've just done some shopping for breakfast foods and I've got fruit and that sort of thing as well. I do try not to eat everything on my plate - especially some of those huge dinners - but I will ask for an extra plate just to keep *me* honest!
I love taking roadtrips and I sympathize with your situation. I can't imagine having to deal with it all the time! Here's what I did on my last trip:
-- Bought a six-pack of bottled water to keep in the car
-- Brought a bag of WOW! Doritos along (these would have been better if I had bagged individual servings), and lots of cut-up veggies
-- Listened to lots of good music to keep my mind occupied (books on tape or CD would be great for this also!)
And every time I pass by a fast food place, I think of how disguting all that fat is and how I don't want to put that in my body -- this gets easier and more natural as time goes on. It's not hard to pass those places up anymore just because of that! Have a look at fast food websites for nutritional info -- it will really scare you! You won't want to touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole if you can help it!
Remember, knowledge is power, and what you don't know CAN hurt you!
Good luck, and keep up the good work. Remember, a french fry or two once in a while won't kill you, especially when you're eating well the rest of the time!
I don't know what WOW!Doritos are or if we can get them in Alberta but I like everything you suggested. I think a substitute could be low-fat, low-calorie popcorn. I also keep apples, they help.
I had a fairly good few days on the road and I think I behaved myself pretty well. I'll know on Sunday. I weigh myself once a week on Sunday mornings. We'll see...
I am in sales and on the road in my car all day.... something to think about if you have your own car is I have a mini refridgerator that I have in the trunk and leave the pass thru door open so that I can get into from inside the car and plug into my lighter.... I put 4 bottles of water, 2 cottage cheeses, 2 yogurts, a sandwich and some fruit... I have everything I need for the day..... one bit of advise though if you have a smaller battery in your car unplug your refridge at night so that it doenst run it down...
Dieting while travelling
