Thread: Needed: Help avoiding unhealthy eating while "in the air" or "on the road" !

No problem whatsoever for me when I reach the ship or my destination ... but I'm having problems along the way by air and car.

Hoping some of you who have been dealing with this longer than I will be able to help me out.

Do you pick the least worst from amoung all bad choices ... or what?

Well lots of heathly bars to eat while in the air, and driving, a lot of places, even fast food have a lot of salads. To avoid the fatty dressings you can bring your own bottle of virgin olive oil

Sue, what kind of bars do you recommend? Granola or other types?

Originally Posted by LuLu

Do you pick the least worst from amoung all bad choices ... or what?

There are many places offering menus with tasty but healthy choices, even McDonald's. To make bad choices better I avoid adding cheese, butter, or cream to the item. I use hot sauce to give food a kick. My biggest concern is not calorie but salt or suagr from foo-foo drinks. Salt leads to bloating and the feeling of weight gain but harder to avoid when eating away from home.

Whenever I enter the vacation zone (the car in reserve but still in the driveway and luggage in the trunk) I don't go out of my way to eat properly.

It'll be harder via air as you've restricted to what the airlines has onboard to offer you (unless you can sneak in something in your carry on). If you're a picky eater like me, and being offered something like nuts (which I don't eat), that's a problem. My one time in first class (an upgrade) years ago, it seemed like there were fancier items for breakfast. When I saw cereal and yogurt, I thought they the items were separate and I give hand off the yogurt (which I'm allergic to) to someone else. But it turned out the cereal was layered with the yogurt (it didn't occur to me to ask beforehand ), so I couldn't eat the cereal. Looking back, I should have asked the flight attendant if she had cereal boxes that I could substitute for (maybe that was what coach passengers got).

I like Balance bars, Zone bars, and the cereal bars that have good ingredients such as Omega-3. The drawback to some are the extra calories, but they also have a lot of vitamins.

When we go on a roadtrip, hubby will pack a cooler with fruit along with our lunches. I also will try to bring some of the bars mentioned above, maybe fruit snacks. Much easier than flying.

My vacation starts when I hit the airport. I pig out and chow down on all the junk food that I am able to consume. When the vacation is over then I diet.

Gosh, Gene, I really miss the luxury of being able to do the junk food thing! Now, I have to keep my blood sugar level stable!

Fortunately, I never had a weight issue and have lost (without trying) quite a bit of weight so my doctor actually wants the to gain weight -- more complex carbs, etc.

The Health Bars are an excellent idea! I'd not thought of those. They'd be as easy for me to have RETURNING as going ... when it's often not possible to pack some fruit, etc. myself.

Also, the fast food suggestions are much appreciated. Doing things like ordering a hamburger withOUT cheese with a salad on the side (I don't need any dressing) would work out for me.

Really appreciate your help EVERYONE! Any other suggestions will be welcomed!

Hopefully, this will also be a help to other cruisers in my situation.

Flying -- really a problem now-a-days.

Most of our flights start early --we don't even get a chance to eat at the hotel before leaving for the airport. So before we leave home I pack a couple of big muffins -- once we get through security we buy water and have our muffins. DH takes 8 medications in the morning alone. So it is important that he eats.

We usually pass up the snacks in first class -- potato chips, tiny granola bar, nuts, and something else.

We always start off with a couple of hours between flights but the flights keep changing monthly and we usually end up with barely an hour between flights. So I carry snack crackers for our lunch -- DH has 4 more pills to take.

Once we get to the hotel we head to the restaurant and get something to eat.

Forgot to mention Driving.

That should be easy for those that can drive -- there are lots of healthy choices on the menus now. So you can pick and choose what meets your health problems.

What I did before our last "almost staycation," was to check the websites for the two fast food places my daughter likes and write down the locations near where we would be staying or on the way to our hotel. That way, she got the chance to have something familiar to her. I also did that before our last cruise when she was on her McD's kick. When we were on Kauai, there was a McD's near the Hilo Hattie's so we took their shuttle, did some shopping, and then walked down to the Land of Happy Meals.