Traveling for Business - Your Diet Doesn't Have to Go Out the Window

Admin
Published Date: 2009-12-02

When we travel for business we often find ourselves faced with a lifestyle of constant fast food, take-out meals, room service and steak dinners. But this kind of eating may make you pack on the pounds fast - after just one week you may find yourself already 5 pounds heavier! Plus, you may not be eating as healthily as you should be, which could make you sick or susceptible to illness and decrease your energy levels. To prevent yourself from getting "traveler's gut" - try these ideas to keep your diet on track when traveling for an extended period of time. 1. Grocery shop each week. It's important that you plan your week's meals and stock your kitchen with fresh meats, fruits, veggies, whole grain cereals, low fat milk and other staples to keep you track. 2. Brown bag it. Buy bread, lunch, meat, chips and fruit so you can bring your own brown bag meals each day. You'll eat much healthier and save money too! 3. Keep it simple. Prepare for your stay by coming up with a handful of simple dinner recipes you can easily prepare in your corporate rental. Perhaps you like baked chicken or tortilla soup - make enough for two nights so you don't spend a lot of time cooking. Whatever you like, try to keep your diet on track by preparing simple meals for yourself and eating in. 4. Limit dining out to 1-2 per week. When you're traveling for business, it's tempting to go out to dinner every night. Eating out usually means you'll consume way more calories than you intended because portions are large and you don't always know what's going into your food. Limit how much you eat out and remember, if you're meal is huge, take home half of it, put it in your fridge, and enjoy it for dinner the following night. 5. Ignore meal stipends. Many business travelers get into the mentality that they have to spend their meal stipends or they lose it. This mentality will surely help you pack on the pounds because you'll be tempted to eat out more. Company money should not factor into how much and what you eat when traveling. Keeping your diet on track when traveling can be challenging, but it's made a whole lot easier when you stay in a furnished corporate rental with a full sized kitchen vs. a tiny hotel room that forces you to eat out. Corporate rentals enable you to enjoy the creature comforts of home and keep your diet on track!