Organizing your free time is ideal to avoid wrong meals and excesses
Vacations and days off are sometimes times when we have the most memorable meals of our lives. But they can also lead to rushed breakfasts at the airport, skipped lunches, or fast food purchased in that moment of panic.
Did researchers just identify an unexpected source for someone who has never, towards the end of a trip full of fries, craved a fresh vegetable?
“The moment you start traveling, you get out of your basic rut,” said Maya Feller, nutritionist and cookbook author Eating from our roots. “Because we’re creatures of habit, when we’re out of our rut, it also means that some of the things we turn to in terms of nutrition, physical activity, mindfulness, go away.”
Travelers can be left without many healthy options, and the vacation mentality can lead them to flood their diets with far more items than they would consume at home. Even without calorie counting, your eating patterns outside the home are sometimes exacerbated.
Kayla Kopp, a registered dietitian with the Center for Human Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic, said foods high in saturated fat are digested slowly, leaving people bloated and sluggish. Eating food with no nutritional value can leave travelers with irregular bowel movements.
Eating something highly processed and high in sodium, like many fast food options, can take a toll, said Paige Macauley, director of nutrition at CoreLife Novant Health in North Carolina. “You don’t digest well, you don’t feel good in your stomach and then you feel sick.”
Don’t let mealtime catch you off guard.
Macauley, a registered dietitian, says your meal plan should consider when you need to be at the airport, what meal times you’ll have, and what kind of food is allowed through security. Or, for a road trip, travelers should know how long they’ll be on the road and pack easily accessible food — or have an idea of what to buy for a quick layover. “Knowing what your schedule will look like will help you advance your food choices,” Macauley said.
do not skip meals
“Often, we’re on the road and we’re like, ‘This food isn’t good, that food isn’t good, so I’m not going to eat this,'” Feller noted. “Inevitably, when we limit ourselves and undernourish ourselves, we become very hungry.”
If you know you’re short on time for meals, plan ahead to make sure you have something to eat on hand, Kopp said. “If you get there and you’re hungry, you’ll say, ‘I want the fastest, easiest, tastiest thing,'” she said.
prioritize the protein
Let’s say you’re in Paris and you have a perfect croissant for breakfast in front of you. Excellent. But also get some protein, Macauley reminds you, like yogurt, eggs or cottage cheese. Nuts and oats can also be good sources of protein, which is what “will help with satiety and fuel you for the rest of the day,” he said.
Build a balanced meal
Feller encourages her customers to pack a meal with everything they need, not just a quick yogurt or granola bar. For a yogurt, she said, she thinks about what else to add to make it more nutritious: muesli, nuts or dried fruit, for example.
Experts say that while traveling we shouldn’t feel the pressure to tailor each meal to an ideal. But we can think about our health in general, which doesn’t stop you from fulfilling your desires with common sense.
Fulfill wishes (with common sense)
“If you’re craving something sweet or savory, don’t skip it,” warns Macauley. But it’s good to have multiple nutritional options in mind. He said that for sweets she likes dates with peanut butter, which are high in fiber, a little creaminess and sweetness all rolled into one.
“It’s nice and satisfying, a little burst of energy,” she says. “Even if it’s specific, like a bag of Doritos, don’t let it rule your life. “Enjoy it and then move on.”
drink water all day
Nutrition experts say it’s essential to stay hydrated, especially since you can become dehydrated for many parts of your journey. “When we travel, one of the first things to go off the rails is how much we drink,” Feller said.
Kopp recommends drinking two liters of water a day and limiting caffeine and alcohol, which can also be dehydrating. If his customers intend to drink sweet cocktails, Kopp encourages them to limit them to just one and then drink 250ml of water. It’s also a good idea to opt for drinks without a lot of sugar.
For Macauley, it’s important not to drink alcohol when you’re dehydrated. And he advises people not to skip a meal if they’re drinking. If someone has a plan for how much he intends to drink, he should make sure the rest of the group knows and agrees to it.
Prepare snacks with a purpose
Snacks are a great opportunity to add protein, fresh fruits and vegetables to your daily mix, experts say. Macauley likes fruits with their skins on for longer shelf life and tough vegetables like celery, carrots, turnips and radishes. If you have a lunchbox handy, cheese sticks and yogurt are good options.
She acknowledged that some good options, like nuts, seeds and boiled eggs, can be expensive as the cost of food has gone up.
“I think the best snack is one that you really enjoy and eat and it helps satisfy hunger between meals,” Feller said.
taste the special things
As for the meals we look forward to on the go, Kopp recommends taking it slow, savoring it and talking to the people around you. If people aren’t sure they’re full, he waits ten minutes and checks for hunger cues again. “Map out the places you want to go and the things you want to eat. And have fun,” he concluded.
Move – because you like it
Experts agree that it’s nice to stick to activities while traveling, but be careful not to tie them into food practices while on vacation. “I always say that movement should be enjoyable and that you don’t need to exercise based on what you consume,” Feller guarantees.
According to Kopp, instead of thinking of activity as a chore, tourists should participate in movements that make them feel good or that they enjoy doing with their family. He emphasizes the idea of ”doing things you really enjoy on vacation, things that are good for you heart health and joints, instead of burning calories”. /TRANSLATION BY RENATO PRELORENTZOU
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
