The Traveler’s Diet 1

The new year is always a good time to start a new routine, particularly if you’re concerned with losing weight, like so many Americans.

Despite your best intentions, however, travel is the great enemy — no matter what shape you’re in or whatever your exercise program. The minute you leave home, your routine takes an immediate vacation. That’s because when we travel, many of us give ourselves permission to go off the wagon when it comes to diet and exercise. It’s understandable: Long wait times at airports, unexpected delays, hotel minibars stocked with nothing but junk food, and out-of-whack sleeping and eating schedules stack the odds against us.

No one knows how difficult it is to keep healthy habits while traveling more than I do. I fly 400,000 miles a year, which means I've had a rather intimate relationship with airport food, airline food and hotel minibars. I used to snack on the run and became almost addicted to Diet Pepsi (up to 20 cans a day), peanut M&M's, Snickers and Pringles. And does the word Cinnabon ring a bell for anyone?

I soon reached a point where I needed to make a radical change in my eating habits — and my travel habits as well. The two were too closely intertwined.

Here’s what I learned along the way that helps me — even to this day — stay healthy on the road.

Brown-bag it

Carrying your own food is the best way to control your eating, no matter how, where or when you’re traveling. If you’re driving or taking a train, do what I do and lug along a six-pack of 8-ounce water bottles. Then bring your choice of apples, baby carrots, sliced peppers or a bag of dried fruit. If you’re flying, buy as much water as you can carry from the airport newsstand, along with easy-to-transport items like pretzels, trail mix or raisins. Or try one of the most overlooked snacks, beef jerky — low in fat, high in protein and tasty, too.

Terminal addiction

The one place where it’s really difficult to be a healthy traveler is the airport. Most airports offer either fast food or shockingly calorie-laden meals at sit-down restaurants. And when it comes to the food you can buy on the plane, why bother paying $8 for a soggy sandwich that isn’t good for you anyway?

So your first move should be a defensive one: Don’t leave home with an empty stomach. That especially applies to business travelers who seem never to have enough time to eat a decent meal, which often results in unhealthy snacking on the road.

But there are some diet-friendly choices out there. In the atrium of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, you’ll find Atlanta Bread Company (known as Panera in other locations), which sells items like a veggie sandwich (just hold the cheese and mayo), fruit salad and garden vegetable soup. At Chicago’s O’Hare, Burrito Beach offers a healthy black-bean-and-rice burrito — but, again, be proactive and ask to hold the cheese.

Even the big chains have smarter options. At TGI Friday’s, stick with the grilled shrimp skewers and salad and get your dressing on the side. Or try the spaghetti with marinara sauce at Sbarro or the black-bean burger at Chili’s.

And here's a big surprise: Remember that dreaded Cinnabon? A lot of us, myself included, are initially seduced by its fabulous smell. And if we have the discipline as we approach the counter, we might decide to pass it up for a turkey wrap sandwich from the kiosk next door. We might think we’re making a healthier choice. But guess what? In order to keep that sandwich moist, which may sit in a refrigerator display case for eight hours or more, the bread is coated with so much high-cholesterol/high-calorie sauce that it might actually be worse than the Cinnabon. My advice: Skip them both!


By Peter Greenberg