Traveling is fun! Trying to navigate maintaining a generally healthful eating pattern while on the road is sometimes not. In fact, it can be frustrating depending on health conditions. While a meal here and there won’t derail your health goals, many meals over a period of time can put a dent in your progress. I help people manage diabetes, cardiac health, IBS and PCOS. All of those conditions require some degree of attention to be paid to eating patterns and some have more considerations than others. Let’s look at some scenarios that can be helpful.

Let’s take my recent trip to Germany and Italy. Started out well and then honestly, it felt a bit out of control.

Example 1: At a buffet at airport. I was hoping to start vacation out with a filling meal, so was looking for a protein, fiber rich carbohydrates, colorful produce, and healthy fats.

Options were:

White bean escarole soup

Rice

Portuguese chicken

Pasta with chicken sausage and a leafy green

Red sauce

Braised carrots and parsnips (maybe in butter)

Salmon and arugula salad

Eggplant rollatini

Another thing I’m forgetting

Cold buffet includes cold cuts, sandwiches, salad bar and dessert options.

I was hungry for a hot meal so wasn’t interested in the cold buffet section. I chose protein from the salmon, Portuguese chicken and beans from the soup. Carbs came from the pasta and beans. Fiber was in the beans, carrots and parsnips, and salad. Veggies and beans provided green, orange, white, red. Healthy fats were from the salmon and fats in general from the chicken and whatever was used on the carrot parsnip thing. I feel pretty good about this meal for the above reasons and it actually tasted much better than anticipated.

Example 2: Family lunch at a traditional Bavarian restaurant. I ordered Münchener Schnitzel which is pork flattened out and marinated in mustard and horseradish, then breaded and fried as a normal schnitzel would be. Served with German potato salad, little side of preiselbeeren sauce (translates to lingonberry which is like a cranberry) and ordered a side salad since it didn’t come with a non starchy vegetable. The side salad serving was at least 2 of my fists, which is roughly 2 cups of varied colored non starchy veggies. I ate all of the salad and most of the potato salad (maybe a fist size portion?) and one of the pieces of meat. Contained lots of colored produce, all macros, fiber, I didn’t overeat for a change and everything tasted great.

Example 3: Went to an amusement park in Germany. Quick breakfast at home: nectarine and plain skyr, unsure of milk fat %, but label said creamy. The meal contained all macronutrients and held me over for a while. Snacks were an apple and part of a bavarian pretzel. Not many healthy options that I wanted for lunch. I had a small sandwich which was a white bread roll and salami and a slice of pickle. Not sure if there was a thin slice of cheese because they were brought by my sister in law. Later on we went for a bowl of goulash and one bread dumpling and split with my son. All meals contained all macronutrients for sustained appetite control and goulash contains tomatoes, onions and red bell peppers. Snacks later were nuts we brought with us and water. Dinner was eaten at home. I think the goulash was salty because I felt very swollen the following day.

Example 4: Italy was a total wildcard because I ate out every meal and had pasta most days for lunch and dinner. I tried to start the day off with a balanced breakfast when able, maintain portion sizes, skip the bread that was usually brought to the table and get ample movement daily. Some small restaurants did not offer salads on their menu so I tried to look for dishes that also had some vegetables in them at those places. Drinking enough water was a bit difficult because the bottles sold were not that large and I was sweating like crazy in the very high heat with little air conditioning available. We did buy some fruit and nuts to keep in the room for snacks and additions to breakfasts. Most hotel rooms have a mini fridge which can hold some high protein yogurt/skyr and fruit which can come in handy. Especially when the breakfast included in the hotel price consists mainly of pastries and granola/chocolate cereal.

If you find yourself eating at restaurants often during your trip, sometimes the only thing you can do is try to choose a meal that will keep you full, contains fruits and/or vegetables, is lower in sodium and try to watch portion sizes. Splitting meals or ordering a salad or other vegetable side and an appetizer or smallish entrée are all good options that will help overall. Once vacation ends you can course correct if needed upon your return to you regularly scheduled life.

Traveling with IBS can sometimes result in a flare just because. In this case, it could be helpful to bring along a hot water bottle, ginger or peppermint tea or lozenges and some Citrucel supplements which should be well tolerated due to it being a low fermentable fiber option. Skyr is low/no lactose and easy to keep in a mini fridge. Choose nuts other than pistachios and cashews if trying to keep GOS intake low and choose low FODMAP fruits and veggies for fiber. 

In closing, the main criteria: include colorful fruits and vegetables when able, when you can’t order something that would qualify as healthful ensure portion size is reasonable by splitting or taking home leftovers, include all macronutrients for satiety, skip foods that irritate your gut to avoid surprise bathroom stops, and stay well hydrated.

I know I haven’t posted anything for a while. Let’s be real, it’s been crazy…for all of us I’m sure…but that’s my excuse. I’ve been thinking about this recently and would like to share some thoughts.

Throughout my career as a dietitian, I’ve seen people succeed with their nutrition goals and some throw their hands up in frustration. Everyone is different and busy schedules sometimes get in the way. I get it… See above…

What I’d like to see more of is communication between frustrated clients and myself. Sometimes a plan that seems to be a good fit at the time of the counseling session may not remain a good fit as time passes. Some folks feel inadequate when they are unable to carry out the prescribed plan and assume there is nothing to talk about until they make changes. This is not the case and suggests that, perhaps, a different strategy should be implemented. There is no shame in admitting things are not working. In fact, it’s beneficial so we can develop a different plan that may work better!

Especially when attempting to achieve complicated goals such as management of PCOS or diabetes or during the elimination/challenge phases of the low FODMAP diet, there will be ups, downs, and complete stalls in the progress. Patients get frustrated because the path is not linear. Knowing that this is part of the process, whether we like it or not, is integral to getting past the hard parts until the goal is met. Furthermore, the goal may change during the process. Maintenance mode may also take more effort than expected. Once better eating habits are in place there will be more of a routine, but ongoing nutrition maintenance takes effort.

Case in point: even though I have extensive nutrition education and an understanding of human metabolism, there are still times that I struggle to make time to prepare healthful meals or choose foods congruent with my nutrition goals. I still struggle with a sweet tooth that wins out more often than I’d care to admit despite my best efforts.

To help the process I have tools handy for patients to use. Healthie provides a means of communication between my patients and myself with the following features:

• chat function to discuss questions in a HIPAA-compliant manner.
• food journaling is available for documenting meal habits. Feedback can be given on specific items between sessions upon request. Most patients using this feature find it valuable as it increases accountability, which improves outcomes. We can refer to specific meals during sessions for further discussion and education. This is also extremely helpful during the challenge phase of the Low FODMAP diet.
• symptom and stool tracking are available for those dealing with GI issues. Again, this will help identify patterns and possible food triggers.
• water intake tracker

You can feel free to use any of these if you believe it will help you on the journey. Some folks do not like tracking online and some do not like tracking anything and that’s OK too. No pressure either way. I’m nothing if not flexible.

Communication also includes me asking questions during sessions to provoke change and gauge factors such as readiness, confidence and need for diet education. And just know there is no judgement of character or otherwise, only professional judgement on how to proceed based on the information provided.

If you feel as though you have been stalling in your efforts to reach nutrition goals or need help getting started, please get in touch or seek out a dietitian in your area. Insurance companies list in-network practitioners to help locate one that fits your needs.