Eating When You Travel

Amy Miracle, MS, MA, RD
Registered Dietitian & Exercise Physiologist

As many of you are making air travel and hotel reservations for this year’s Silverman event, I am here to remind you to also your food intake needs to be addressed at this very important time. Travel can, very possibly, negatively impact your food intake. There are several concerns related to nutrition while traveling and several are addressed below.

The most important nutritional challenges you will face while traveling include:

• Meeting carbohydrate and protein needs
• Obtaining daily vitamin and mineral requirements
• Balancing energy intake
• Maintaining hydration
• Food safety

It is critical that strategies are put in place to minimize the impact of travel on your food intake. The key to achieving your performance goals as well as nutrition goals is planning and preparation.

Plan Ahead
A general plan consisting of where, when and what you are planning to eat on each day should be constructed around the anticipated daily schedule. It is important to keep foods and meal times as similar as possible to the usual daily routine at home.

Restaurant Eating
It is likely that when you travel to Las Vegas for Silverman, restaurants will be your primary source of food. Restaurant options should be investigated before leaving home. The meal options, cooking styles, and hours the restaurant is open should be considered. Phoning ahead and discussing the menu with restaurant staff will minimize problems at mealtime. This is particularly valuable when you have special dietary needs (e.g. vegetarian, food intolerances). Buffets can be a good option because allows you an array of choices. It is quicker than waiting for individual meals to arrive and may be cost effective. One of the consequences of buffet eating is that it is easy to over consume. This can be avoided by planning meals in advance and leaving the buffet when satisfied.

Snacks
Snacks are an important component of eating and recovery nutrition plans, however access to quality snacks can be difficult when traveling. It pays to take a supply of portable, non-perishable snack foods that are familiar to you. Snack options include:

• cereal bars
• dried fruit and nut mixes
• canned meals e.g. Chef Boyardee
• snack packs of fruit
• juice concentrate
• pre-packaged tuna
• crackers or rice cakes
• cheese sticks
• liquid meal supplements
• sports bars
• gels

Time spent in transit
Unusual eating times, inactivity and increased fluid loss during travel can all interfere with performance for the first few days after arrival. Whether traveling overseas on a long flight or a couple of hours on the highway, planning and preparation are the keys to successful eating while on the move.

Meals and Snacks
Excessive consumption of meals and snacks can lead to unwanted body fat gain. Alternatively, some athletes may find it difficult to meet their nutritional needs while traveling and weight loss or poor fuel stores could be a risk. Several strategies can be undertaken to minimize these risks to performance.

• When flying, determine if the airline will provide a meal and if special meals are available (e.g. low fat, vegetarian) if you require this accommodation.
• Plan your food intake in advance. Determine at what stops you will eat or if snacks will be needed at designated times.
• On long flights try to adopt the meal pattern you will have at your destination. This will help to reduce jet lag and adjust your body clock.
• When traveling by road, pack your own supplies, stick to your nutritional plan and avoid being tempted to stop along the way.
• Pack a supply of snacks in the event of unexpected delays. This may cause you to skip meals.

Fluid
When you are flying hydration status is of particular concern. Air-conditioned environments and pressurized cabins increase fluid losses from the skin and lungs. The risk of becoming dehydrated is high, especially when travel times are long. Symptoms of dehydration may include headaches, tiredness or possibly constipation. Even with beverages provided by the airline, the small serving sizes are usually inadequate to maintain hydration.

Take your own fluids when traveling. Water, sports drinks, juice, soft drink, tea and coffee are all suitable. Sports drinks provide a small amount of sodium that helps promote thirst (increases the volume of fluid consumed) and decreases urine losses (reduce trips to the toilet). Caffeine-containing fluids such as tea, coffee and cola drinks may cause a small increase in urine production, but can still assist with overall fluid balance. Avoid alcohol when traveling.

If you have questions, feel free to contact Amy at amymiracle@aol.com

 

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