Maintaining a Healthy Diet While Traveling

Some tips on how to eat healthy when traveling come from this excellent article:

Business trips have plenty of perks -- new travel destinations, expense-account meals and an excuse to get out of the office. But road trips have a common pitfall as well in terms of the poor food choices you may make -- from indulgent client dinners and unhealthy airport fare to the temptation of room service. All can quickly derail your healthy lifestyle.

The good news is that it’s easier than you think to stay on track while you travel. If you’re actively trying to lose weight or managing a chronic condition like diabetes, be sure to work with your healthcare provider to create a plan that suits your needs. If you’re just trying to maintain your healthy habits while you’re on the go, here are some simple tips to keep you feeling great.

The article continues to give a series of useful tips. 

It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle (in terms of diet and exercise) when traveling. 

However, you should not be discouraged, if you cannot perfectly replicate your home program. Do the best you can, and maintain as much of your routine as possible. 

Remember that many times “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” If you can maintain most of your health agenda on the road, that will be good enough. Of course, the more you travel, the more important it will be to better replicate your home program when on the road. 

If you are going to be away for only a few days once or twice a year, it’s not a big deal, but weeks away from home necessitate more stringent attempts to optimize the situation.

Additional advice comes from my wife:
 
Before my trips, I always Google-search my final destination for nearby health food stores, pharmacies and supermarkets. Once I am at my destination, I buy fruit, vegetables (usually baby carrots), nuts, crackers, and plain yogurt (if the hotel room has a refrigerator). I do not load my luggage with food, since I travel with a small bag that fits any overhead compartment in any plane. The only food I do carry with me is the food I consume during the travel hours, since the food choices at the airports are surprisingly unhealthy, expensive, or both.