General Nutritional Guidelines
40% of your calories should come from carbohydrates
40% of your calories should come from protein
20% of your calories should come from fat
Protein = 4 calories/g
Carbs = 4 calories/g
Fats = 9 calories/g
- You will want to calculate what your daily caloric intake should be for your fitness goals (maintaining your weight, losing weight etc.)
- You can use the SuperTracker on choosemyplate.gov to help you figure out your caloric intake needs, as well as apps such as MyFitnessPal.
- MyFitnessPal will also allow you to track your food intake and will let you know how much of each macronutrient you need to eat per day.
- Have smaller meals throughout the day to boost your metabolism and avoid spikes in insulin that will cause you to get tired.
When Traveling…
How to cook, store and reheat food
Cook: You can pack a small George Foreman grill into your carry on while traveling. It sounds like it will take up too much room, but they make smaller ones that will work perfectly.
Most hotel rooms all come equipped with a microwave and a mini fridge readily available in your room. If not, you could call and get it upon request.
Finding healthy (already cooked) food
- Applebee’s
- Chili’s
- Outback Steakhouse
The above restaurant chains all have healthy options. You can even call ahead and ask for 10 or so steaks/chicken breasts/hamburger patties that are already cooked to have for lunch/dinner throughout the week. You can also ask for no salt/seasoning.
Eating Out
- Look for online nutritional facts, Chipotle is a great example. You will be able to then see what you can order in order to not go over your daily calories limit.
- Fast food options, like McDonalds, can have healthier options. Go online and look through the healthy options and decide what you’re going to get before you arrive.
- (When they give you a pouch of dressing/sauce, you don’t need to use it all/ also you take off the bun to your sandwiches/burger in order to cut down on carbs.)
- Also take advantage of apps such as “Food Tripping” and “Vegetarious” to find healthy alternatives to fast food restaurants.
What to get at a grocery store
Main Courses
- Chicken – make sure to read labels to make sure there’s not any unwanted additional ingredients.
- Steaks
- Hamburger
- Ground Turkey
Vegetables
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Cucumber
Carb Source
- Rice cups
- Mashed potatoes – instant
- Burger buns
Breakfast
- Oatmeal
- Certain protein bars – try to get options with less sugar/sodium etc.
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Bananas
Seasonings
- Pepper
- Mrs. Dash – any sodium free option
- Cinnamon
- Salsa (sparingly)
- Splenda, stevia, Truvia
Supplements
- Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein
- Complete Nutrition’s “Fortify”
Other Tricks
- You can put your food in Tupperware and take it through security.
- Do some planning/research ahead of time to see what restaurants/grocery stores are available in the area you’re traveling to.
- Have a plan! Know what you will buy/where you will go to get your food ahead of time to reduce the temptation of getting fast food.
*Content from the “How to Find Healthy Options While Traveling” webinar by Christopher Thompson – Safe Travels!
Consulting New Associate Class, June 2015
Heather, Jake, Paul, Cristin, Zachary, Kristina, Kathryn, Maeve, Anthony, Jon, Blake, Hayden, Kayla and Brianna