Travelling Light

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Your holiday or day out might start from the moment you leave the house, but don’t use this as an excuse to forget about healthy eating.

Travelling long distances, whether by car, bus, boat, train or plane, can mean a constant flow of food and drink. But this doesn’t have to mean the end of your diet.

Top Six Tips for Travelling on a Diet

1. However you’re travelling, pack some healthy, tasty snacks such as low-fat crisps and sandwiches, fruit, diet drinks and low-sugar cereal bars so that you’ll be less tempted to buy higher-fat snacks. It’ll save both lbs and pennies!
2. It might be tempting to eat at every opportunity when you’re travelling because you don’t know when you’ll next have the chance. But if you’re relying on food from service stations, airports, buffet cars and ferry terminals much of it is likely to be high in fat and calories. Fortunately, most sandwiches, rolls, crisps, ice creams and chocolate bars contain calorie information on the packaging, so use this information to choose the healthier options.
3. Sucking the odd ‘travel’ sweet won’t do any harm, but try not to work your way through the whole tin! Boiled sweets can easily contain up to 20 calories each – and they soon add up on long journeys. Keep your mouth busy with sugar-free gum and save those calories for a holiday cocktail instead.
4. If you’re flying, avoid eating just before taking off. Even if you're not hungry, you'll probably eat the in-flight meal out of boredom. Airline meals provide around 600 calories and even though you’re eating them at altitude, the calories still count!
5. Skip all the extras that come with in-flight meals. Give the butter and roll a miss, avoid the cheese and don’t add the salad dressing if it’s in a separate sachet. Also skip those little packets of savouries that are served with drinks – each pack can contain around 100 calories.
6. Don’t drink too much alcohol when you’re flying. It might be free, but too much will leave you dehydrated (which can make jet lag worse), give you a headache and pile on the pounds. Mini bottles of spirits such as gin, vodka, whisky and rum provide a double measure so allow 100 calories per bottle and ask for slimline mixers. Beer tends to come in small cans so allow around 95 calories per can, while a small bottle of wine contains around 150 calories. Fruit juice is just 50 calories per glass, but it’s easy to drink vast amounts on a long haul flight so if you’re feeling thirsty, have water instead.