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The traveler’s top ten ways
to stay trim on trips
Newswise — Just in time for
summer, the dietary counseling staff at the Pennington Biomedical
Research Center (PBRC) released the top ten tips to eat healthy
while on vacation. With changes in season, temperature and
unfamiliar restaurants, eating out for the health-conscience
traveler can be as simple as following these ten easy steps:
1. Plan ahead. Become familiar
with the places you might be able to eat at while on the road and
once you reach your destination. Scope out your dining options. Skip
the hot dog and pizza and look for eateries that serve fruit, soup
and sandwiches. Enjoy local fresh specialties. Check out the local
farmer’s market for fresh fruit to use as snacks. Have local seafood
if traveling to a coastal destination.
2. Understand the Menu. Look for
“high fat” wording: fried, buttery, au gratin, etouffé, sautéed,
rich, creamy, and breaded. Ask questions. Don’t assume a dish is
healthy because it has chicken and vegetables. Ask about sauces,
toppings and methods of preparation. Always choose grilled, and
preferably not basted in butter or oil. By choosing grilled instead
of fried, you can almost cut the fat and calories of a food item in
half. Stay away from cream sauces or dressings. Choose marinara or
other non-oil based sauces to cut down on fat and calories. Also,
beware of the breadbasket. The breadbasket always appears when you
are hungry and ready to eat. If you can’t refuse the bread, ask the
waiter to remove it from the table.
3. Think “outside of the box.”
Just because you always get the #4 doesn’t mean there are no other
choices. Take time to look over the menu. Many fast food places have
added healthy options for main meals and even offer fruit as a side
dish.
4. Watch portion sizes. Split your
entree with a friend. Portion sizes in restaurants are typically far
larger than the recommended portion size. By splitting an entree in
half, you are keeping yourself from overeating as well as cutting
calories in half.
5. Be salad savvy. Though we all think of salads as a "healthy"
option at any restaurant, some salads have more calories than a
cheeseburger. Steer clear of cob salads with cheese, ham, egg, and
bacon, Mediterranean salads with lots of feta and pine nuts, and
taco salads with cheese, refried beans, guacamole and sour cream.
You can make these salads healthier by asking your server to take
the cheese and other high calorie items off the salad, or ask to add
a little less. Choose lighter vinaigrette dressings, and get them on
the side. Most restaurants give enough dressing to cover two salads,
which adds as much fat and calories as a Big Mac!
6. Consider a condo or
kitchenette. Discuss your vacation plans. Decide if you can book a
place with some type of kitchen facilities. This can save calories
and cash in the long run by limiting how many meals you have to eat
in restaurants. Be sure to leave home prepared. Stock low calorie
nutrient rich snacks to keep on hand while traveling and for the
hotel room. A cooler is a good idea for bottled water and low fat
dairy products.
7. Watch the alcohol. Avoid the
hard liquor and sweetened drinks. Choose light beer or wine instead.
But be careful, because we typically let our good intentions go out
the window even after just one or two drinks.
8. Be aware of your emotional
response. If you eat more than you plan, be careful not to consider
it a catastrophe. This will only set you up for failure. Get right
back on track at your very next meal, and try to fit in some extra
activity.
9. Plan pleasures other than food
or drink and incorporate increased physical activity into your
summer plans. Think about what you might like to do to stay active.
Park further away, and walk when sight seeing.
10. Hold a family meeting ahead of
time. Talk about ways your family can help you to eat less/healthy
and be active.
The Pennington Biomedical Research
Center is a campus of the Louisiana State University System and
conducts both clinical and basic research. It is the largest
academically based nutrition research center in the world, with the
greatest number of obesity researchers on faculty. The Center's
nearly 600 employees occupy several buildings on the 234-acre
campus."
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