You Can Lose Weight When You Travel.

Adventures in Sugar Freedom

If you’re new to the Gordon Studio Sonora Website, welcome!  If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know it’s dedicated to helping you build your authentic ideal body, and keep it for good.

One of the biggest challenges of weight maintenance is learning how to eat when you’re out of your usual habitat.  After all, one of the most  powerful keys to permanent fat loss is learning how to cook healthy, satisfying food for yourself and your family, and generally home cooking has to happen at home.

It’s not boasting when I say that I have my food and cooking plan dialed in.  Typically, I make my big pan of vegetables in the morning, I make sure I have lettuce washed and ready for my mid-day salad, and I make sure I have a healthy protein source ready to go at any time.  It’s no fun to have to thaw and cook a chicken when you’re already hungry.

This is, to put it simply, is the discipline of permanent fat loss: to be willing to prepare for success.

Traveling for work or vacation is a different story though, isn’t it?

One of the perks of travel is that someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning up afterward, right?  One of the problems is that the food on offer is typically part of the Standard American Diet:  Lots of grains, conventionally raised meat, salty snack foods that are full of soybean oil, and sweets.

Even at the breakfast buffet for the meeting of fitness professionals I attended last week, the first foods I encountered were big baskets of bagels and pastries.  My new friend Adriana turned to me and said, “Why does this have to be the first thing we see?”  This being the “Carbage.”  (Thanks for making up that word Jimmy Moore.)

I suppose that one solution would be to book a room with a kitchen, go shopping, and just keep cookin’, but what if you need a break from that, or what if you’re having working lunches?

I’d like to offer a few of my travel friendly foods, and a few tips to help you make wise choices at restaurants, buffets, and even airports.

My travel friendly favorites are:
Organic Granny Smith Apples
Raw Almonds
and Organic Beef Jerky

These three items can go in your suitcase or carry on, and the three different textures and flavors are very satisfying.  I have literally made a mini meal of these three foods, and tumbled into bed after a long work day- especially if that workday involves learning new workouts and fitness techniques.

So now that we know you won’t starve, what should you pick at the restaurant of buffet?  Let’s keep it simple shall we?  Although breakfast is often a carb fest on the road, there are usually some whole foods like eggs, bacon, and fruit available.  At lunch, eat a big salad for the fiber and nutrients the leafy greens will give you, and at dinner- if you focus on the pleasure of the location, or the opportunity to grow professionally, you really don’t have to eat dessert.

If you’re like me and you don’t eat sugar but you love cheese, ask for it instead.  At steakhouses in particular, cheese for dessert is definitely in style.

The simple foundation of the Sugar Freedom Diet on the road is:  Vegetables cooked in butter, Salads dressed in olive oil and vinegar, simply prepared meats of the best quality you can find, whole fruits, and some full fat dairy if it agrees with you.

Ten years ago, it would have been hard to eat this way when traveling, especially at airports without a full service restaurant.  Today, whole items like fruit, eggs, and vegetables are pricey- but at least they’re available at airport food courts and convenience stores.

I hope these eating tips help, because five extra pounds of travel bloat is not my idea of a charming souvenir.  I lost two pounds of fat in Las Vegas last week.  That helped to make up for losing some money in the casino.  Oh well.  That’s entertainment!