WHEN YOU THINK of eating on the road, chances are you probably think of fast food first. But just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you have to eat foods that will leave you feeling depleted, bloated, and tired.
Making better food choices will have a positive impact on your leisure time. As athletes know, healthy food and plenty of water sustain your energy levels, fuel your muscles, and help you recover quickly. The food you eat on the road will serve as your traveling repair kit.
Here are some tips to help you eat healthfully while you’re traveling or on a trip with buddies:
1. Healthy eating starts where you stop
If you’re on the road and stop at a fast-food joint, your food choices will be limited to fast food. But if you stop at a grocery store that offers whole or healthy foods—fruits, bagged carrots, nuts, hummus—or a supermarket that features a salad bar, you quickly expand your choices (and reduce junk-food temptations).
2. Eat frequently, and in smaller amounts
Eating small amounts of healthy food throughout the day sends a signal to your brain that the food supply is plentiful, so it’s OK to burn through those calories quickly.
Limiting your calorie load at a single sitting also gives you lots of energy. Eating too many calories in one meal—even if they’re healthy calories—sends your brain the message that leaner times must be around the corner, so those calories will get stored as fat. Eating too much at one sitting can also make you sluggish and sleepy.
3. Eat plenty of protein
Eating the right amount of complete protein—one containing all the essential amino acids your body needs—for your weight and activity level stabilizes blood sugar (preventing energy lags), enhances concentration, and keeps you lean and strong.
When you need energy for a long hike, a long drive, or a day at the beach, stoke your body with high-quality, lean protein.