How to Stay on Track When Traveling (Part 1: Nutrition)
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Have you struggled to maintain your nutrition routine while traveling?
Traveling can be overwhelming and disruptive, and trying to stay on track with your nutrition while on the road can seem like an impossible task. In this episode of the "Embrace Your Real" podcast, we're about to embark on a journey to discover the best tips for staying on track with your nutrition while traveling. This is Part 1 of a three-part series dedicated to helping you maintain your wellness routine on the go.
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Transcript:
Speaker 1: [00:00:00] Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it, let's go. [00:00:21][20.3]
[00:00:26] Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. So we're actually going to be talking about how to stay on track when traveling, and this is going to be a three part series. So stay tuned for part two and three. But I get it. Like, how the heck do you stay on track while traveling? [00:00:44][17.9]
[00:00:45] I get that traveling can be overwhelming. It can be stressful, it can be frustrating, especially figuring out how to stay on track. If you have been consistent and you've created this momentum in your health and fitness journey. A You're in a great rhythm. You know, how can I continue this while traveling, but also staying in the moment and also enjoying my traveling? And so that is exactly what we're going to be talking about in this three part series. So part one and part two are going to be covering the nutrition aspect of staying on track while traveling. And then part three will actually cover the fitness part. [00:01:16][31.4]
[00:01:17] So the tips then going to be sharing in this episode, I believe are going to be super applicable for long trips, short trips, day trips, and just those long days that aren't even a part of a trip. I think that these tips will be something that you can put in your toolbox so that way you are able to kind of pull it out and say, Oh yeah, I listen to this podcast and I remember, you know, some of the things Julie was talking about. And so hopefully this will be a service to you. [00:01:40][23.7]
[00:01:41] Before we dive in, though, I wanted to share this review comes from Mahogany Brown. I love that name. She gave a five star review and said, Thank you for giving. I love this podcast because it is such a joy to hear health advice from a positive, loving spiritual voice and take it in with such appreciation because of how it's delivered her love and compassion as well in her uplifting words, Give me the motivation I need to be better, healthier, happier, human. And I absolutely love all the nuggets that are packed into into her episodes. This is well-being. [00:02:10][29.4]
[00:02:12] I love this so much. Also, I love your name. Mahogany is such a beautiful name. So thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you for taking time out of your day to leave a rating interview. They mean so much to both me and our team. You know, we always want to hear from you because this podcast at the end of the day is for you, and we want to be serving you with every single episode. So it helps us kind of understand, you know, how are these episodes helping them is one specific episode, you know, serving them in a certain way, or just these podcasts in general. And then also the second part of that is when people stumble upon the podcast, maybe they, you know, we're listening to something else, and this was recommended at the bottom or someone else recommended it to them, but they kind of look and sift through their reviews first before deciding to tune in. I get it. Our time is valuable. We want to make sure that we are making the most out of it. [00:02:59][47.2]
[00:02:59] So if you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts, leave a rating review. If you are tuning in over on Spotify, Halo, love y'all over there, you can actually rate the show, which really helps as well, just in terms of charts on Spotify and also just helps people understand, okay, this podcast, you know, is is pretty well rated. I'm going to give it a lesson. So thank you so, so much. [00:03:19][20.1]
[00:03:19] Okay, So let's dive in to today's episode. How to Stay on Track While Traveling Part one. So there's two things that I really want to emphasize first. Number one, when you are traveling, there are a lot of things outside of your control, But remember this, that nutrition is actually one of those few choices that is somewhat in our control. Like whether you believe me or not, what you eat when traveling can be within your control to an extent. Obviously, there's going to be times where you only have, you know, one or two options, but you're still able to pick one of those things. And just keeping that uplifting mindset I think is really important. And once you realize that staying on track while traveling can actually become more simple and less stressful. [00:04:00][40.2]
[00:04:00] The second thing that I want to emphasize is when you're traveling, the most reliable and simple way to stay on track is to focus primarily on protein and just focus on trying to fuel your body to the best of your ability. But again, remember that when you are prioritizing protein, not only are you going to feel fuller faster, but you're also going to likely subsequently make smarter decisions simply because you are thinking, okay, how can I maximize my protein and this? And so likely you're going to shift your eyes or your focus to those nutrient dense foods to the best of your ability again. [00:04:36][35.8]
[00:04:37] Okay, So now that I really emphasize those two things, let me dive into kind of my best tips for staying on track while traveling. So in part one, we're going to be focused on actual traveling. When you're on the road, you're flying the plane, whatever it is. And part two, we're really going to kind of dive in to stay on track when you're at your destination. So think about this being the first part of your day in your travel experience and really how to maximize that. So kind of your ultimate guide to either packing your own food for airplane travel. [00:05:08][30.9]
[00:05:08] Number one, asking yourself, okay, how many meals am I going to need to account for for today? How many hours am I going to be traveling? Will I be missing a meal? Two meals, three meals? Really? Consider all of those things. When are you going to land? What are you going to do in between that time? Do you have a layover? Be sure to kind of add all of that time. In. And that way you have kind of a account on, okay, what am I kind of looking at? Is this a three hour travel day? Is this a nine hour travel day? Is this a 15 hour travel day? And then from there, you're able to really determine, like your meals and snacks and which ones maybe you want to bring in, which ones you maybe want to get at the airport and whatnot. The second thing that you want to determine is if you're going to be eating at restaurants. So the first thing I recommend is really checking the airport's website. So if you have frequently flown through this airport, obviously if it's the one right by your house, you likely have been there. And if you are getting there ahead of time and you want to stop, you likely know kind of the places that are at that airport. But if this is a new airport, the airport's website can be very beneficial because it always includes a list of restaurants and shops that each like terminal has. Especially, you know, for example, I oftentimes fly Southwest, but then recently we flew Delta and that was in a totally different terminal. And I was like, Oh, I totally forgot that. I'm never in gate B, you know, at Denver International Airport. And so for me, it was like a whole new list of food options there. And so just kind of figuring that out and just asking yourself, like, is this something, you know, that I want to spend money on in the front part of the day? Or is this something that I can bring from home? I can make I can easily put it in my bag. I love making like copycat great grill sandwiches or if there is a Chick fil A at the terminal. I love the egg White Grill sandwiches from Chick fil A. I just I feel like it's just such a solid breakfast. It's so, so good. I always get double egg whites to really pack in that protein. Again, prioritizing protein is going to be super beneficial. Another thing, too, that you want to keep an eye on, especially if you're on a budget, is just recommend that you kind of stay away from the convenience stores at the airport simply because, I mean, a bottle of water there is typically, you know, for a small 12 to 16 ounce bottle, water is me like five, six bucks. Whereas if you're able to just bring an empty water bottle, oftentimes these airports have the filtered water, which is awesome. So you can just bring, you know, an empty water bottle and get through security and then you're able to fill that up with filtered water and you're saving five or six bucks. They're asking yourself, are you going to eat in the airport lounge? So I know that getting access to airport lounges is kind of becoming more increasingly popular. And you can get these access through certain credit cards, whether that's a business card or if you're traveling for work. Sometimes the work perks of working for your company is that you do have access to the airport lounges. If you're traveling is a plus one and your husband is in the corporate world, your significant others in the corporate world, you're able to, you know, head in there as a plus one. We were just recently in the American Express Lounge, and you guys, they have the best spread when it comes to all food. And it's crazy. It's all free. Like it's, you know, delicious stuff. They had so many options when it came to they had ground beef, they had chicken breasts, they had shrimp, they had eggs, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs. I mean, it was like it was one of those breakfasts that or spreads that you would see at like a hotel, Like I just recently stayed in Salt Lake City and we were staying at I can't even remember the hotel. And I was not expecting it to be this awesome, you know, breakfast in the morning. But when they said, you know, okay, breakfast is served out, you know, but between this time in this time and I'm like, okay, the first day I missed it. The second day we had to leave super early. So we actually were walking through the lobby and I caught I of the breakfast and I'm like, Oh my gosh. So I stocked up because we were going to be in the car for the next ten or so hours and it was amazing. So really taking advantage of that can be very beneficial if you are. Do you have access to an airport lounge? And then the fourth thing that you kind of want to contemplate is are you going to bring your own food? Like some things that people don't recognize is that you can actually pack your own food? I think a lot of times people say, oh, you know, I can't bring it because you're thinking of liquids, which obviously liquids. You are not going to want to have that because they're just going to tell you to dump it at security. But you can use the Ziploc bags, plastic Tupperware travel, food bag, like a lunchbox or a cooler, and you can literally pack everything into a lunchbox and use it as a on. So some things that you can take or some things that I've taken just in the past to give you some ideas like grilled chicken, steak, ground chicken turkey with taco seasoning, a side of rice, keeping it super simple. One thing that I will say is if you want to be a fan favorite on your plane, just don't bring tuna fish. That is the one thing that I'm like, Oh, man, when someone opens that tuna, it just hits different on an airplane. So keep that in mind. You can also bring super simple stuff like sandwiches, whether that's a bagel and cream cheese, and that maybe that big cream cheese has some salmon on it. I mean, there are so many different things you can also bring like apples, almonds, carrots, rice cakes, protein bars, beef jerky, turkey jerky, I think. Oftentimes people think, oh, you know, if I bring protein powder, they're going to think that it's drugs or whatever. And the fact of the matter is, I mean, the security has gotten so smart in terms of technology, like they're able to identify that super quick and they see thousands of people every single day. And there are many people that bring protein powder. So you can totally get protein powder, whether that is you dividing it up into single servings or you just bringing a bunch and then having like the scooper and then just, you know, not needing to weigh it, but just taking the scooper out. One thing that I will say, Pea Science, which is a supplement company that I love, they always in your order, they always give you like some travel packs of just kind of some random stuff. So whether it's Alpha mine, which is like pre-workout or high volume or protein powder, but you can also order single packs of protein. So that can be super beneficial, especially if you're, you know, you're going to be traveling in the next month or so. The next time you order, just order some of those in addition and you'll have that. And it's super simple. Just make sure that you're avoiding liquids like nut butters or hummus. I mean, honey, I've seen some people get away with it, but I would just hate for you to risk that. So just keep that in mind if it is in its own individual container. I found that to be fine. So like nut butters, like the Justin's nut butters that come in like the two serving pack that you can get at the grocery store, those are great. Also, if I'm craving like cereal and I know I'm going to want some cereal, you can always get the travel cereals as well. A lot of times you'll be able to find those in the cereal section, so just keep that in mind when you are packing. Just don't be suspicious with it. Right. You know, oftentimes I write protein powder on it. I'm very just upfront with it and just kind of packaging things. If you want to count your macros and be sure that you're, you know, counting your protein, you can have like weigh out, you know, four ounces of chicken or four ounces of ground turkey and just have that labeled so that, you know. And then lastly, the part of hydration, like I mentioned earlier, you can always bring that empty refillable water bottle and then you're able to have that filled once you get through security. And so you're saving money with refilling your water bottle and then you're able to really make sure that you're hydrating yourself. Because one thing that I've learned is unless I am super focused on hydration, that's the one thing that I often lack. And part of it is because I hate going to the bathroom on the airplane. So if it's going to be a long flight, I try to limit my fluids, but then I feel super bloated and I feel uncomfortable. And so sometimes you just got to kind of pick your battles and say, okay, you know, do I want to feel bloated? Am I okay feeling like, you know, getting to the destination and then drinking a bunch of water? Or do I want to feel good and I'm okay with getting up and going to the bathroom a couple of times during your trip? All right. So now let's chat about if you are traveling via car. So these are going to be very similar but kind of different in a few things. So kind of determine again how many miles you need to account for and plan ahead, kind of look at your route and see, you know, if we know that our car gets X amount of miles per gallon, we can go this far before stopping to get a get, you know, gas refill or, you know, like you're going to need to likely stop, you know, two or 3 hours in for a bathroom break, kind of look there and look for things like super simple places that have the nutrition readily available. Chipotle, Chick-Fil-A, those are two great things, Kudo, But those are also very easy stops you can get a lot of protein in. I also love looking for places like sprouts or Whole Foods or grocery store, like a King Soopers or something where I know that they'll have fresh foods, they have the fresh packaged salads and and sandwiches and things like that. And so that we are able to really prioritize that. And when you're at those type of places, especially like a grocery store versus a convenience store, you're also going to be saving money, too, because, I mean, anything at a convenience store is just going to be marked up most of the time and you're just going to have a lot more options to pick from if you can scoot over to a grocery store. I personally, Josh, when I when we travel, we literally fill up our cooler with so many foods, like I'll pack all the foods that make me feel good. I'll pack a lot of fruit, I'll pack some snacky foods. I also love to prepackaged and pre-portioned things out because I don't know about you, but when I'm sitting in a car, if I were to get like a huge bag of almonds, for example, I would eat probably like a fourth to a half of just the bag of just sitting there because you get bored, right? And so I like to have so many different foods that are available for me, but I like to have them in portions. So that way, you know, I'm not getting bored, but I'm also kind of entertaining my palate, you know? And so, for example, watermelon grapes, some popcorn, I mean, anything rice cakes, beef jerky, protein bars, anything that's really going to keep me full and satisfied. Also that I enjoy because let's be real. Like snacks really do get you through road trips. And if you don't plan ahead and you're not bringing satisfying snacks, you're just going to cave, you're going to buy a bunch of stuff. Slim Jims, I don't know about you, but Slim Jims are just so easy to get everywhere. And they I don't know. They just do not sit well in my stomach. I would so much rather go to Walmart or go to a grocery store and pick up some quality beef jerky, some quality turkey jerky or something like that that I know I like and pre-portioned it out. So that way, you know, I'm not reaching for this Slim Jim. That is just it's not going to make me feel good at the end of the day. So the moral of the story is to just try your hardest, to plan ahead and pack your own food for things like that. Now, I will always be the first to tell you, like whatever you do, I want it to be sustainable. I don't want you to feel super overwhelmed saying and thinking, you know, I can only bring and I can only eat food that I bring. The fact of the matter is, I mean, that's just not real life all the time. And so you can control what you can control and everything outside of that. You can control it. So let it go. Try to put your your thinking cap on and say, okay, you know, my main goal today is to prioritize protein and prioritize hydration. If you have those two goals in mind, you're going to reframe your mindset in the sense like I was talking about earlier, and you're likely going to it's going to lead to better choices. And so I want you to have an enjoyable trip while you're traveling and not stress so much about food. But I also want you to not feel like you are getting completely derailed and completely going off track, which can lead you to feeling bloated and sluggish and and just not enjoying your trip in that sense, just because you're not properly feeling your body. So striking that balance is so, so important. And I'm really excited to continue talking about this topic. Like I said, this is going to be a three part series, so stay tuned for part two. I'm going to be explaining how to stay on track in eating once you're at your destination. And then part three is going to really dive into how to stay on track with your workouts while traveling. So stay tuned for that. If you have a friend or coworker or someone in your life that you feel like would benefit from this specific episode, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can copy the link and send it to them in a text message. Text message. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your Instagram story. I always love hearing your aha moments. I would also love to know your travel tips if you found something to be super helpful that maybe I didn't mention. I'm always, always, always learning from you guys and so please feel free to shoot that over. I love connect with you guys. That is all that I have for today's episode. I love you so much. I mean it. I'll talk to you the next one. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie, a lot better. Yes, It's within in the middle for that daily post workout. Real talk. Healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it. [00:05:08][0.0]
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