Dieting while travelling – my own experience
Dieting while travelling – my own experience
At the start of 2022 I was on the fence about competing later in the year.
I wanted too but I knew the opportunity to come to India was availability and I didn’t want to miss out on that.
I then thought to myself surely, I can diet while overseas. There is no perfect time to prep.
Having been to India once before I had a rough idea of what to expect although this time it was going to be for twice as long spanned over two different cities.
My objective was to keep my food as simple as possible. I ensured my food scales were packed. I researched what I could take on the plane in the form canned foods etc.
But at the end of the day, I knew there were going to be a lot of variables to overcome but I was prepared to do my best and having spent the previous 16 weeks dieting to remove 11kg, I knew I was in good enough condition to, at the very least, maintain my physique.
The flight from Brisbane was 3 legs. Brisbane to Darwin, Darwin to Singapore & Singapore to Bangalore. I didn’t know what food options would be available on each of these flights o I packed rice cakes and canned tuna however I knew flying internationally the quantity of Tuna would be questioned given it contains liquid and when going through security I did have two small cans removed from me and binned.
Fortunately, the first main meal was grilled chicken and vegetables which was trackable. However, through the course of these 3 flights I was very hungry and satiated myself with diet cola and coffee.
With a daily step count target, this obviously couldn’t be met during flights, however in transit at the various stopovers, I made sure I took the stairs not the escalator and walked rather than taking the travelator.
Many are fearful of gaining weight through long haul flights due to cabin pressure, lack of activity and fluid retention but ironically, I lost weight through this period.
Upon arrival in my first stop of Bangalore for a week, it was quickly established that the hotel restaurant was able to modify their cooking to suit my needs. So, with my food scales in hand, I went about my day with some certainty around my food and calories.
Breakfast was primarily an egg white omelette, eggs, and fruit.
Lunch was primarily grilled chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
Dinner was grilled chicken breast again, steam vegetables and if I needed more carbohydrates id opted for potatoes with dinner as well.
This was all manageable, within my calories, and still clean nutritious eating.
I also bought a small bag of oats and a container to make them in, so whenever I was unable to have a meal due to time constraints, I could always make oats in my room with boiled water, and I also purchase a tub of protein powder.
In transit from Bangalore to Delhi, this was tricky as I couldn’t eat anything at the airport due to not enough time nor available options. So, I decided to fast until we settled into the new hotel whereby, I was able to have a simple meal in a nearby food court which offed a range of Asian and Indian cuisine including roast chicken and salad. Again this is easy enough to accommodate into my calories. I could also buy chicken only dishes to help lift my protein quantities.
The issue of variation would then arise. While simple is the best approach, the same foods while away can become rather boring and mundane. Especially when you’re in an exotic country filled with spices, currys etc. However the strength of my goal outweighed any weakness to break my adherence and I remained true to the plan or as close as possible in some circumstances.
While you aim to be as prepared as possible, in many instances you are relying on others to prepare your food. This does open up the possibility of discrepancies in calories. Especially in a country like India where they like to use oils, spices and nuts in the majority of their cooking.
My methodology for the duration of the trip was to keep things as simple, as stated earlier, eat relatively the same each day and ensure my training was still of a high level.
As they say control the controllable.
The advantage of this trip while dieting is to learn.
Learn how to prepare, learn what I can and cant travel with and learn as much about the process as possible so I can then part this education onto other who may do something similar.