keto While Traveling Snacks Here’s a familiar scenario. Your vacation is fast approaching, and you can’t wait to unwind. But one thought keeps nagging you…
How will I stay Keto while traveling?
Talk about a source of anxiety! You want to relax on vacation, not worry about how you’ll find low-carb foods. Ugh.
Luckily, knowing this is half the battle.
By following the tips and strategies laid out below, traveling while staying keto can be a walk in the park (or drive on the road)!
01 Plan ahead
Don’t wait until landing to scope out your Keto options. You don’t want to be the person furiously Googling with one bar of service while you navigate cliffside roads en route to your hotel. That won’t end well.
Instead, do the preliminary leg work from the comfort of your living room. With a WiFi connection and an open spreadsheet, you can whip up a solid plan in thirty minutes.
02 Eat well before departing
Fill up on your low-carb favorites before you leave. Home is the easiest place to eat right. Don’t rush – start your journey nourished and satisfied.
A filling low-carb breakfast before your travel begins can be quick and easy – hardboiled eggs, cooked bacon, reheated egg muffins, or plain Greek yogurt with cream, berries, and nuts. If you have more time, sauté sausage with mushrooms and tomatoes or slice an avocado and enjoy with olive oil or mayonnaise.
03 Try intermittent fasting
Fasting in between meals is a great way to not only boost your ketone levels, but it’s also a great tool to hold you over during long trips.
Intermittent fasting makes traveling simpler. If you have a long road trip ahead of you, consider eating a large breakfast before you leave then you can skip lunch and have a late dinner once you’ve arrived. Or perhaps you have an early morning flight. If that’s the case, you can skip breakfast and wait until you’ve landed to eat.
The nice thing about fasting is you can do it anywhere and it also supports ketone production. Studies have shown that periods of fasting can help deplete glycogen stores from carbs to increase ketone levels.
04 Pack low-carb snacks
When the flight attendant passes out pretzels, resist temptation and reach for one of these delicious and portable snacks tucked in your carry-on:
- Cheese of any type – packaged Babybel cheese is a popular option
- Jerky, dry salami, and cooked bacon
- Celery filled with cream cheese or nut butter
- Ham and cheese roll-ups
- Crudité with dip
- Leftovers (yesterday’s low-carb dinner makes a great snack or meal)
- Butter (for coffee, tea, and crisps)
- Olive oil (for salads and veggies)
- Dark chocolate (≥ 70% cacao; no more than a couple of squares per day.)
05 Eat outsmart
Restaurant dining in confidence is going to be a key part of success on the ketogenic diet while you’re traveling. Here are a few quick tips to help you stay low-carb while eating out:
- Opt for double veggies instead of bread.
- Choose water or straight spirits instead of beer and wine.
- Prioritize protein like grilled chicken before choosing other options.
- Go for the steak as it’s often your safest choice.
- Avoid fried foods as much as possible.
- Ask for “lettuce wraps” instead of buns to go with your burgers.
06 Exercise
Eating a Ketogenic diet isn’t the only way to burn fat and make ketones. Exercise does it too.
There’s even a term for it: Post-exercise ketosis. This post-exercise ketosis, as you might expect, is enhanced by low-carb dieting.
Unfortunately, exercise routines often crumble on vacation. You’re out of your normal groove, thousands of miles from your home gym. Chilling on the beach all day is the plan. That’s it.
There’s nothing wrong with that. But you’ll probably feel better (in more ways than one) if you squeeze in a morning beach run. And it will help you stay Keto too.
07 Use coffee to keep hunger at bay
Coffee, either black or with heavy cream or melted butter, can take the edge off of hunger until you make it to a place with better food. This works with tea or bouillon, too.
08 Master restaurant dining
Eating out with confidence is a key part of success when traveling. Common sense should rule – say no to bread, ask for double veggies instead of the starch with your main course, and choose olive oil and vinegar for your salad. Ask for butter to melt on your cooked vegetables and protein. Skip dessert, or choose a cheese plate or berries with heavy cream.
Drink mostly water – champagne, dry wine, light beer, and straight spirits are okay in moderation.
Use These Tips to Maintain Ketosis Even While You Travel
For many people, traveling often leads to cheating on their Ketogenic diet. With increased exposure to carbohydrates and difficulty finding low-carb, high-fat alternatives, it may seem like too much of a hassle to stick to your Ketogenic efforts.
But by preparing for your vacation or business trip by following the tips laid out above, traveling while eating Keto will be much easier than you think!
