Travelling and Keeping on Track Question

Hi All,

I had Orientation a couple of weeks ago, I've filled out all the questionnaires and I see the Nurse on Monday.

Prior to Orientation and more so since, I have been working very hard at making healthy food choices, being mindful of what I eat and when. I have also upped my fluid intake and made big strides at decreasing my carbs and increasing my protein. Carbonated drinks and juice are gone. I have logged my food for the past 15 days and am managing to hang in around 1,600 cals per day and sometimes less. I've even managed to lose a pound or two. Bought a fitbit and am slowly increasing my activity.

Pretty proud of myself right now quite frankly.

As I write this, I am on day 2 of a 3 day business trip to Vancouver and I'm ready to tear my hair out.

I got up at 4:00 am Wednesday morning and had a bowl of cereal. I tried not to wake the whole house, so that was my breakfast. On the plane I chose water and tomato juice as my drinks and, because I was starved by 8:00 am and still travelling I had 2 airline packages of pretzels. I changed flights in Calgary and needed something substantial. I grabbed a yogurt parfait and choked it down before being called for my next flight. Lunch in Vancouver was a salmon burger with salad instead of fries. The aioli was scraped off and I only ate half a bun. Dinner was an exercise in futility. I work in malls so dinner was in the Food Court. I ended up with a burrito bowl, no wrap. No rice, extra lettuce, chicken, cheese, beans and pico di gallo and some guac. I was careful with the portioning. Not ideal but the best I could do.

Today has not been bad. Scrambled eggs and yogurt at breakfast. Sashimi and Sushi bento box lunch with a little salad. No tempura.

I am so sick of thinking about what to eat now for dinner. My choices are not great. Back to the mall for something, Boston Pizza, Subway, a Protein Box from Starbucks, I don't know.

I don't even want to think about tomorrow because my day starts out at 6:00 am Vancouver time and will end at close to 2:00 am Hamilton time buy the time I get back. I have no idea, other than breakfast, what I am going to be eating, or will be available.

So after all this, is there anyone here that travels on a regular basis that can give me some tips and help me better prepare for my next trip out here in July? I would be so grateful for any/all input.

Thanks.

Hey SweetRide,

Congratulations on getting your nurse appointment so quickly. That's great! It sounds like you are making amazing life choices. That's awesome.

I don't have too much to offer in terms of healthy eating. I think a few of the strategies you are implementing are great: only eating half the bun, getting extra veggies and no rice, opting for protein, cutting out pop and juice. Pre-op and post-op diets are different but a lot of the fundamentals are the same.

Do you have benefits through work? One thing to consider if you do is perhaps they include access to registered dietitian services. An RD could give you strategies for travelling and eating out. If you are looking for an RD, you can got to https://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Find-A-Dietitian/Find- a-Dietitian.aspx

For your flight home, try picking up a snack at the airport like mixed nuts, or a protein bar. That may help you in the flight rather than having the pretzels.

Good luck!

I am going to piggyback on this and say you don't necessarily need benefits. If you are with the Hamilton Family Health Team you can ask to see a Dietician to help out. If not you can still go to their classes. http://www.hamiltonfht.ca/en/groups-workshops/Nutrition-Work shops.aspx

Most doctors offices that are part of a team do have a Dietician on staff that you could try talking to for some ideas. It is also a great thing to bring up with the Dietician that you will work with through the screening. Mine gave me some options for situations that I was worried about post op.

You are flying through this process! Be sure to ask lots of questions with each specialist that you see as part of the screening. They want to know you are thinking about the future and planning ways to support your new lifestyle.

I was just thinking what I usually bring on flights with me. Like I said: nuts, protein bar, I also pick up an apple at the airport (when I'm out of town, bring it from home when here). I buy a big bottle of water... but I drink a lot, so the little airplane cup never satisfies me! Sometimes I can find a little cheese and fruit plate... Starbucks has them sometimes.

Once you are through security, you can pick up anything to bring on the plane.

You are making excellent pre-surgery choices and when you meet with your Bariatric team I am absolutely confident they will be impressed!

Your choice of a Burrito bowl was wise I would think; I know when I've made a trip to the Outlet Mall my fav stop is Chipotle and I always get the chicken salad, no rice, no beans and it's awesome. One trick I've done is scope out the menus for their nutritional information and make my decision ahead of time; as I did with Chipotle so I know that the salad is 3 servings so first thing I do is divide in 3 and put the rest in the lid to take home! I've even done this with fast food when travelling (ie: McDonalds Grilled Chicken Breast, no bun, no sauce, dip in hot sauce, 1/2 the chicken breast is a serving). If you know where you will be staying/eating you can maybe try that for July? Check out the menus ahead of time?

I also will log ahead of time in MFP to make sure I'm staying on track

I think you're doing amazing and have the right frame of mind! Congrats :)

Thanks for the suggestions. I will plan better for my next trip and be better prepared.

Dinner last night was not a catastrophe as I thought it may be. Boston Pizza actually has SmartEats options on their menu. So a steak, steamed vegetables, a side garden salad and low cal dressing was in order.

I am pleased that, even with some anxiety yesterday, and the thought of throwing everything out the window and just grabbing something, I talked myself down and had a healthy meal. So no regrets last night, a good night sleep and I'm on the road again today.

I'll be happy to get home and be able to better control my meal options.

Sounds like you did great!

When I've travelled and tried to stick to a diet in the past, I usually was able to find a store that sold a few groceries in the mall (easy if there's a Walmart), and picked up fruit, cheese strings, or chicken from the deli. Once it was super hot and I even bought a mini watermelon, cheap throwaway food containers, and some cute little knives with sheathes and brought it back to my hotel for a cool treat. My Mom has stolen my knives for her fishing trip lunches so I need to buy more, lol.

Try to remember that pre-surgery having a bad meal or two is not throwing it out the window! Try the 80/20 rule where 80% of the time you are following your plan to a T and the other 20% you have what you want/think you need/crave in moderation.