There’s nothing like traveling — getting away from the bustle of our day-to-day lives for a little while and experiencing a completely different environment and culture enriches our lives. While traveling is a break from stress for most of us, it can also be a source of it. Things like packing, booking, and planning a trip can all weigh on your mind, and if you\’re following a keto diet, you might be trying to find ways to stay in ketosis while traveling.
Taking an extended break from healthy eating habits can undo a lot of your hard work. The keto diet works for many and has numerous benefits — being in ketosis helps people lose weight and maintain better control of their cholesterol and blood sugar. Slipping out of ketosis can slow or halt your progress, so if you\’re looking for ways to stick to keto while traveling, you\’re not alone. We hope you enjoy this post offering a few tips to stay on track when away from home.
1. Make Meals Ahead of Time
It\’s a bit time-consuming but making meals ahead of time is one way to stay in ketosis while traveling. It could save time while you\’re on the go, though, because you won\’t have to go looking for keto-friendly food.
On a Road Trip
If you are going on a road trip, then this is a perfect solution! You can put some of your favorite keto meals together, or you can at least gather the ingredients for easier transportation, put them in a cooler, and stick that in the car.
On a Plane
Pack the keto-friendly snacks you\’ll need on vacation in your carry-on bag (just be sure to check the security checkpoint guidelines and consider signing up for TSA Precheck, which can help the process go smoother).
At the Hotel
You want to stay healthy so avoid foods that will spoil quickly. You also want food that will also still taste good if it was prepared a couple of days in advance. Egg or vegetable-based meals are probably going to be your best bet. You can use the old reliable avocado in a number of ways, as well as cucumbers, kale and many people also don’t realize that mushrooms are keto-friendly. These are good ones to incorporate into your meals because they are adaptable and easy to prepare.
2. Research Local Restaurants
Eating out at restaurants is one of the best things about traveling! It can be tricky, though, for people following specific diets. You won\’t have to miss out, though, because there are many keto-friendly restaurants out there. In fact, some places even have special menus designed for the keto diet. It\’s never been easier to stay in ketosis while traveling!
Before you head to a restaurant, though, it\’s important to research the menu. You can also look around for online keto communities that are based in the area and ask about which restaurants are best.
3. Communicate With Your Servers
When I first started my keto journey, I was so nervous about asking for bunless burgers at fast-food restaurants. You’d be surprised at how daunting this actually is for some people, but it’s understandable because you might feel like you’re making a difficult request and causing an awkward situation for the servers.
You shouldn’t worry about this though, because they’ve probably heard way crazier questions than this and the keto diet is very popular now. If you’re unsure about something on the menu, or if you want to request something slightly different, just let them know that you are on the keto diet and they’ll likely understand.
4. Exercise
The most efficient way to make ketones is through dieting but you can also do it by way of certain exercises. Exercise alone won’t get you into ketosis but if you are someone who has been diligent with your diet then it definitely can act as a supplemental trick.
High-intensity workouts aren’t necessarily well suited to a keto diet, especially when you are in the keto-flu stage at the beginning. This is when your body is adapting to the changes and you can often feel like you’re more tired. That being said, HIIT and keto worked so well for me that I won the Orangetheory Transformation Challenge!
Cardio exercises are very helpful though. If you can’t avoid slipping up a little with your diet while traveling then try squeezing in a walk or run when you can just to keep your ketone count up as much as possible.
5. Look for Accommodations with Kitchens
Earlier we discussed the joy of being able to eat out a bit more often while traveling, but if you want to have full control over your diet, or at least have the option of making your own meals, then you could aim for an accommodation with a kitchen.
Getting a small apartment or even an Airbnb instead of staying in hotels is the best way to do this. It will also require doing some research on local supermarkets which supply the right kind of keto ingredients but this is a surefire way to keep eating the meals you know you can rely on.
6. Fast
Intermittent fasting kind of sounds a bit like pseudo-science and it won\’t work for everyone but there is a science behind it. When you eat less, your body starts exhausting its stores of glucose and burning fat. This is how ketones are created. So intermittent fasting involves only eating at a specific time in the day and only eating one meal per day a couple of times a week.
Intermittent fasting can be rough. We don\’t recommend starting it for the first time on vacation. Once you\’ve got a plan, though, it\’s great! Create a fasting schedule and try to stick to it. If at any point you feel work or like it\’s not working, please stop. Trying to stay in ketosis while traveling is not worth ruining your vacation or your health. You can get back in action when you get home!
7. Eat Well Before and After You Travel
At the end of the day, you’re only going to be on the go for a couple of weeks (at most!). Although it can slow or halt your progress temporarily, what you do before and after your vacation is what matters most. Eat well leading up to your trip so that you\’re body is in deep ketosis before you leave home. Then, when you get back pick up where you left off.
Preparing to keep up your strict diet is just another thing to think about when you’re getting ready to travel, but it’s important if you want to keep reaping the benefits of keto. Having a plan in place ahead of time will help to ease your anxieties a lot so be sure to come up with a plan that works best for you!
