How to keep a balanced diet while you travel

It indeed gets difficult to maintain timely eating habits. But there are always some ways out if you are willing to choose healthily. Dietician and nutritionist Sakina Mustansir shares few ways to keep a balanced diet: 

There is an old saying, “your mood changes when you eat according to the person’s mood who made it.” Even when you cook unhealthy food it becomes healthy when it’s made at home. It’s always convenient to carry food from home rather than eating at roadside vendors or unhygienic food. So, try to cook your own meal wherever possible. Also carry munching snacks like nuts, dried fruits, peanut butter sandwiches or whole wheat/multigrain bread sandwiches, protein bars etc.

No amount of soft drinks or hard drinks will subside the need for water in our body. It’s always recommended to be hydrated. Research shows when you are dehydrated it results in forced hunger cravings. You confuse hunger with thirst and get sugary food cravings or indulge in binge eating.

Most of the people skip breakfasts on the trip which makes them more lethargic which enables them to follow healthy eating patterns. If you eat a healthy breakfast your body fills up the nutrients and proteins it requires for the day and starves the carvings off. Buffet breakfast is a trap, don’t indulge in overeating either. Cater to the energy your body needs at the moment.

The calories in beverages are more reactive as compared to the calories in solid food. Being on a vacation doesn’t mean your liver is on a vacation as well. Cutting on calories or alcohol fat is more difficult than cutting down the vacation fat.

Usually, the most authentic local cuisine also happens to be the healthiest. So while traveling, always try the country’s authentic cuisine rather than fast food joints and processed foods. This will not only keep you healthy and give you more energy to explore but you will have an opportunity to taste different cuisines and experience their culture.