Taking A Training Diet On The Road

Taking A Healthy Diet On The Road

I'm traveling, visiting friends I haven't seen for years and staying in their home. There is just one problem: my special food needs. I am a nutritionist and have been eating a natural whole foods diet for years. On top of that, I began weight training in January 2000, and I know that the best planned weight training program can stall or slip backwards without optimal nutritional support.

At the age of 55, I think of myself as an athlete for the first time in my life. Over a year ago, I began lifting two days a week with an abbreviated routine of compound exercises, one set to form failure. I work hard, harder than I imagined possible a year ago, and I squeak out small steady gains, adding one pound or one rep a week to most lifts. Perhaps because of my age, or maybe because I train more intensively as I get stronger, or maybe because I'm a "hard-gainer," I need all the help I can get to fuel my recovery and continue progressing.

My body requires much more food than it has in the past. Although I'm short and small, weighing in at 117, I eat close to 2500 calories a day when my activity level is high and avoid wasting calories on food that won't support general vitality and muscle growth. At home, I carefully limit my refined carbohydrate intake--sugar and white flour products. I avoid hydrogenated oils and deep fried or high cholesterol foods and make sure to get protein six times a day.

While away from home, I'll take a much needed rest from lifting and enjoy hiking in the Grand Tetons. I will also keep to my training diet so I have a period of recuperation that will make me fresh for new gains when I get home.

Feeding A Hungry Athlete

It's a fine line between being an irritating, hard to please guest and being an athlete with special nutritional needs. If I were training for the Olympics, my hosts would understand. Instead I'm trying to add eight more pounds to the bar so I can SLDL my own weight for 20 reps, and I'm inching up to a body weight chin. These personal goals feel Olympic to me.

As a health-conscious athlete, I need whole grains, plentiful fresh vegetables and fruits, good quality oils, and adequate protein. Through experimentation, I've found that I thrive on 80-100 grams of protein a day and feel best when I eat protein throughout the day in three meals and three snacks. Frequent meals keep my energy levels stable and prevent hunger and fatigue.

How do I meet these needs without making a constant fuss?

First, I let my hosts know before I arrive that I will take care of my own breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. Second, I bring along easy to carry or hard to buy foods and visit the local grocery store once I'm where I'm going.

To help you take your training diet on the road, I'm including shopping lists and menus that work for me. I hope these will stimulate ideas for what you might need. These ideas also work well when staying in a hotel equipped with a refrigerator and a coffee maker for boiling water.

Shopping Lists

Shopping list from home: soy and/or whey protein powder, unsalted raw almonds or other nuts, a protein bar for emergency hunger, a two cup thermos.

Most protein or power bars are too high in sugar, fat, and calories for the nutrients they deliver. I also like real food, not candy bars, but protein bars are compact for travel. I took an Ultimate Protein Bar (brand name Biochem by Country Life). It has 15 grams of whey protein for 140 calories with modest levels of fat and sugar.

Shopping list at the local grocery store: instant oatmeal, low fat cottage cheese, non fat plain yogurt, non fat flavored yogurt, baby carrots, fresh fruit, whole wheat bread, bags of mixed baby salad greens, low fat whole grain crackers w/o hydrogenated oils, low fat protein sandwich material like tofu sandwich slices or turkey, and eggs.

Instant oatmeal isn't as tasty as the real thing, but it's portable and can be prepared anywhere with boiling water. I avoid flavors with hydrogenated oils or preservatives and use a combination of plain and apple-cinnamon.

If you're interested in adding a little soy to your diet, Tofurky Deli Slices have 13 grams of protein per 120 calories and no preservatives. Most grocery delicatessens sell turkey and chicken with no additives and will slice it for sandwiches. Turkey has around 60 calories per 12 grams of protein with no additives except a little sugar, but it is high in sodium. Plainville makes a variety with no added salt. There are many prepackaged chicken and turkey sandwich slices available and most have 9-11 grams of protein for 50 calories, but watch for preservatives, additives, and excessive sodium.

Breakfast, Lunch, and In Between

Breakfast: a bowl of fruit, 2-3 packets of instant oatmeal (1-2 plain packets mixed with 1 apple cinnamon made in my wide mouth thermos with boiling water), 1 scoop soy protein powder. I shake protein powder in my trusty thermos with water or fruit juice and slug it down.

Lunch for hiking or traveling: sandwich with whole grain bread, mustard, and a high protein filler, a hard boiled egg, baby carrots, and fruit. If we go out for lunch, I pack some high protein food to eat later. It's easy to buy salad and bread, but harder to get high protein food low in fat.

Snack possibilities: crackers or bread with high protein sandwich slices; plain low fat dairy or soy yogurt mixed with 1/4 part flavored yogurt; low fat cottage cheese and fruit; whey or soy protein powder (whey tastes better than soy, but my brand has less protein for the calories); fresh or dried fruit; nuts if you want high calorie and low bulk (nuts are not high in balanced protein, but are filling and have healthy oils); or a protein bar.

Dinner and Beyond

For dinner, I make the meal healthier for everyone by preparing a large salad. I use baby salad greens and other fancy salad vegetables with an olive oil and balsamic or wine vinegar dressing. A guest who makes the salad and helps with dinner is a good thing, even if she is a food fanatic. Then, I enjoy what my hosts prepare. If dinner is especially low in protein, I eat cottage cheese or yogurt before bed. If I'm still hungry from my day of hiking and white water rafting, there are more crackers or bread.

Within a few days of my visit, my hosts are used to my copious food consumption and start asking questions about how to make their diet healthier. They're also getting curious about just what I do to burn all those calories. Oh, I forgot to add that I wash the dishes. You have to forgive the idiosyncrasies of a guest who washes all the dishes.