Meal Prep Hacks to Keep You on Your Plan While Travelling

By Paul Oneid

Travelling is a lot of fun. Whether it’s for business or pleasure, getting away is a nice change of pace.  Training while away is easy because as long as you pack your gear, you just find a gym and go lift.  Diet, on the other hand can be really tough to keep on track.  You can’t necessarily always pack every meal, especially when travelling by air, or longer trips and when you arrive, you usually won’t have the typical kitchen amenities that you need to prepare meals.  Here are a few tricks that will help you from falling completely off the rails.

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On the flight

Pack a typical meal or two in Tupperware for your carry on.  This will allow you to re-use the Tupperware later on in your trip.  This assures that 1-2 meals on your travel day are taken care of and you can pack food and bring it with you while you are away.  Don’t pack cutlery in your carry-on unless you enjoy being strip searched at security; just take it from one of the airport restaurants.  Be sure to grab some extra for the hotel room.

On the road

Convenience is king here.  When you have a long road trip, the last thing you want to do is stop to eat, and driving while eating a meal can be dangerous to everyone.  Drinkable protein is ideal, so liquid egg whites, or a sustained release protein blend like Magnum Quattro work great.  For carbs, I prefer putting some baby rice in my shake, or just snacking on some rice cakes (although they can be incredibly messy).

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The hotel

If your hotel has a breakfast buffet, chances are you won’t be able to eat much on it without screwing up your macros.  In most cases, the pre-made “eggs” are too high in fat.  The sausage/ bacon are off limits as well, the same reason.  Your best bet is requesting egg whites from the hotel employee, or grabbing a bunch of hardboiled eggs.  Oatmeal and roasted potatoes are your best carb options.  If you are being extra strict, go to the closest grocery store and grab some pre-portioned microwavable oats and throw some protein powder in it.  Baby Rice works well here too.

After breakfast, this is when things can get tricky if you’re not prepared.  Uncle Ben’s 2 minute rice and a pre-made rotisserie chicken will save your diet.  The rice is easy to appropriately portion and the chicken can be eye balled.  Both of these options are super cheap too.  Mix in a couple protein shakes with baby rice along with it and you have a day of eating locked in.  If you really want to go to the next level, you can even pack your food scale.

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Supplements

Prepacking your supplements is very important.  They have become so common that most security checks will not bat an eyelash, even if they aren’t in the original container.  Make sure you know how many days you are away and how many training sessions you have.  Use individual Ziploc bags for daily vitamins, training nutrition and some extra protein powder for during the day.  The easiest way to tell these apart if they look similar, or have different portion sizes is to use a permanent marker on the bag.  It takes a few minutes at home before you leave, but will ensure that your training and recovery remain optimal even on the road.

RELAX!!!

This is probably the most important tip.  Even if your goal is weight/ fat loss you need to remember that being away from home is a break from the ordinary.  Keep stress low and do your best.  If you don’t hit your macros, it isn’t going to make or break your diet in the long term.  Do your best to eat as quality food you can find and don’t miss meals.  Get your training in while you can and try to enjoy your time away as best you can.  The daily grind will be there when you get back home.

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Paul Oneid

Paul is an elite level raw Powerlifter with personal bests of an 805lbs squat, 440lbs bench, 725lbs deadlift and a 1960lbs total in the 242lbs class, as well as an 800lbs squat, 430lbs bench, 700lbs deadlift and 1930lbs total in the 220lbs class. Paul brings a deep educational background to the team as he has earned Master’s degrees in both Sports Management and Exercise Science. He is a former D1 Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach, who now works as a Functional Rehabilitation Specialist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Paul provides coaching services in the areas of training and nutrition through his company Master Athletic Performance and is also the co-founder of a technology company, 1-Life Inc. Stay tuned for more information on that in the future!
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