Written by Menswear Style in Food & Drink on the 25th September 2019

If you lead a busy lifestyle with places to go, clients to meet and never a dull moment, you will know how difficult it can be to eat healthily all the time. Being on the go and travelling out-of-state for work is always a tempting excuse to indulge in something fast and satisfying. The list of temptations are endless, ranging from a juicy burger, a cinnamon bun, some fries, fried chicken and a tall glass of coke.

And it’s always the same, you will be so busy with what you are doing you will suddenly realise how hungry you are and go for something super quick. Afterwards, you usually feel a little bit disappointed in yourself for giving in to temptation. There are better ways to eat healthily and still be on the move continuously. All it takes is some preparation and commitment. Here are some top tips.

Keep it Steady 

Don’t let yourself get to the point that your hunger clouds your judgement. The general rule is always to eat less but eat more often to get your metabolism working at an optimum level. The key to not getting into a 'hunger craze' is to make sure you snack healthy in between meals. This could be a piece of fruit or perhaps a veggie pack with some hummus. Nuts and trail mix usually do well to tide you over till it's mealtime. If you are a savoury kind of person, consider cheese sticks or hard-boiled eggs. Try to avoid sugars as much as possible (the fruit sugars will be plenty) and avoid sodas and energy drinks. If you maintain a good level of being satisfied in the stomach department, you will avoid making bad decisions around meals.

Avoid the Domino Effect 

Following that same philosophy of never letting yourself go super hungry, people might say that breakfast/lunch/dinner is the most important meal of the day. Just to reiterate, they are all very important meals in the day. Why breakfast stands out is because your body has been processing and without new food intake for several hours because you were asleep. Making sure you have a good breakfast ensures you won’t be starving come lunch (also assuming you had healthy snacks in between). A good lunch prevents you from making bad food decisions between lunch and dinner. So as long as you start the day out well, you won’t get the knock-on domino effect of putting the whole balance out of whack. And if you need a tip for breakfast, think eggs, low-fat cottage cheese or low-fat Greek yoghurt. Overnight oats make the perfect grab-and-go breakfast.

Snack as if Your Life Depends on It 

Another thing that will prevent you from stepping into a fast-food place is proper preparation. As with snacks between meals, it’s important to prepare in advance when it comes to meals. One of the best ways to avoid an unhealthy food binge is by bringing in your own, healthy meals. Ideally prepare a cold meal you can have, such as a nice salad or, if you are not following a low-carb diet, pasta salad. There is some research that says pasta that has been cooked and allowed to cool will provide fewer calories than freshly cooked warm pasta. A pasta salad makes for an entirely satisfying meal. And if you are opting for pasta, pick wholegrain. A nice sandwich is always good for a meal, try some wholegrain bread and have plenty of greens on it as well.

Research Your Options 

Even when you are travelling, you can find healthy options if you prepare yourself. Find restaurants that offer healthy options such as salads or grilled chicken. In most cases you can spot an unhealthy menu from a mile away, those are the ones that offer just one salad, which is Caesar salad. Grilled or steamed fish is always a good option. Avoid high salt and high-fat dressings and sauces. Go for the sweet potato fries instead of the regular potato ones. Order water instead of high-calorie high-sugar sodas. It’s all about spending some time doing some research on the place you are going and picking out promising places by looking at their menu. And if for some unlucky reason, you are heading to an area with only a fast-food place because it’s a holiday camp, there are still other options. Get yourself a portable cooker such as the NuWave Induction Cooktop to ensure the freedom you can cook healthy meals for yourself.

Full Meal Prep 

If you take the preparation and research one step further, you might be thinking of meal planning. This is the practice of making a schedule of all your meals ahead of time and even preparing them. It might sound like the most boring thing in the world and devoid of any spontaneity, but it could work wonders for people. The main benefit is that you will have a planned and healthy alternative each day as opposed to the whims of how hungry you feel. It can also be an amazing cost saver as you can cook several days’ worth of meals in one go, therefore saving on any food preparation waste and benefiting from bulk buy/cooking. That doesn’t always mean cooking the full meal and freezing it, it could also just mean you prepare bits of your meal and get it ready in easy and quick cook portions. Any decent meal prepper will have a cupboard full of reusable containers to make sure varying meals can be stored in varying quantities.

Your Reusable Containers Sling 

So there you have it, eating healthy on-the-go is all about planning, prepping, and making sure the hunger stays within reasonable limits. For some people, this might sound like the most boring approach to food, which in some eyes should be all about joy and satisfaction. And in many ways, this is the case when it comes to healthy eating. Just remember how you usually feel after consuming a fast-food meal and consider how much marketing spends these large corporations utilise to blast the picture of juicy burgers on billboards and TV. It’s David with a lunch box versus Goliath. And we all know how that story ended.

We put the spotlight on Avoiding the Domino Effect and Full Meal Prep in this Guide to Healthy Eating On The Go.