Eat healthy and stay active on the road

By Sarah Schlichter

updated 1:32 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2007

Without access to their local supermarket or their favorite Pilates DVD, travelers often find themselves subsisting on greasy fast food and abandoning their usual exercise routines to sit for long hours on planes or buses. Vegetarian, organic, low carb, low cal, low fat — no matter what diet you're on, there's a good chance that it went down the tubes on your last vacation.

But just because you're hitting the road doesn't mean you should leave all your healthy habits at home. Believe it or not, it's possible to eat well on a cross-country road trip, to stay active without access to a gym, and even to go on a cruise without gaining 5 or 10 pounds. Read on for tips on eating healthy and staying active no matter what kind of trip you have planned.

On a plane
There's no more captive audience than a plane full of air travelers, particularly those on long international flights. But just because you're stuck on a plane doesn't mean you're stuck eating the congealed meat and starchy sides the airlines call food. (That's if your airline serves meals at all — check out Which Airlines Still Serve Meals? to learn more.)

Your first line of defense against unhealthy airline menus is to bring what food you can from home. Recent changes to the TSA security rules prohibit passengers from taking liquids and gels in excess of three ounces through airport security checkpoints, but solid snacks like bananas, apples, trail mix, nuts, carrot and celery sticks, and energy bars should pass muster. Pack a few of these in your carry-on and you can skip the salty snacks served on the plane.

Once you've passed through security, anything you purchase at the airport may be brought with you on your flight — so this is your chance to stock up on bottled water and buy a salad or grilled sandwich to eat instead of dinner on the plane. Luckily for health-conscious travelers, airports have begun adding more healthy dining options to their standard array of fast food, according to a recent survey by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Susan Levin, a PCRM dietician, recommends seeking out vegetarian dishes that are "low in fat and high in fiber" — like a bean burrito or a veggie sandwich.

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In flight, skip the alcohol and soft drinks -- both can dehydrate you. Water is always your best bet for staying hydrated and sticking to your diet.

At the hotel
When choosing a hotel, look for one that offers a fitness center or pool — and then use these features once you get there! Many major booking sites, including Travelocity and Orbitz, allow you to customize your search to show only hotels that offer these amenities.

If your hotel doesn't have a gym, why not bring your own? We don't advise trying to squeeze a set of dumbbells into your suitcase, but it's easy enough to pack a resistance band or to download an exercise program onto your MP3 player so that you can work out in your room. (iTRAIN is one of several companies providing downloadable workouts.) As a lower-tech option, you can always jog in place in front of the TV for half an hour, make your own exercise routine of jumping jacks and squats, or do some early-morning stretches or stomach crunches before heading out for the day.

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You may also want to consider booking a hotel room with a kitchenette or even renting a house or apartment so that you can do your own cooking. This will save you money on food and give you more control over your diet. If you choose to eat at the hotel instead, be sure to take a careful look at what kind of dining options are available. Loews Hotels recently announced that it would be eliminating all artificial trans fats from restaurants, room service, banquet functions and minibars by June 1, 2007, while Omni aims to do the same by the end of March.

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