Top 10 ways to stay thin while you travel

Wedged into your seat, you now begin to fantasize about the onboard meal. You know when airlines cut back on food? Well, they now offer "snack boxes" in lieu of a real meal. OK, you'll take what you can get, and at least they'll cut back on the calories. Right?

Better look inside the box. The Center for Science in the Public Interest measured a snack offered by Southwest Airlines and found that those little crackers and cookies contain more than 25% of a day's calories for white flour, fat, sugar and salt. While you'd think the cheese and crackers might provide some protein, you only get 2 grams, no more than the six-packs of Oreo cookies. They also point out that the "fruit snack" is mostly sugar with a little grape and cherry juice mixed in for taste.

The point is to bring your own snacks. Or at least pick up some nuts in the airport before you fly. (See the slideshow for some specific recommendations).

At the Hotel
As I have learned, the real battleground for the traveler's diet is not in the air -- it's on the ground, once we land and check in to our hotel. Sad but true: Hotels and resorts are where all good diet and health intentions go to die. The culprit is a lethal combination of food, sleep deprivation and lack of exercise. When it comes to diet, exercise, and fitness on the road, we are indeed a nation in denial.

As soon as we arrive at a hotel, our self-control seems to evaporate. Whether it's a business trip or a vacation, we're operating at different schedules, in a different environment, exposed to different climates, cultures, foods. As a result, we pack on the pounds.

More often than not, we are eating out. In 1955 Americans spent 19 percent of their food dollar on food that was prepared outside the home. Today it's nearing 50 percent and climbing. Not only do we eat out more often, but invariably, when we eat out, the portions are larger. And we're cleaning our plates. You do the math.

It all comes down to a definition of the word healthy, and how precisely you order the food. Certain hotels try to help. Hilton offers its Eat Right menu, which is a separate menu of healthy eating options. But in spite of all the well-intentioned attempts at healthy offerings, it's nevertheless absolutely necessary that you deconstruct your meal.

"Just because an item is starred as a 'healthy choice' means nothing," says Anthony Scotto, whose family owns and operates Fresco, one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan. "You see the salmon or the swordfish on the menu and it's got that asterisk," he says. "And that's supposed to mean that they will cook it without butter or heavy sauces." The reality, he says, is often very different. "Back in the kitchen, there's one guy on the line and his only job is cooking fish. And he's cooking all of it the same way."

I see very few of the major hotel chains making any serious attempt to offer healthier meals. Some are making an effort, but it is still up to the health-conscious diner to pick and choose carefully, even among the supposedly healthful offerings. The bottom line: Eater beware. Even the most well-intentioned hotel menus can be traps. The next part, perhaps the hardest, is... exercise.

Exercise on the Road
This is, without a doubt, the killer part of the traveler's diet because it all depends on your own determination when you're already confronted with a killer travel schedule. This is where people fail the most.

Consider this: In the last decade, the number of U.S. hotels with fitness facilities has grown from 36 percent to 56 percent.

But simply having a great hotel gym doesn't mean you'll use it. The statistics are a little frightening. In almost every piece of research I've seen, travelers rate fitness centers as the most or second-most important amenity when traveling. In fact, an overwhelming number of travelers responded that they booked a hotel in large part if it had a fitness center and/or pool. But the actual utilization rate -- how many of the guests actually use the facilities -- is a disheartening six percent... or less.

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