So, this weekend I journeyed to the land of meats, Chicago. Now, Meat isn’t a bad thing. Lord knows, I’ve consumed my fair share on both Slow Carb and Paleo, but unfortunately, in Chicago the meat is often paired with Cheese or Bread or a combination of both… and the Pretzels… Oh… the pretzels. I went into the vacation with a bit of a plan. Eat strict Slow Carb/Paleo for breakfast and then the same for lunch, then Dinner could be a bit more flexible knowing I was traveling with Family and little kids and the chances that a) Burgers and Fries or b) Pizza would be the dominating menu items.
However, I was pleasantly surprised how well I as able to stick to the plan and find alternative choices. Now, this meant I ate a lot of Salads, but that’s okay. In the end, I felt BETTER throughout the trip with a more balanced energy level. Let’s face it, family events can be stressful on a person. But for the most part, I held it together through the Saturday before we left and stuck to my guns. Did I eat a hamburger during the five day trip? Of course, I ate two, but I didn’t blow up and eat fast food every meal, that was the winner.
Lastly, when flying, I really recommend pre-packing your snacks. While a lot of airlines are being more health conscious with their food choices (for heaven’s sake, there was a ‘protein’ plate on my flights), in the end you don’t get what you want unless you do it yourself. Having my own stand by snack foods (almonds, trail mix, etc.) helped me keep in the rhythm of my food plan without falling completely off the wagon. Lots of omelettes, Lots of salads, Cottage Cheese, nuts and water. And thankfully on this vacation that was the majority of the time, not the minority of the time.