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One of my husband’s favorite sayings is “Don’t fuel your body where you fuel your car.” Remember how you used to run in and grab a packet of those peanut butter crackers and a Diet Coke? Maybe you even added a bag of licorice strands?

Well, if you want to maintain your weight, I suggest you not do that anymore. You know better now.

YES – you can travel while in ZReboot and not gain weight. You just have to (continue to) make good choices. Here are some ideas:

On a roadtrip? Need a snack in the car? Buy a bottle of water. Buy a bag of nuts. Most of those convenience stores keep apples, oranges, and bananas on hand. You are done with highly processed foods now.

Traveling to visit friends or family? Concerned you won’t have anything healthy to eat while you’re there? Bring a host gift.

A cheese tray is a perfect idea. If you’re not a “cheese whiz” . . . go to a store that has a cheese monger who can help. They love to give you advice on hard cheeses, soft and semi-soft so you can round out a tray everyone will love. It could even be an antipasti tray if you add sliced meats and some olives or nuts. This works as an appetizer or even a dessert, and it will help you stay away from the cookies, chips and dip.

A bit of cheese at the end of dinner with a glass of wine can be divine too 🙂

An even simpler idea is to bring a nice block of parmesan. In a pinch, I have bought a block of parmesan and cut it up into little cubes. You can even stick toothpicks in them so guests can grab one without touching the rest. Guests munch on that with their wine or cocktail and they’re all set. Most folks haven’t had the experience of sucking on a cube of cheese like that, so they learn something too!

If you can, take your scale.

Mine goes with me everywhere. I weigh every day and keep an eye on the number. Did you know most people can gain close to 10 pounds before their clothes start becoming too tight? I don’t want to wait until I’m up 10 pounds before I notice I’ve gained. I want to know right away — that way I can course correct. Travel scales are flat, lightweight, and inexpensive. Even if I am flying somewhere I will make room in my bag for my travel scale.

Speaking of flying, here’s how to navigate that challenge.

Take snacks. Pack up your own little plastic bags with allowed snacks. Those nuts and cheese cubes come in handy here, too. What’s nice is most airport terminals now offer places where you can buy a fresh salad all packed up and ready to go. Or bring fruit and munch on that with a bottle of sparkling water. It’s not illegal to bring your own food on a plane. And your fresh food won’t smell up the plane like a bag of McDonald’s will.

Driving?

Consider packing a cooler. I have good friends who invested in a Yeti cooler. They take food with them everywhere. They drive from Florida to Wisconsin (and back) twice a year, and having a cooler in the car prevents them from eating in restaurants while on the road. They’ve got their favorite snacks with them. They buy what they want at the grocery store (or they’ll take some leftovers from a restaurant and make a second meal out of that). It saves them a lot of money and is an easy way to skip the drive thrus.

Visiting another city?

My go-to restaurant is always a steakhouse. This kind of restaurant (or any restaurant that specializes in grilled meats) works well in ZReduction – and even better in ZReboot. You can get a great seared steak or a lovely piece of fish. Choose simple veggie sides. In ZReduction, have a salad, or sautéed spinach. In ZReboot you can have broccoli (with cheese if you want). If you’re in ZReboot 3.5 you can have a few tablespoons of the au gratin potatoes (personally I prefer them smothered in more cheese, lol). Just don’t make a habit out of it.

If you’re in a foreign country, the same rules apply. Go for the protein and the healthiest veggies. If you’re in ZReboot and there is a special local food that you want to try, got for it. But if it’s carby, just have a bite or two and share the rest with friends. Savor every bite. Chew each bite 50 times if you have to. Just don’t eat the whole thing yourself. Enjoy the journey and the unique nature of traveling and eating out, but remember the sacrifices you made to get to your goal weight. Don’t sabotage all your hard work by eating things you know your body can’t handle.

Drinks anyone?

If you are a beer drinker you’re more in luck every year. They are making more and more low carb beers. I mean like 2.5-4 carbs per beer. My husband drinks Miller Ultra on tap if he wants more than one beer. Decent taste. Low carbs.

Our Plan Z manual has a hefty list of beer brands and their carb levels. Or, if you’re out and about, you can google any beer when you’re sitting in the bar and look up the carb level. Just take an extra 15 seconds and make a good decision on which beer to choose. This even works on craft beers. I recommend staying under 6 grams of carbs for a beer in ZReboot if you don’t want to see a gain the next day.

Wine is easy. Just keep it dry. What’s nice is there are sooo many low carb wine options to choose from. The best red low-carb options are a dry cabernet, merlot or pinot noir. For white wine, pinot blanc, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay are your best options.

Cocktails? The idea is to keep it simple. Remember, it’s the mixers that make you fat. Vodka and soda works nicely. You can even have them add a little spritz of cranberry and be hip. Martinis work. Manhattans, too. Or you can tell your bartender you want a fresh margarita to keep down the carbs. They can make one using fresh juice and just a tidbit of Grand Marnier or Cointreau. Just be careful. All those drinks carry a wallop! If you’re just getting started with re-introducing alcohol to your diet, your body will be more sensitive to the alcohol. As they say, you’ll be a cheap drunk, and that’s never pretty.

Now, for dessert. You are on vacation right? You deserve a treat, but you worked hard to lose that weight and you don’t want to gain it back. So make good choices.

Just like in ZReboot, berries (or any kind of fresh fruit) are always the best choice. Even if they are not on the menu, most restaurants can accommodate that request. Ask your server to leave off the powder sugar they love to dust berries with. If they have a special dessert sauce or glaze, you can ask them to get that on the side.

If you are looking at more serious sweets, split the dessert . . . and I’m talking 4 ways. Not just two.

What you are aiming for is 15 grams of carbs (or less) per portion. Let’s use cheesecake as an example. Cheesecake has been voted the #1 dessert choice at Christmas, and it’s delightful all year long. A single piece of plain cheesecake comes in at 46 grams of carbs. Split it 3 or 4 ways, and you are golden. If it’s just two of you, take the extra back to your hotel room or put it in your cooler. Fresh berries work here, too. They are the perfect complement to cheesecake, will round out the flavor or your dessert, and add to the experience.

Like beer, you can google any dessert while you are deciding which one to order and get a general sense of the amount of carbs you’re about to eat. For example, if you google “flourless chocolate cake carbs” you’ll see that it comes in at about 40 grams of carbs – even though many people consider this a “low carb” dessert. Yikes! So never make an assumption. A ½ cup scoop of vanilla ice cream is only 10 grams of carbs! Go for it and even put a little chocolate drizzle on top. You too, can go to the ice cream parlor and not feel totally left out. Just be smart about your food choices and weight gain won’t be an issue.

Enjoy the Trip!