7 Secrets to Staying Keto While Traveling

Whether you are doing the keto diet to lose weight or prevent seizures, it can be challenging to stick to a low carb diet when you hit the road. Restaurants don’t always offer low carb options and friends and family tend to serve up carbohydrate rich foods. Recently, I took a road trip to Ohio to visit my sister and nephews. I tackled the challenge of staying keto for the entire three days.

Here’s how:

1. Start with a Satisfying Breakfast

Before you leave, load up on the bacon and eggs that you love at your house. It will keep you satiated during the long road stretches when your car companions are turning to cheetos. (Yes, my family members love cheetos on road trips.)

The extra bacon fat will give you plenty of energy to sit in your seat.

2. Bring a Dozen Boiled Eggs

When the munchies do strike, you will have a low carb snack on hand. I found that eggs were fairly easy to shell and sprinkle with a touch of salt. Even though they are kind of bland, they did fill me up. I loved having them on hand. It meant that I didn’t need to wait until our next McDonald’s stop for a hamburger patty.

3. Pack Some Sardines

Eggs are great, but at some point you may want a complete protein. Sardines are a convenient way to eat nose to tail on the go. I found sardines great for snacking and supplementing the hotel’s breakfast. Even though the hotel served us bacon and eggs, it was nice to have a little extra protein on hand. (Not to mention, I’m an early-bird and tend to be hungry before hotels even serve breakfast.)

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I did bring some tuna creation pouch from Starkist. It was terrible! I don’t recommend. Do not buy flavored tuna in a pouch.

4. The Buffet Strategy

While we were in the tiny town of Marysville, OH, my family decided we had to go out to eat. They selected a Chinese buffet. Yikes! Almost all Chinese food is fried or soaked in some sugary sauce. So, my strategy was to stick with the meats and veggies. There were some that didn’t appear to be too heavily soaked in sauce. I selected some boiled fish and hit up the salad bar.

I avoided the fried egg rolls and won tons. I walked past the fried rice and noodle dishes. There were some kebabs that were simply chicken that made it to my plate. Even though it was an All You Can Eat Buffet, I just ate until I was full. I didn’t try to eat an extraordinary amount considering most of the food had hidden carbohydrates.

5. Surviving Family Dinner

Luckily, my sister is a diabetic and has been counting her carbohydrates off and on for years. She knew that I was trying desperately to stick with a keto diet and was willing to accomodate. She set aside some beanless chili for me and her bean-hating child.

The second night, she whipped up a new pulled pork recipe, so I wouldn’t have to eat the sugar-laden pulled pork sauce. I also ate the salad she made for a side dish. I did pass up on the pie for dessert, but the kids figured it was just more for them. No one seemed to notice or care.

6. McDonald’s Lunch

Ok, so I did have to eat out at McDonald’s twice on our road trip. What did I choose? I ordered up the McDouble with only the patties and cheese. While I know McDonald’s has fake cheese, it did make the patties a bit tastier. It may not be optimal, but it definitely was tastier than a plain patty.

7. String Cheese

Oh, I love string cheese. It isn’t the lowest carbohydrate cheese, but it is so much fun. It isn’t something I buy on a typical basis, so for me, it was my big treat. String cheese with an egg was a really filling and fun snack!

During this road trip, I could have packed a ton of other low carb treats, but I discovered that I didn’t really need them. The eggs, cheese, and sardines were enough after a hefty breakfast. McDonald’s hamburger patties filled me up during lunch. The trip was only 8 hours, so we were only on the road for one meal. [easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”411″ identifier=”B0099VM7DE” locale=”US” src=”https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41uZZvYchVL._SL500_.jpg” tag=”mcurle08-20″ width=”500″]

These tips can be applied to longer distance trips. You could also pack celery and cream cheese if you want something crunchy to snack on. I will mention that the hotel shut down breakfast on the second day due to the Coronavirus, so it was handy to have the boiled eggs, cheese and sardines. I grabbed one of their yogurts on my way out as well. (It was Greek yogurt and a small container, so it fit into my macros for the day.)

9 thoughts on “7 Secrets to Staying Keto While Traveling”

  1. Hi Melinda!

    It can be challenging not to be able to eat on your diet everywhere you are. I took a trip back home to visit my parent, I took the bus and I couldn’t find adequate food, I had to settle for fruits all along the way.

    I will take your advice, especially to carry boiled eggs. And be sure to carry an egg boiler too, in case I ran out of it, I can easily buy and boil some.

    Thanks

    1. Boiled eggs seem to travel well. Also, if you are in a  hotel, you can use the coffee pot to boil up some eggs that you buy at a store. Easy peasy! 

  2. It’s so true that staying on any diet strategy or workout plan while traveling is hard. It takes planning and a great determination. I like that you wrote “surviving family dinners” – it’s so true. Whenever I go see my mom she has my favorite cheat foods there for me. Oreos, apple pie and ice cream are pushed on us when we visit her. It’s a great mindset and a great plan to follow that makes you survive it. Thanks for your inspiration 

    1. The loved ones are the toughest. They know your weaknesses and don’t always want to support a new diet. Thanks for your comment! 

  3. I was given the advice to have eggs for breakfast to help with energy levels for years, it took me a while to take the advice – when I did, wow!  They keep you going for hours, you feel satiated  – and don’t even need the carbs.  Protein and veggies are good for lunch too, there is no tiredness afterwards.  whenever I have carbs I feel drowsy after lunch. 

  4. Thank you for sharing with us this informative and educational article about 7 Secrets to Staying Keto While Travelling. I enjoyed reading your article and the seven secrets you shared with us. This will help me when we start travelling again as for now we are under houses arrest not allowed to even leave our homes. l will start trying your secrets while here at home with my whole family as it is very important in this time that we look after our health and eat healthy food. l know my kids will give me griefs at first but they will get used to it as time goes on. l can not wait for this lockdown to be over so that we can take those trips to where we want to go. I also laughed when you said you grabbed their yogurt on your way out that was a smart move:) l have bookmarked your article and I will share it with my friends they will love it. Great post.

    Wishing you all the best!

  5. Whether, you are doing the Keto diet to lose weight or to prevent seizures ,and irrespective of the 7secretes to staying Keto while traveling,and  why is it challenging  to stick to the low carb diet when you hit the road

    Low carb options were always not found in restaurant, and friends and families usually, tends up to serve carbohydrates rich foods .

    I recently, created a content discussing about you can lose weight and still eat,and you know,  within my explanations,low carb is one of my options. 

    Hey! ,bro nice one there and to me every explainations are on piont and which it got a connection with your choosing” Niche” 

  6. Hi Melinda – Kudos to you for sticking to your diet!  You are blessed to have such a considerate sister.  Families can be deadly: “oh just a little won’t hurt!” or “you’re on vacation, loosen up!” My favorite tip was the burger.  I love burgers—minus the cheese.  I wish you much success with the Keto diet!

    1. Thanks a bunch! I don’t tend to eat a lot of cheese, but it was a nice change of pace on vacation. 

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