Whether you’re traveling for business, taking a family vacation, or heading out on a weekend road trip, staying keto or low carb can seem more challenging when you’re away from your usual routine. Restaurant meals, airport food, hotel breakfasts, and long travel days can make it harder to stick with your usual way of eating.
Fortunately, traveling doesn’t have to mean putting your ketogenic lifestyle on hold. With a little planning and a few practical strategies, you can enjoy your trip while staying on track with your health goals.
Plan Ahead Whenever Possible
A little preparation can make traveling much easier.
Before your trip, consider looking up restaurant menus, grocery stores, or farmers’ markets near your destination. If you’re staying in a hotel, check whether your room includes a refrigerator or microwave, or whether a nearby supermarket has simple keto-friendly foods you can pick up.
Packing a few shelf-stable keto snacks can also help if your travel plans change or food options are limited.
Pack or Purchase Some Keto-Friendly Foods
Here are several nonperishable options to bring along or buy once you reach your destination:
- Beef jerky or meat sticks (without added sugar)
- Nuts or seeds
- Cheese crisps
- Pork rinds
- Individual packets of nut butter
- Canned fish
- Olives
- Dark chocolate (85% cacao or higher)
Having a few of these on hand can help you avoid convenience foods that are often high in refined carbohydrates.
Make Restaurant Meals Work for You
Most restaurants offer keto-friendly options, even if they aren’t labeled as such.
Choose meals centered on meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs, plus non-starchy vegetables. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side, substitute vegetables or a salad for fries or rice when possible, and ask how a dish is prepared. Many restaurants are happy to accommodate reasonable requests.
Check out more tips for dining out on keto, including the best options at Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Italian, and Thai restaurants.
Navigate Airports, Hotels, and Convenience Stores
Airport restaurants often offer omelets, bunless burgers, salads topped with grilled chicken or salmon, and other lower-carb meals. Convenience stores may carry hard-boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, beef jerky, deli meat, olives, and sparkling water.
Hotel breakfast buffets can also provide good options, including eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, and sometimes plain Greek yogurt and berries.
The key is to choose foods that are naturally low in carbohydrates rather than looking for products specifically labeled “keto.”
Stay Hydrated and Don’t Forget Electrolytes
Long flights, hot weather, and increased physical activity can make it especially important to stay well hydrated while traveling.
Drinking enough water and getting enough electrolytes – sodium, potassium, and magnesium – can help you feel your best, especially if you’re traveling in warm climates or spending long hours outdoors.
Prepare for International Travel
If you’re traveling internationally, learning a few useful phrases in the local language or using a translation app can make ordering low-carb meals easier. It can also help to research local foods before your trip so you know which dishes are naturally keto-friendly.
If you plan to bring food with you, check your destination’s customs regulations, since some countries restrict meat, dairy, produce, and other foods.
Give Yourself Some Flexibility
Travel doesn’t always go as planned. Flights are delayed, restaurants close early, and family gatherings may not offer many keto-friendly choices.
Rather than striving for perfection, focus on making the best choice available in each situation. If a meal ends up being higher in carbs than you planned, simply return to your usual eating pattern at your next meal.
One higher-carb meal won’t undo the benefits you’ve experienced from following a ketogenic lifestyle. What you do afterward matters much more.
However, if you follow a therapeutic ketogenic diet to manage a serious medical condition, you may need to plan more carefully to maintain your usual carbohydrate intake while traveling.
Take Home Message
Travel can present challenges, but it doesn’t have to derail your ketogenic lifestyle. Planning ahead, bringing a few keto-friendly foods, and knowing what to look for when eating away from home can make it easier to stay on track while still enjoying your trip.
