So I’m about to embark on a 3 week trip to Italy and everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am….I smile and the whole time thinking ‘3 weeks without my home cooked meals and healthy foods. Do they have avocado and chia seeds, hemp hearts and coconut milk? How am I going to manage 3 weeks without a gym or weights?’ I know, a little obsessed, right? But I worked so hard to get to this point and once I fall off, it’s so hard to get back on track again. I was tempted to pack all my essential foods and protein powders but then thought that I don’t want to be conditioned by all the things I’m used to from home. I want to really immerse myself in the country and its culinary culture. So I’m going to take the risk and see what happens. I’m going to do what I do best which is ‘wing it’.  I’ll try to eat as healthy as possible while indulging in all of the country’s food related delights…which is essentially where my roots are…which sparked my love of food and consequently my love of cooking. 

As I wait to board my plane, I’m already tempted by the kiosks and numerous snack foods that I see. Luckily I packed my nut bars and  protein bars to keep me full and fruits (mango and melon) to keep my sweet cravings intact. My mom prepared us a nice dinner before we left and I had a veal cutlet and some tomato salad with ingredients from the garden. If you don’t want to make poor choices when you’re out, make sure you eat ahead of time. 

Oh and did I mention plane food… we all know that piercing smell when the cart is ready to come by. But what is it about the covered containers that intices us to eat everything on our tray. For some people, (like myself) I eat even when I’m not hungry. It’s a social thing, kind of like a habit, sort of like when you go the the pantry  after you’ve already had dinner. Getting yourself in the habit of saying ‘no thank you’ takes some time getting used to. Next time you find yourself in that situation, ask yourself, ‘am I really hungry’? 

It’s also important to make sure you don’t skip meals. Eat, even if it’s just a small amount, so your body doesn’t think that it’s missing something which then sends it off into overeating mode the next time food is presented in front of it. 

Another good idea for healthy eating when you’re away from home is to cut alcohol consumption. Not only does alcohol have lots of calories, it clouds our ability to make conscious, healthy choices of what we put in our mouth. 

As far as exercising and the gym is concerned, I haven’t really figured that out yet… I’ll take it as it comes.  But in the meantime, any suggestions or advice is welcome…