Eating healthy on business travel?

Question

When I travel for business, the only things nearby my hotels are either fast food (Burger King, etc.) or Denny's. Besides the local grocery store, what restaurant chains or types of places would you recommend going to for healthy eating? Who has reasonably quick service, healthy options, and isn't too expensive?

Additional Details

Guys: random nutritional information which is really not relevant to the question is not a "Best Answer". Neither is general stuff like "eat a salad". A best answer would mention specific places. Subway is a fine example... except that their healthy food is offset by their poor choice of locations.

No one has a chain restaurant with many locations nationwide which they count on to be able to find a healthy meal?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Subway, salad bars, local restaurants. Get green tea at Starbucks. Bring some of your food with you (omega 3,6,9 nuts/seeds, whole grain crackers, dried fruit, dried vegetables).

The following healthy living recommendations will help you if you’re trying to lose weight, tone up your muscles, have aspirations of building lean muscle mass, are attempting to get a wash board stomach, or just want to feel better:

*1) Burn more calories then you're consuming everyday and measure your results using the following formula: Calories Consumed minus Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) minus Physical Activity minus the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). A website that explains this formula in more detail and will help you determine how many calories you need to reach or maintain a certain weight is at http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/…

Get a diet and fitness calculator that you can put on your computer or cell phone. This will allow you to easily calculate the above formula, set goals, log your daily calorie consumption, and register your physical activities.

Set realistic goals for your ideal body weight. Here are two websites that will calculate a suggested body weight:
Adults: http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.ht…
Teens/Children: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/exercise/w…

It is difficult and unhealthy to lose more than one or two pounds per week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound. If you eat 500 fewer calories per day for a week you will lose one pound. If you burn through exercise 500 more calories per day for a week you will lose one pound.

*2) Eat natural and organic foods found on earth versus something created by a corporation to make money. Eat meals in small portions throughout the day and take a good multi-vitamin supplement.

Avoid “High Glycemic Load Carbs” (sugar, pastries, desserts, refined starches such as breads, pasta, refined grains like white rice; high starch vegetables such as potatoes) and drink lots of water. Read this article for more information on high GL Carbs:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsou…

Do not try fad diets or diet pills. Here is an excellent food pyramid that anyone can follow: http://www.rayandterry.com/html/images/P…

*3) Exercise on most days by doing cardiovascular training and/or resistance training activities.

Read a book or find a certified trainer to make sure your doing all resistance training exercises correctly. A great book to buy that teaches you the resistance training basics is “Weight Training for Dummies”. A superb magazine to buy with resistance training routines that will not get you bored is "Muscle and Fitness". Signup for the free newsletter. An excellent free online resource is at http://www.exrx.net/

A good book to buy that teaches you the cardiovascular training basics is “Fitness for Dummies”.

*4) Get plenty of sleep. Sleep experts say most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for optimum performance, health, and safety.

*5) Educate yourself continually on health issues and make a life long commitment to good health. A great free publication is “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005”. A superb book to read is “You The Owner’s Manual”. An excellent periodic publication is the “Nutrition Action Health Letter”. A reputable test you can take to measure your biological age is at http://realage.com

Look at all areas where you can enhance your health. For example, make improvements in the quality of the air you breathe. Review outdoor air quality forecasts where you live and get an indoor air purifier. Send me an email or yahoo instant message to "gainbetterhealth" if you want an indoor air purifier recommendation and if you have any questions.

*Click on all the source links below to get the full benefit of the recommendations. The answers presented to your health questions are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Source(s):

My 25 years of health research and experience.

Source Links:
Calorie Calculators:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/
http://www.calorieking.com/foods/
Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): http://health.discovery.com/tools/calcul…
Physical Activity Calorie Calculators:
http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jump…
http://www.weightlossresource.com/tools/…
Calculate Calorie Requirements:
http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/…
Cell Phone Diet & Fitness Calculator: http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductD…
Desktop Diet & Fitness Calculator:
http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductD…
Free Online Diet & Fitness Calculators:
http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/
http://sparkpeople.com/
http://www.fitday.com/
Body Weight Calculators:
http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.ht…
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/exercise/w…
Natural and Organic Foods: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products…
http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/
Multi-Vitamin Supplement: http://www.carlsonlabs.com/product_detai…
Glycemic Index and GI Database Website: http://www.glycemicindex.com/
Harvard School of Public Health article on Carbohydrates:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsou…
MayoClinic Article on Water:
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/002…
Food Pyramids:
http://www.rayandterry.com/html/images/P…
http://www.mypyramid.gov/
Certified Trainers:
http://www.acsm.org//AM/Template.cfm?Sec…
http://www.nsca-lift.org/
http://www.acefitness.org/
http://www.nasm.org/
Weight Training for Dummies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471768…
Muscle and Fitness:
http://www.muscleandfitness.com/
Exercise Prescription on the Net:
http://www.exrx.net/
Fitness for Dummies:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764578…
Sleep Website: http://sleepfoundation.org/
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005:
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/foodgu…
You The Owner’s Manual:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060765…
Nutrition Action Health Letter:
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/
Realage Website: http://www.realage.com/
AirNow Website: http://airnow.gov/
Indoor Air Purifier Ratings: http://www.air-purifier-power.com/top-10…

Answer 2

when you book your flight tell the travel agant you want leaner meals on plane and once you get to the hotel ask room service the same thing

Answer 3

If you have to do fast food like Burger King or McDonalds, try getting the salads there with the low fat dressing and grilled chicken. Or get a grilled chicken sandwich. Subway also has a lot of subs that are low fat. Other casual chains that are located around the USA, like Applebees (try their weight watchers entrees) http://www.dietfacts.com/list.asp?brand=… Fridays (Atkins choices) http://www.dietfacts.com/list.asp?brand=… and Chilis (guiltless grill) http://www.dietfacts.com/list.asp?brand=… have some healthy options on their menus. Ruby Tuesdays also used to have some good healthy choices, but last time I was there, they had changed their menu and removed them.

It's hard to just say one place that is everywhere with healthy food. You really just have to see what's around and check the menu carefully. This site has lots of restaurant nutritional info: http://www.dietfacts.com/fastfood.asp Also, I found this news letter about fast food choices to be helpful: http://www.cspinet.org/nah/03_05/fastfoo…