[derinasderun]

Why do I see LoriAnn instead of T?

[N9NACzws]

Great resolve you guys!

[isopsmypovA]

Teuthis, I have been having a similar experience as the last few days I have been offsite in training. I had to eat out each day for lunch, so I made it into a treat and tried out different restraunts that were supposed to be low carb.

The thing is that most of my meals were larger than I normally have for lunch. That was fine and a strategy as the training site has tons of free goodies from pastries, tons of snack candies, and cake, cheesecake, cookies, etc. for afternoon snack. I knew that I would be less tempted as long as I was full. Also, my fiance is in Oslo this week so was eating along. This meant I could have my big meal at lunch (which actually is better for me anyway) and eat a snack for dinner which I have done each day so far.

Thinking ahead and planning my strategy got me through what could have been disastrous. The urge to just pop one of those small little candies that I haven't had in almost 2 years or more was high even with being not hungry. It would have been far worse had I not planned.

On a funny side not, sometimes fate or your guardian angel just steps in. Today at lunch at O'Charley's I ordered a burger with no bun. It came with french fries. Rather than hassle with trying to switch I decided to take it as it came and have a side salad. I thought that I could have one or two french fries (my "tasting" cheat) and that would be fine as I would be full from the salad and burger. Well, when I ordered the burger with no bun and added the salad, the waitress said, "Oh, you want it low carb?" and I said "yes." Just before leaving the table she said, "do you want the fries?" Initially I said "that's fine," but then she added "because you can substitue another side." Well, in the face of all that questioning I went with a substitution. So, someone was watching out for me since I didn't even get my french fry cheat! And today at afternoon break they had chocolate cake, but I held strong.

[leangarance]

great stories --- just the kind on thinking I hope to develop -- one where we aren't overanalyzing - just ordering what we need to eat.

Good job, both of you!

[Optosypoeds]

There are still difficulties in eating properly when traveling. It's not that you cannot get food, but obtaining a quality, satisfying meal is still problematic at times.

I was just on a quick business trip up to New Jersey. There is virtually no decent Atkins food in airports. You can scrounge some protein out of the junk food if you must, but I brought some nuts and cheese from home instead. I refuse to eat anything I've seen so far in the airports.

The first night upon arrival we found a nice place where I had some pork ribs and a salad. That was sufficient and pleasantly satisfying. I was in a nice hotel but the breakfast bar was 90% empty carbohydrates and sugar. I opted for bacon, sausage and eggs but the eggs tasted like fish [really] so I ended up with just a couple of sausages and pieces of bacon. It was almost enough but it was not fulfilling as a meal.

I worked all day and totally forgot about lunch. So it was 11 hours before I ate again. When I did find a place to eat, the food was really bad; and I only picked at a half chicken and a small salad; nothing else. I had some of my nuts and Baby Bel cheese back at the hotel. The next morning I managed a reasonable breakfast and that sustained me again until the evening when I was home. I really didn't get enough to eat on that trip but I also think I lost a pound or two. Who can complain about that?

The moral to this tale is that the habits I've worked so hard to build this past 17 months sustained me. I didn't eat too much when I ate after fasting all day. I didn't "cheat" on the wrong foods, or eat too much; which would have been quite easy to do. I was tempted in that "back of mind" place but I was able to resist and put those thoughts aside. I have shrunk my stomach's capacity down so much that even when I haven't eaten all day I don't really overeat. I simply cannot do so without extreme discomfort.

It was a test for me and I was happy to succeed at it by putting food far down on my list of important things then. I really recommend that each of us work on that concept to provide us with a bulwark of protection when we are away from our home environment. It works. Overeating has been a problem of mine for many years. I think I have at last, with the help of Atkins, gotten the upper hand on it. I believe we all can!

Good Luck!

[Siliespiriulk]

Teuthis - thanks for sharing! Great job!
Blueskyes - way to avoid the snacks - those can be so dangerous!

I was away for the weekend and found it wasn't as difficult as I thought to stay on track.

Friday, I knew I would be leaving from work and planned ahead packing some turkey and cheese to eat when I got hungry. That worked well because we never got around to eating that night.

The next day there was a torrential downpour so we couldn't really wander the island for food so I survived breakfast by eating the insides of three breakfast sandwiches.

At the restaurants I ate at I realized there actually are typically decent choices. I noticed on one it even said Atkins people could substitute veggies for any side. At one point I was extremely tempted to just say the heck with it, I'm on vacation and get the fried shrimp with french fries. Then I thought about it for a second and thought about how good I felt and how much energy I had and if I got that I would feel bloated and sleepy and it would probably irritate my stomach - not a good way to be on vacation. So I stuck to the plan and got the right foods anddidn't feel deprived at all!

Now if only I had been as good about putting sunblock on when the weather cleared up...ouch...

[derinasderun]

That's better. What the heck was that?

[JoZertekAdv]

I was just on a quick business trip up to New Jersey. There is virtually no decent Atkins food in airports. You can scrounge some protein out of the junk food if you must, but I brought some nuts and cheese from home instead. I refuse to eat anything I've seen so far in the airports.
Good Luck!

I have had a few flights this year so I know what your saying. I seem to wind up going thru Atlanta a lot. Depending upon which Concorse you are in you can have ok choices (Like A & B) or Carb Only choices (C & D are waste lands).

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Defau.../shop_page.cfm

I should pack nuts ect with me but I never do. My backpack is already heavy from what I have to have in it. So sometimes I am very hungry when I get to my destination.

Latter this month I have a Coast to Coast trip. It is hard to turn down the snaks on the plane when I am hungry. So I will have to carry my own snaks.

[HunterM]

T you should of asked the members in NJ we could of recommended a decent restaurant if you were in our area.

If you are ever in North Jersey pm me I'll be happy to give you some suggestions

[Numbiydq]

Oh folks! If I had ANY idea how to maintain weight while travelling, I wouldn't be ON this forum! 2004 we left the land Down Under for a trip to the USA and Canada for six weeks. I was a US size 4; when I returned, I was US size 8.

2008 we went again, 5 weeks USA and 3 weeks Canada - I was still in a US size 8. On return, I was US size 12. Since then I've gained, found low carb, and lost 44 pounds. Until I'm a size 4 again I'm staying home. That's 56 pounds away, but with help from this forum I'll be there in 2012. In the meantime I will pay CLOSE attention to this thread.

Since we travel for extended periods, next trip I'm going to use VRBO to book accommodation with kitchens, so that we can cook our own food. Hopefully that will help!

[sabbixsweraco]

I don't know what it is like in other countries, but in the US, I find that many restaurants are fairly aware of low-carb plans. I've rarely had issues with asking for a sub for fries (chips), baked/mashed potatoes, etc. And it seems like most restaurants and fast food (take-away) places have salads with protein. Sometimes there are issues with carrots (I've often had to pick out shredded carrot from a salad). At one fairly nice restaurant my wife and I went to, I asked for some garlic mashed potatoes to be left off my plate. Not only did they honor my request, but they added some very nice sauteed spinach instead. It is kind of like the chef knew exactly what was going on, even though I didn't say.