We are working on some sample meal plans you can use on the road. They will literally tell you what to eat from the hotel free breakfast right through the rest of the day. Here are some numbers as a rule of thumb when trying to establish your daily meals. The key is to eat 5-6 times a day. Eating every 3 hours is a good baseline. This of course will include a couple of snacks/meals in the air.

The following numbers were based on a person weighing 225 lbs and being 6′ 4″ tall. However, they should be roughly the same for everyone. Think protein and veggies. Chicken and salad or green beans vs. chicken and fries or mashed potatoes. Visit the IN2Nutrtion.Com Web site for a free analysis to get your numbers.

Sample Diet to Build Muscle – Including a moderate cario and weight workout:

Sample Diet for Moderate Fat Loss – Including a moderate cario and weight workout:

Sample Diet for Maximum Fat Loss – Including a moderate cario and weight workout:

Where Am I Today? -

Start by keeping a food journal for one week without changing your eating habits, then go back and review what you ate and try to determine your calorie and fat intake (IN2Nutrition or a similar web site can help you with this). You may need to estimate some foods-or combinations of food. Restaurants sometimes post nutritional information on their web sites. If not, you can compare what you ate to something similar. Compare each meal to the level established below and find out where you can make adjustments for healthier eating. In some cases you may have to change that meal entirely, i.e. going from a burger with french fries to a grilled chicken sandwich (no mayo) with a side salad and low fat dressing. In other cases it may simply mean changing the meal slightly. If you grab a meal at a sandwich shop like Subway you are better off eating a 12″ sub with no chips than a 6″ sub meal. Look to reduce fat grams by eliminating fried food, mayonnaise and ranch or other creamy dressings. If you are drinking a lot of non-diet soda this should also be eliminated. Check the sugar content on juices you may be drinking. It may be equal to a can of soda! We all get sick and tired of just drinking water so pack some Crystal Lite or similar product to change the taste every once and a while. Make the changes gradually if need be. If it takes you a bit longer to burn off the fat that is ok. The choice is yours. This is a process and not a too good to be true infomercial.

One easy way to keep a journal is to use Microsoft Outlook. Just create an additional calendar and place the data in there. If you don’t know how to do this search the Outlook help file. It is easy to print this and you can even publish it on the Internet if you like.

5 Meals A Day -

Smoothies and healthy snacks are your friend. Many airports have smoothie kiosks in them. Look for the low fat, low sugar smoothies and always add whey protein to them. The key to any meal replacement is to get plenty of protein while not greatly increasing you caloric intake. You can use this as a meal replacement or “snack” up to twice and day. If you do this and can eat 3 other healthy meals then you have met the goal of eating 5 times per day. When you eat more often it totally ramps up your energy level and metabolism. After a couple of weeks you will get used to eating every few hours. Eating the smaller meals helps control your glucose levels and eliminates the starving feeling most pilots get from eating only 2-3 times a day. Carry plenty of healthy snacks with you like almonds or other no salt mixed nuts, look for nutrition bars that are higher in protein (15g or more) and low in sugar. If you go to the Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, or even WalMart you can see a wide variety of choices. Buy a few individual ones first to try to meet your taste needs. Most energy bars are better tasting, but also contain higher amounts of sugar. These should really only be consumed pre-workout. If you are really dedicated you can look for some meal replacement whey protein powder. Don’t be afraid to ask the salesperson for help. They have usually tried many of the brands and can offer you good advice. Also, ask them about their return policy and if they offer any samples, usually they are small packets (perfect for travel). This way if you spend $25 on a product and don’t like it you may be able to exchange it for another item. Everyone has different tastes and while vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry are the most common flavors for meal replacement shakes you can find some which are more of a fruit flavor like fruit punch or lemonade. None will taste exactly like what they are describing.

When you are in the air and getting hungry, break out a protein bar or some nuts and eat them an hour or so before you land. This way, you hopefully won’t be starving when you hit the terminal and will be able to eat more sensibly.

In Conclusion -

You have to get rid of the thought of eating less to lose weight. This only provides minimal short term success and you will most likely lose muscle and regain that weight loss as soon as you quit restricting your diet. Change your eating habits to eat smartly portion meals and this will help create a better you! Think we are crazy? If you have tried something different and it has worked for you over the long term please send us your suggestions.

Seek advice from others. This site is free and therefore doesn’t have the manpower of other resources like Men’s Health. See what they have to say and try to make adjustments where their suggestions are just not practical, the IN2Nutriton site will let you substitute every suggested meal with a dining out option. I’ve found this to be a great reference guide.

For more information we encourage you to read the free getting started guide from IN2Nutrtion.Com. This contains sound nutritional information. If you join a gym and can meet with a nutritionist or trainer to go through a sample daily diet, explain the challenges with preparing meals on the road and ask what are your “next best choices” for what they suggest.