Do you travel a lot for business? Does it get to the point where airport lounges become the norm? If the answer is yes allow me to go on. How do you handle the disruption a flight can cause to your diet and more importantly to your weight loss goal?

Below I list 5 tips for Staying Healthy While You Fly

AVOID INFLIGHT SNACKS

We’ve all been in a situation where you haven’t eaten for hours and you are stuck on a long haul flight. Most of us can only resist for a limited period of time before we tuck into the nuts, biscuits and whatever ever else the cabin crew provide us with. I’ll often revert back to my moto “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”. In this scenario, you have to prepare and either bring the right choices from home or make the sensible choices at the airport before you fly. T5 Heathrow for an example has food eateries like Pret and EAT where you can go for a high protein option for a flight (Sashimi, boiled eggs, great feta salads etc.). Don’t turn up to a flight and expect the airline to have the right options for your eating plan.

STAY HYDRATED

We all like to have a drink to unwind, however, having a drink 30000 feet up in the air doesn’t have the same impact as on the ground. Research has shown that 1 drink up in the air is the equivalent to 3 on the ground. The point is…you will feel very dehydrated, very quickly. Buy at 2L bottle of water before you fly and sip on this during the flight. This will help you to feel energised when you arrive at your destination rather than feeling fatigued.

EAT ON A SCHEDULE

Always try and keep your meals to the time zone you are in. Try and keep your meals to your regular times rather than eating when they offer you a meal. A classic example is the night flight back from New York. Is it necessary to eat supper at 11pm? On a night flight like this have your supper at the airport and then when you take your seat on the flight try and sleep the journey home.

AVOID CAFFEINE

For all you coffee lovers out there this comes back to the same reason as not drinking on a flight. Caffeine is a diuretic and will dehydrate you during the flight. If you do need your coffee fix before a flight make sure it’s a good couple of hours before take-off. Why not get yourself into a relaxed state and order a herbal tea if you are desperate for a hot drink?

AVOID BIG MEALS

You are much better to have smaller snacks more frequently on a flight then sitting down to a 3-course meal. If it is a long haul flight try and eat every couple of hours with food that is full of fibre so it keeps you fuller for longer. Fruit and cut up veg is a great option for this. If you do need to have a lunch or dinner on a flight then stick to proteins like a salmon fillets or chicken. Salmon is also an excellent option for those that feel a little anxious while flying as salmon is full of the stress busting omega 3s which reduce anxiety.

And there you have it. My 5 best tips for you to stay on track and focused on your health and fitness programming while not letting flying get in the way.

For those of you in the air this week – safe flight!