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I’m not going to lie. Eating healthy while traveling is as they say, much easier said than done. And this past week was no exception for me.

I attended a meeting in Las Vegas of all places. And while I didn’t partake in any of the festivities common to the city of sin, I did however try to defend my diet to the best of my abilities.

But when both breakfast and lunch are catered with limited options, the task at hand becomes even increasingly more difficult. For example, breakfast for the first day of the meeting consisted of an egg white scramble with peppers and mushrooms, roasted potatoes, muffins, and a granola parfait dessert.

If you ask me, this was a blood sugar crash waiting to happen. I don’t think there was an ounce of fat anywhere in this meal. And anytime I see egg whites, I’m pretty sure the eggs have been highly processed which typically involves toxic preservatives and other chemicals.

While I use to see a menu like this and have an instant panic attack when I suffered from Leaky Gut Syndrome, I’ve since learned to roll with the punches and make the best out of any situation.

Here’s some tips and what I did to help minimize the damage.

Trust Your Body

One of the most beneficial parts of eating the way I do is that I’ve learned to listen to the subtle queues of my body. And over a period of time, you begin to understand exactly what your body needs.

And I know that my body needs fat, especially for breakfast. So instead of letting my fat free breakfast ruin my blood sugar and mood all day long, I requested some “real” butter which I melted over my meal to give me exactly what I needed.

And I’m sure the butter contained more nutrients than the egg whites themselves!

But I also had the benefit of eating healthy all year round behind me. Because I eat the way that I do, at times like this, my body is much more capable of handling the bumps here and there. However, if I ate off my diet regularly, it definitely would have hit my body like a big pothole.

Ask for a Gluten Free Menu

While breakfast and lunch were catered, I did have control over what I ate for dinner. And you’d better believe that I took advantage of that.

Gluten-Free menus are becoming more and more common these days in restaurants due to the growing exposure of gluten intolerance. And this is great news for those of us who avoid gluten at all costs.

So you better believe that I played it safe while eating out and stuck to the gluten-free menu. And I even simplified my dinner further with opting for the roasted vegetables in place of the questionable side.

And even if a restaurant doesn’t have a gluten-free menu, don’t let that stop you. Ask your waiter or waitress for menu item options that can be made without gluten. If they don’t know they will find someone who does. Trust me, restaurant owners know about food allergies and are not interested in having their customers witness a severe allergic reaction in their restaurant so they are typically very accommodating.

Skip the Temptation of Dessert

One downside of all these catered meals was the big emphasis on dessert. And if you don’t have a strong will power then things can get ugly in a hurry.

Every single meal that was catered was accompanied by some sort of dessert. And even though I didn’t pay much attention to them, I can guarantee that every single one was loaded with gluten, dairy, and sugar.

But by controlling my blood sugar and making sure I ate plenty of meat, vegetables, and fat I never once let myself be tempted by these desserts.

During the second day of the meeting, they even wheeled out a surprise birthday cake for one of the leaders of the meeting. And as they personally hand placed cake in front of everyone in the room, it wasn’t difficult to find someone within a couple of feet of me who wanted seconds.

Do the Best You Can and Don’t Sweat It

What it all boils down to is that I did the best that I could, given the circumstances. And as I mentioned earlier, I could have easily melted down and had a panic attack. But I’ve learned that doing so can really make your reaction to foods that much worse.

Think about it. If you already believe that what you’re putting in your mouth is going to harm you then you better believe that your body is going to react accordingly.

So do yourself a favor and don’t add even more stress to an already stressful situation. And while many or even most of you suffering from Leaky Gut Syndrome should probably forgo travel until you get a handle on your symptoms, you now have a few useful tips at your disposal.

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