When traveling, you’ll often find yourself relying on restaurants and convenience stores for food. This can make it hard to get enough protein, but easy to overdue carbs and fat.
Hitting your macros in this scenario may require learning to estimate macros (for help on this click here).
In addition to careful estimation, here are two major tips to help you hit your macros away from home:
Pack non-perishable protein sources to hit protein targets
It’s easy to fall short of your protein targets on the road, but this can be avoided by packing non-perishable sources of protein that are low in fat and carbs to fill the gap. These include:
Protein powder
Packaged tuna or salmon
Ready to drink protein shakes and beverages (such a Premier protein or protein water)
Jerky
If you’re unable to pack food ahead of time, you’ll likely find some of these same items at many convenience stores. You can also turn to protein sources that aren’t necessarily non-perishable or low in carbs and fats, such as:
Low-fat string cheese
Protein bars and protein chips
Fat-free Greek yogurt
Peeled hardboiled eggs
Lunch meat
Use carb or fat dominant foods to fill gaps
Foods high in both carbs and fat are readily available to all travelers, but it can be helpful to use single macro foods to hit your targets if you should find yourself low in either fat or carbs.
For example, if you find yourself low in carbs but have already hit your fat and protein targets, you’ll need to fill the gap with a food that is nearly entirely made up of carbs. Alternatively, if you find yourself low in fat but have already hit your carb and protein targets, you’ll need to fill the gap with a food that is mainly made up of fat.
To hit your macros in these scenarios, pack or buy the following single macro foods:
Carb dominant foods and drinks
Fresh or dried fruit
Cereal
Crackers
Gatorade
Juice
Fat dominant foods
Nuts
Nut Butter