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When traveling or eating out, how do you maintain a healthy diet?

Plan for the trip. Pack you tennis shoes or better yet wear them on the plane. When you have time at the airport, walk around. It is a great place to get in some steps and a people watch. I also pack lower calorie granola bars and string cheese so that I don't have to eat at the airport. I packed several packages of granola bars when I went to Greece this summer and they came in really handy. Especially when I spent all my money and had to eat them on the return trip. Save travels!

This is a great question because I am always eating on the go. In fact, if there was a snack bar that was as good for you as say, broccoli, that's all I would ever eat. I'm just not a foodie! My friend Linda mixes a protein powder with water (yuch!) and takes it to work with her; along with an apple and string cheese like Lisa mentions above. I hope lots of people answer this cause I want to know, too!

Our family vacations are usually based on being physically active. We eat well, play ALOT, and know that when we get home we go back to our normal routine. Lying on the beach soaking up the sun is not our idea of fun. We horseback ride over Christmas break for about 4-5 hours a day. We hike, mountain bike, dance, swim, and play games as a family.

Flying is the worst.....Resist, Resist the Cinnanmon Buns counter! - seems every airport has one..We try to hit a sit down restaurant, where you can have more control over what you order...(thou those are hard to find at the smaller airports where fast food rules) or we get a sub or sandwich and take off half the junk...

Planning for times when you know you have less control over food choices is real test of a healthy eating plan. Sugarless gum is a great companion along with a water bottle. Of course those darn Cinnanmon buns are hard to resist. Just think of them as a giant smelly candle and just walk right by them.

When my husband and I travel we often pack healthy snacks like apples and oranges and little packets of nuts. They're good on airplanes and on the trail!

I find it easy to pack healthy snacks when I first leave for my trip. But when I've been gone a few days, and have a hectic work schedule, it gets a little trickier. Anyone have any suggestions to keep on keeping on when I'm on the road?

I used to be on the road all the time. So I made a stop at the grocery store for fresh fruits and vegetables a must. Six apples, a couple pounds of grapes, a bunch of bananas, a couple of packages of small carrots, celery sticks, fresh dark green vegtables that were already cut up, and "salads with the fixings," a roll of paper toweling, a couple of tall kitchen garbagew bags, baby wipes, a cooler that could hold all of this, bottled water, hand sanitizer, and some small bottles of milk or oj. Sometimes a treat is trail mix in a sandwich bag. I call this my picnicing way of life because I spent 10 to 12 hours out of the house and if not on the road, away from my office.

I took a trip with a health-concious friend who is a seasoned business traveler. We were in a city, and on our way back from dinner (yes, it was healthy), we stopped at a market. Taking cues from her, I purchased some whole wheat crackers, cheese, yoghurt and fruit. We kept this in the hotel's fridge - cost-effective, healthy breakfast and snacks. I noticed that having a healthy snack readily available, we were never overly hungry — which, of course, helped us make good decisions when we did eat. (I also learned a few tricks from her about who to ask for restaurant recommendations ... we ate well!)

One of the best things to pack for your trip are walking shoes. I wear them as often as possible. Face it being on the road is an adventure and part of that is trying new things to eat. I try to have my treats early in the day and that gives me a fighting chance to work off the extra calories. Eating lighter at dinner is always good and is especially true when you are traveling. Several years ago I was in San Fran and we came across one of the best bakeries in the country, Tartines. The carmel banana bread pudding was one of the best things I have ever had. Something well worth the calories. Good thing was we found the palace of sugar in the morning and then we spent the rest of the day exploring the city. I might not of walked off all the calories but the end of the day I was able to compensate for the extra calories or at least most of them. Safe travels.

When I travel I always gear up by bringing along my vitamins & herbal teas, but one of my favorite things are my Greens + bars. They are easy to grab, satiating & full of energy. They also are alkaline forming, keep my blood sugar in balance & I love the taste of them! Instead of going to fast food places that sometimes are not so clean, I prefer to go to a grocery store like Publix. It's more like an Easter egg hunt to me, cuz there I can pick up Fage yogurt with honey(ymmmm), cut up fresh fruit, tuna lunch kits(Perricone diet) or grab a sub to split with someone.

i throw in a n apple and a banana and a bag of trail mix (unsalted no chocolate) in my purse but beware...you MUST eat the banana first or you have a mushy purse! AVOID FAST FOOD! even if you think it's healthy, it's not. But this is a BIG conversation because A LOT of American food is NOT healthy....packaged with preservatives....MSG.....hormones......pesticides.....antibiotics....farm raised fish.....chicken pumped up with water.....added, suger, corn syrup and fats.....did I mention there are 100's of types of MSG? When you get to the hotel, have some rules for yourself: eg no white bread I ask for whole wheat, or if I order the potatoes, i don't eat the bread, or if I skip potatoes and bread i can have a dessert. Not all desserts are bad. If you could read the labels on the ingredients you would see, 101 different types of MSG camouflaged as spices, natural flavoring, texturized, modified starches, fats and proteins.... The best rule is to eat whatever 'real food' you can and if its Organic even better: wild caught fish, organic chicken (no hormones or anti-biotics)Fruits and Vegies: so Salads and steamed veges, baked potatoes , beans, brown rice, grilled meats, and stay away form the rich creamy sauces and butters! Another good rule though is to share plates. I find that if I am with my husband, sometimes 2 or 3 appetizers are more than enough.

In addition to the pre-made bars and whole fruit as suggested above, I can live on peanut butter, even when I am not traveling. Natural peanut butter ( I prefer Adams) is a good source of protein and travels fairly well. So are hard-boiled eggs, if you have a way to keep them cool. When you are really in a pinch for getting in some fruits and veggies, there is always 100% juice. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

I've been on the road in different ways at different times during my career. At one point, I spent a lot of time in my car on day trips covering a sizable portion of the state. I've also spent lots of time on airplanes and in hotel rooms. However you travel, and for whatever reason, you are usually demand-rich and time-poor, with sometimes little room to find good meals. Don't go crazy counting calories or depriving yourself; traveling is stressful and your body needs fuel. Just make good choices and keep indulgences in moderation. Traveling by car can be a little easier on your meal planning. If you know you're going to be on the road for hours at a time, eating small meals at short intervals will keep hunger at bay and help you stay alert. I used to keep a small bag of apples in my car to eat in between appointments or as a ready snack on longer trips. Trail mix, bananas, strawberries, grapes, nuts, granola, cherry tomatoes, and pretzels all make good snacks and they don't have to be kept cold. When staying away from home in hotels or just eating out your eating choices may be more abundant but you have to choose wisely. Use your hotel room fridge to store locally purchased food for cheap, easy snacks or breakfast. No time for that? No problem. Just about every hotel has something on the menu that is healthy. Ask for lunch, appetizer, or half portions when ordering dinner. Talk to the wait staff; they can offer some terrific things if you just tell them what you want, even if it's not on the menu. For breakfast, they may sell you some fruit and cheese and they'll even pack it up for you to take to your room. Don't want to eat at the breakfast buffet or don't have time? Ask if they will sell you some fruit and yogurt to go. If all you have time for is fast food one day, don't kill yourself over it; it's just one meal. If you're making good lifestyle choices most of the time, you can survive one marginal meal without fretting. Remember to get some exercise when you travel. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Walk instead of taking the tram or using the moving walkway at the airport. Use the workout facilities at the hotel or just do some stretching in your room. Most importantly, drink lots and lots of water. You should be doing this anyway, but when traveling, you're going to get dehydrated faster than you do at home. Drinking water will help you mentally and physically and it does wonders to help keep healthy.

I haven't been "on the go" recently so I have put a few on.  I see it as a symptom of what is going on in my life.  So its time to get back to exercising and eating a proper diet.