“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.”  George Carlin

“For almost half of my life I’ve been in Hotels around the world, how can I get good food from Hotel menu?”

The Weight Loss patient who asked me this question is an Indian Television celebrity anchor of a travel show and it’s his job to travel throughout the world…”How exciting career!!” I was wondering when I met him first few days back…I mean you are traveling to dream destinations for business and pleasure, tell me something better than that  BUT as you all know that even if we go for a short vacation, Diet and healthy goes for a toss and we don’t mind eating junk while on holidays anyways. But with this celebrity patient of ours, problem is that he is on holidays most of the time, so for him like other frequent travelers amongst you, asking this question “How can I get good food from Hotel menu?” suddenly makes sense, doesn’t it

I know that you know that there are tons of fats and calories in hotel and restaurant foods which can add up so quickly that by the time you realize what you did in holidays, its visible on your belly, hips, arms, thighs and everywhere else so even if you don’t upload you pictures on Facebook your friends know that you had been on vacations exotica…LOL.

So we thought of sharing some suggestions, we gave to this handsome man which might help you as well:

Thanks to globalization most of the hotels throughout the world are quite similar so you can safely apply these tips and they will pretty much work anywhere unless you are going to “arctic expedition or climbing mount Everest, where you need to eat 5000 to 6000 calories/ day just to keep going!’’

• If you are dinning with family, just order main course and you will be automatically eating half the amount of calories compared to full meal.
• Chose anything grilled or roasted fish or chicken and you won’t go wrong.
• Chose Mediterranean sauces instead of regular ones because they have tomatoes and olive oil. if you don’t have healthy sauces then ask your waiter to serve meal without sauce or sauce should be served separately.
• In a hotel you have the authority to ask for vegetables to come without butter or extra oil garnish and just by doing that  you have removed 300 calories from food.
• Order plain rice instead of  fried one…. But break this rule if you are in Hyderabad where you have to have “Hyderabadi biryani”…must have thing before you die…take it from me.
• Ask for baked potatoes instead of roasted chips and your belly won’t grow, I promise
• For hard core dieters amongst you, I recommend to look for hotels that have microwave or in-room refrigerator so that you can carry vegetables, NidSun’s Whole wheat bread and slimmer’s muffins, replacement meals, oats from home and reduce weight while on holidays…that ill be so good.
• Keep some fresh fruits, dried fruit, nuts with you, Why? you never know when you get bored of treats and want to eat healthy!  And sometimes keeping these types of snacks in your hotel room may make you resist ordering, Ice cream, chocolate shake or even hot fudge Sunday’s from room service and instead eat the healthier food that is at your fingertips.
• Rather than simply order eggs with toast breakfast , be demanding  and ask for NidSun’s whole-wheat or multi-grain toast with the butter and jam on the side… not inside and egg whites rather than whole-eggs
• Just like your pictures, Share a meal with your dining partner. Most restaurants serve huge portions, so there is usually enough food to share.

If you stick to these mantras, there is a high probability that you won’t regret it when you get home and you certainly won’t be freaked out from eating too much sugar and saturated fat, And you’ll be able to plan for next trip with even more enthusiasm without guilt…:)