How I survived 2 weeks on a road

Do you love traveling? Seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and cuisines?
I do! I wish I was able to spend more time traveling to places I read and heard so much about – France, Italy and Germany, Australia - list goes on and on. Travel requires time, money and some sacrifices. Sacrifices, you ask? Yes.
My husband and I just returned 2 weeks trip in Spain. It was a great experience, driving from one great city to another, exploring architecture, art and just soaking in sights. But moving from place to place, staying in hotel rooms for a night or two left no chance for cooking my own food. I don’t speak Spanish, so ordering food in the restaurants was a hit or miss. Spanish food is amazing in texture, flavor and ….calories!!! Spaniards start their day with croissants and coffee and end it with dinner after 9 pm. The food is not for the timid – portions are generous, cooked well and surrounded by sauces and most often potatoes. All of that was going against Clean Eating rules, of course, so I tried to minimize damage as much as I could. Most often I replaced lunch with a handful of raw nuts I brought with me on a trip and an delicious local apple, tried to negotiate with waiters and exchange fries for salad (I was not always successful, nor was I happy with the state of the salad when I got it). Being a tourist is a hard work, I say!
We were walking on average 6 hours a day and I was not going to let myself starve. I ate fish as often as I could and tried to leave sauce on the plate. I ordered croissant for breakfasts rather than super-greasy sausages with eggs and fries. I did have a taste of all the deserts my husband routinely ordered, but just a teaspoon or two.
I was happy about the trip but was worried about what the scale would say when I returned home. To my relief I did not gain any weight and jumped right back into the usual routine with added enthusiasm. So my little strategies paid off. I guess after 2 years of practicing good choices refined my intuition and helped me minimize the dangers of eating out on this trip. I am looking forward to my future travels and confident that I will do even better!
I want to live my life to the fullest, but eating everything I see is no longer a part of that list! I work too hard on my health and my fitness to make bad food choices!
Decide. Commit. Succeed!