Coping with a long haul flight

('Jackie P') #1

Hi Guys, Im after a bit of advice. Im going to Australia for the first time at the end of the month. Im flying with Emirates with a couple of friends who go every year. They are also keto but have told me it will be difficult to stick to the plan on the flight! With transfers and arriving late I will be nearly 48 hours not in control! Im planning to just eat what I can. The last thing I want is an upset stomach and/or a weight gain when I have worked hard to lose 3 stone!
Just wondering what you guys do. Im not sure if I can take food on the flight.

(Robert C) #2

This is an obviously great opportunity to fast. No pressure to find or take the “right” foods. Just make sure you get your electrolytes. (Impress your friends too!)

Use the break from the fast on the other end (after you have access to keto foods) to aid in resetting your circadian rhythm (i.e. don’t eat the moment you land, start eating the next day in that time zone’s time for your normal first meal of the day).

('Jackie P') #3

Thank you. I know it is the obvious answer but I haven’t fasted for longer than 24 hours before! But maybe the ideal opportunity!

(Robert C) #4

Well, there is an obvious answer for that predicament also! There is plenty of time for one or more 48-hour fasts between now and the end of the month.

It is definitely what I would do if I was going to a foreign country for the first time. I know I would want to try some of the local food and not all of the special local dishes would be keto. So, why not try to drop a few pounds ahead of time as well as ensuring I could do the trip (each way) fasting?

Trying potentially-once-in-a-lifetime local foods makes sense to not stay perfectly keto but wasting non-keto calories on junk food and snacks on the flight or in airports does not make sense (to me).

(Gabe “No Dogma, Only Science Please!” ) #5
  1. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, which means you can do some intermittent fasting. Phinney recommends against the trendy extended fasts, but even with dissenters like him, everyone agrees that keeping your feeding window shorter is probably a good thing.
  2. Having said that, I frequently take NYC-SYD (I live in NYC but I’m from SYD) which is ~22 hours plus to/from airport, meaning I’m effectively 26-30 hours away from a kitchen. Personally, I take lots of macadamia nuts (the AustralianColes branded ones are for some reason amazing), 80%+ dark chocolate, and Quest protein bars.
  3. I eat plane food. Qantas has pretty good food, and I tell them I eat low carb so they’ll often bring me a second meal because I won’t eat rice/potatoes etc. I definitely don’t eat the desserts, but if I get a bit of sugar or carb in the sauce I deal with it. Occasionally I’ve been disappointed that the meat came breaded, in which case I scraped off the breading.
  4. Drink lots of water and club soda and treat yourself with coke zero or whatever.

Anyway, that’s my methodology. In this way, since I went low carb, I’ve managed to never give in to the temptation posed by the kit kats and Tim Tams on board Qantas flights. That’s 2.5 years and about 4 return NYC-SYD trips.

(Ellen) #6

I think Emirates are pretty good, if you don’t feel you could fast maybe try letting them know you’re low carb and maybe get extra meat? Whatever happens with the flight I hope you have an awesome time in Oz! P.s. I second the advice to wait until Oz time to eat rather than having something the moment you land.

#7

I’m taking an international flight this summer, and planning on carrying on a big bag of macadamia nuts, a summer sausage, and some lily’s chocolate. I’ll fast if I feel like it and otherwise stick to the food I bought.

I ought to be at my goal weight by then (roughly 25 pounds to go!) and I do plan on indulging in a small amount of carbs while on my travels, so I definitely don’t need to consume them on the plane.

(Carl Keller) #8

I will just add that low carb beef sticks and a baggie full or almonds or macadamians (already suggested) would not take up much room in a travel bag. If the plane food is carby and or terrible, you can try your first nut fast.

#9

Is low carb not one of the special meal options on Emirates?

I have been gluten-free for a few years. Last fall, before starting keto, I traveled from the US to Manila. Prior to the flights, I requested the gluten-free special meal. Most airlines have a list of special meals like vegetarian, Kosher, Halal, low fat, gluten-free, etc. I have ordered these for years. Usually because I just wanted something different. Plus you get served before everyone else. They distribute all special meals first before bringing the meal carts down the aisles. I actually do not know if low carb is an option though. It would be good to check. If not, you can usually eat the low carb bits unless they bring calzones or something.

Do make sure to get up during the flight and go to the self-serve snack station to replenish yourself with water and get the circulation going. Bring your own water as well. I typically save my water for when I want water but the service water is not available. And bring your own keto snacks-- nuts, cheese, low sugar jerky, etc. And as someone else mentioned, you could always fast the entire flight. You will be sleeping for a good bit of it anyway if you have no problems sleeping on flight (I bring extracts of holy basil and passion flower, and sniff a little lavender essential oil).

(Janelle) #10

This is exactly what we did in November for Greece. I bought a bulk bag of Duke’s sausages on Amazon and made up pre-measured bags of almonds. For the way, some string cheese. We ate what we could of the airline meal but left most of it. The food on the way back was actually really lovely - just a well seasoned chicken breast with non carby veggies and a good salad.

Fasting on a long flight sounds like torture to me honestly and I’ve flown to Aus several times in the past, China, India this past August and Greece last fall. Even some keto type snacks break up the prison cell-like monotony of the flight. Those and movies. Lots of movies.

Have fun!

(Carl Keller) #11
(Janelle) #12

I wondered if a diabetic meal might be better but likely not.

#13

Maybe people should start requesting keto meals then. Emirates seems to accommodate varied types of diets.

It may still be worth it to contact the airline to see if they can accommodate a keto meal. It looks like Emirates, at least, also accommodates various special occasions.

I bet the keto community could get the airlines to put keto on their special offerings.

#14

Probably not, if it’s anything like hospital and nursing home diabetic meals, which include white bread and chocolate chip cookies (and an insulin injection).

('Jackie P') #15

Wow thank you guys for all your help. If I know I can take take food on the flight I will be fine with that. Pick my way round the flight food- which is supposed to be good. And im guessing where there is bread there is butter!
I particularly like the idea of requesting a low carb meal!
Im very excited and dont want to spoil anything stressing about food!

#16

Sadly, it looks like the one special meal they don’t have listed. (wtf?) I would be interested to know if you could call and tell them you need a low carb meal, if their meal provider could provide it. It seems feasible. Let us know if you inquire about it.

('Jackie P') #17

Yes I will let you know what they say.

(Laurie) #18

I’ve never flown Emirates, but I’d take some cheese or other simple food to be on the safe side. You should be able to take cheese from home. If not, you can probably buy some in the airport after you clear security.

Also, remember you can only take small amounts of water through security, so you might want to buy a few bottles of water once you get past security.

Have a wonderful trip!

('Jackie P') #19

Thank you all for your good wishes!

#20

From experience, I’d just say [spoiler]fuck it[/spoiler] and fast – at least a pair of 24s.

Give your gut and pancreas and liver a good hours- long break before take offs and reaching sustained altitude.

And this is one time I would recommend NOT eating fried or scrambled eggs floating in bacon grease.

Also, if you don’t have any already, go to Amazon and purchase a pair or two of knee-high, Copper Fit compression socks. A bit of a chore getting them on but can save you some pain and leg damage from sustained altitude effects. Plus they’re darn comfortable.