International travel - tour


(David North) #1

I am two weeks into my lifestyle change and I am so happy with my progress so far!

My biggest concern at this point is an upcoming trip to the middle East in March. The trip is an itinerary based experience where most meals are provided.

I would love some advice on what others have done under similar circumstances. I plan to start stepping into intermittent fasting within the next few weeks - so that will be part of my routine.


(Karen) #2

It will be easy to skip breakfast. You’ll be out and about for other meals.

Atkins is not keto, but close 'buff

K


(Ellen) #3

Kofte, kebabs & shawarma, just without the flat breads should be good.


(David North) #4

Thank you! Middle eastern cuisine is generally new for me, but I am excited to try what I can within a low carb framework!


(Heather Miller) #5

We travelled in Morocco in the fall and stayed about 90 percent on plan. There was always lots of food available since restaurant portions are huge, so we were able to just eat the parts we wanted and leave the rest. Eat the meat and certain veg and leave the starch, choose salad and meat when available. A couple of times we chose to eat bread or dessert when we were at someone’s home and it would have been rude not to. Whenever we had free time or dinner on our own we either skipped dinner or went to a grocery store for meat cheese and other keto foods. Do the best you can but enjoy your holiday knowing you can always fast and eat perfectly again when you get home.


(David North) #6

Heather,

Thank you for sharing your experience and advice. I really appreciate your final thought- we all have “those days” where we are not perfect in our execution of our personal diet plan and goals - but the keto diet is forgiving - and fun to get back on.


(JGL) #7

Eggplant dips that do not look super creamy are the ones that don’t have chickpeas as an emulsifying agent and are keto friendly.

There should be plenty of grilled meat.

If you give me a little more details on which countries you’re in, I can give more specific recommendations as I am in Dubai and Doha a couple of times per year for work. My ex is also a cross fit trainer who is from and works in Casablanca and also has an onsite nutritionist-- I am happy to ask for their advice, as there is tremendous overlap in the styles of cuisine.


#8

You could always tell the tour you do not tolerate sugar well. They take requests.

As others have said, there is plenty of grilled meat and fish. I did moderate carb no bread for many years and my trip to Turkey was one of the few times I was able to stay on plan and not gain on vacation. I personally would not look to closely unless you really need to stay in ketosis for medical reasons. If the eggplant says it is mostly eggplant I would leave it at that and enjoy. If you feel hungover the next day then it probably had too much sugar


(Sandra ) #9

That is good to know @HeatherD ! I started this woe in January of this year and then booked our trip to Morocco. At the time I wasn’t concerned about the food as I thought I would have probably already fallen off the wagon. But, so far I’m down 41 pounds and I want to stick to keto as much as possible as we are gone about 2 weeks. It is good to know that the portions are large, I too will just pick out what I can eat. I’m happy to hear that the grocery stores are keto friendly as well. This makes me feel so much better, I haven’t cheated at all since I started in January and I don’t want to start now. The trip will be amazing even without eating all the food choices. As long as I can feel satisfied it’s all good!:grinning:


#10

I was in Morocco 2 years ago. We loved Marakesh, Fez and the Blue City. It was pre keto, before I ever thought keto would be a way of eating that I would follow. I did always follow a moderate carb diet and lost weight on vacation both in Morocco and in Turkey, I find with most arabic and mediterranian countries sticking to plan is pretty easy since most food is grilled meat and vegetables and depending on the country dairy. As long as you skip the rice and pita you should be fine. You may need to add fat to some of the food and there is no bacon.


(Sandra ) #11

This puts my worries at ease, thank you @Saphire so much for the info. I will miss my bacon but it is only a couple of weeks. We are on a tour, so I’m sure they will do their best to make sure that we all eat well and healthy, they won’t want any unwell tourists. I may take a box of keto approved protein bars just in case and I’m hoping to be able to have some kind of bullet proof coffee in the morning, that should keep me full until the afternoon. Food used to be such an important part of a vacation, now it’s just as long as I don’t feel hungry I’m good. I so love Keto :slight_smile:


(Sandra ) #12

We will be visiting Casablanca next month, so any food advise would be greatly appreciated @JGL, but only if it is not to much bother. We are on tour so we won’t be making the restaurant choices but at least we may get an idea of what they will be serving.


#13

Most tours ask if you have any allergies so you may want to think about letting them know. The problem in my experience is they get nervous and you end up with a bland piece of chicken or fish without any seasonings because they are afraid of triggering an allergy, They mean well

One thing, anything made with garbanzo beans/chickpeas/Humus is a middle east staple but is also moderatly high in carbs. I think you can enjoy a little but familiarize yourself with the carb content of Humus, Tahini which is sesame paste and lower in carbs and Baba Gnoush which is made from eggplant but depending on how it is made the carbs can vary. All of them are good as a seasoning on grilled protein