Travelers often make poor breakfast decisions when they’re on the road. The problem becomes even worse when they have access to a free breakfast that includes a lot of sweet goodies.
You don’t have to give in to the temptation of unhealthy food items at your hotel. If you want to learn how to get better nutrition from a hotel breakfast, the following five tips will help you make healthier choices.
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Choose a Hotel With Healthy Breakfast Options
Image via Flickr by basykes
Some hotels offer healthier breakfast options than others. A low-cost lodging that advertises its continental breakfast might just put out a box of donuts and a pot of coffee. If you’re trying to stay healthy while you travel, you obviously don’t want to stay or at least eat, at that hotel.
Doing a little research before your trip can make it easier to choose a hotel that matches your dietary needs. Keep in mind that you don’t have to stay at a high-priced hotel to get a nutritious breakfast. Some budget hotels with healthy breakfasts include Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn, and Comfort Suites.
Eat Whole Foods Instead of Processed Foods
Eating whole foods is almost always healthier than eating processed foods. Whole foods include most breakfast items with easily identifiable ingredients. Fresh fruit and freshly prepared eggs, for instance, are considered whole foods. Cold cereal and donuts are considered processed foods because you don’t know what they contain.
In general, it’s a bad idea to eat any food with unidentifiable ingredients. When in doubt, choose the breakfast that came from nature rather than the one that came from a factory.
Use a Nutrition App to Decide What You’ll Have for Breakfast
Add at least one nutrition app to your smartphone to help you decide what you should have for breakfast. You have plenty of apps to choose from. Calorie Counter by MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular. More than 10 million people use it access a database that offers nutritional information about over 5 million foods. The next time you can’t decide between a waffle and a bagel, just look up the number of calories in each one. Seeing how many calories you get from a waffle with syrup will encourage you to choose the healthier option.
Other apps you may want to consider include Calorie Counter by FatSecret, Calorie Counter PRO MyNetDiary, and Fooducate Weight Loss Coach. All of these apps are free, but you may need to make in-app purchases to unlock certain features.
No matter which app you choose, you’ll need a smartphone that helps you understand the information. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge has a display of over five inches. That’s big enough for you to read nutritional information quickly while you’re reviewing the hotel’s breakfast foods.
Avoid Juices and Sugary Coffee Drinks
Most juices and sweet coffee drinks will pour a lot of calories into your system without giving you much nutrition. Just one cup of orange juice contains over 100 calories. A Frappuccino can have more than 500 calories in it.
It’s better to drink water, milk, or plain coffee with breakfast. When you choose them, you don’t introduce a bunch of empty calories to your diet. Instead of juice, eat fresh fruit. You’ll get the nutrition without the extra sugar.
Go to Breakfast With a Plan
You’ll find a lot of tempting foods at your hotel’s breakfast bar. It’s hard to choose oatmeal when there’s a box of your favorite donuts on the table.
Planning your breakfast ahead of time will help you avoid high calorie, low-nutrition foods. While you’re getting ready for your day, imagine yourself enjoying fresh fruit, eggs, and other whole foods that will give you energy while keeping you trim. Then, you won’t feel as tempted by sugary treats when you go to breakfast.
Remember that you have control over what you eat for breakfast. These tips can set you up for success, but you still have to follow through with your plan even when you’re staring at a plate of danishes. If you find unhealthy foods too tempting, then you may have to skip the hotel breakfast in favor of a nutritious meal elsewhere.