Travel advice please

[bigcj]

Hello All,

This is my first post having been diagnosed with type 2 four months ago. Physically my management is good, psychologically less so but that is not the reason for my post. I am about to fly to the US and spending 3 weeks driving route 66, prior to my diagnosis I was a frequent flyer both long and short haul so have a good understanding of the airlines and authority checks. Historically I would have carried a number of snack bars just in case I needed a top up. I have spent hours reading trying to find an alternative bar to what appear to be unsuitable for diabetics, Alpen light seem to be OK, but are they?. To date I have been very cautious sticking strictly to recommended diets and no alcohol, perhaps I am being over cautious but whilst this forum has been brilliant with advice I may now be confused with the amount of information I have taken in. Any suggestions would be warmly received. Thank you. (Meds; Metformin 2x 500mg per day, Ramipril 2.5 mg per day)

 

[RosieLKH]

Could you take bags of nuts?

 

[ewelina]

Nuts, dry sausages, cheese (those little pieces wrapped individually)

 

[bigcj]

My thoughts so far were a selection of unsalted nuts and babybel light cheese but not sure whether the US would let me take them in but at least they would support me through the flight.. The benefit of snack bars are they are sealed so they are acceptable for customs, but I may have to give them a miss. The return flight is over 10 hours so could be a bit of a challenge but fingers crossed I will get some sleep.

 

[AndBreathe]

My thoughts so far were a selection of unsalted nuts and babybel light cheese but not sure whether the US would let me take them in but at least they would support me through the flight.. The benefit of snack bars are they are sealed so they are acceptable for customs, but I may have to give them a miss. The return flight is over 10 hours so could be a bit of a challenge but fingers crossed I will get some sleep.

I've been diagnosed almost 18 months (where does the time go?), and done a few transat flights in that time. I am controlled by diet and exercise.

I have tried both diabetic and "standard" meals, just to look carefully at the content. The diabetic meals weren't too diabetic friendly, for someone watching carbs, but what does go in their favour is clearly portion size. Even if you eat the pasta, bread or muffin from the standard meal, they are a modest size, so wouldn't, probably, be catastrophic. One the return leg, the diabetic breakfast was better than the standard. I usually fly Premium.

One thing I would just say is if you order a special meal, you will be served in advance of other passengers, so if you have a travelling companion, you will either have your meal in front of you for a while before they are served.

The U.S., as I recall, doesn't allow individuals to take food through immigration. Few countries do; and those that do only allow certain categories. I usually carry a couple of small packs of salted peanuts with me, so that I know I'll always have something to eat, should something go a bit wrong, but I'd tend to avoid taking cheese, which could get a bit sweaty.....

Bearing in mind this is a few hours, I'd tend to try to be as relaxed as you can be about things, and not get too stressed, unless you feel a spoonful of potato or rice will send you hurtling off the wagon into a full yankeeee carbfest.

Enjoy your trip. It sounds like great fun.

 

[melissa589]

Really great travel. I could take bags of nuts when traveling.

 

[melissa589]

Do you also like sausages? me too. I also like cheese (those little pieces wrapped individually)

 

[bigcj]

Thanks for your help they have been very helpful. I am flying with Virgin and at the moment I have ordered a diabetic meal. If that is not satisfactory I may change it for the return journey which is a much longer night flight from LA. I suspect my biggest challenge will be sticking to the diet and keeping off the booze during the holiday. I am following the NHS diet at the moment so hopefully a little easier than the very strict low carb one.

Hopefully I will post my experiences when I get back.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hello All,

This is my first post having been diagnosed with type 2 four months ago. Physically my management is good, psychologically less so but that is not the reason for my post. I am about to fly to the US and spending 3 weeks driving route 66, prior to my diagnosis I was a frequent flyer both long and short haul so have a good understanding of the airlines and authority checks. Historically I would have carried a number of snack bars just in case I needed a top up. I have spent hours reading trying to find an alternative bar to what appear to be unsuitable for diabetics, Alpen light seem to be OK, but are they?. To date I have been very cautious sticking strictly to recommended diets and no alcohol, perhaps I am being over cautious but whilst this forum has been brilliant with advice I may now be confused with the amount of information I have taken in. Any suggestions would be warmly received. Thank you. (Meds; Metformin 2x 500mg per day, Ramipril 2.5 mg per day)

Hi, I hope you have a wonderful and an exciting trip. I am not type 2 but I and many others, type 2's as well, eat 9 bar. It's a seeded snack bar, many different types, peanut, pumpkin, orginal etc, just under 15 carbs for a 50 gram bar, so you even just eat half of the bar if you wished. They can be bought individually from supermarkets, about 70p each bar, or often on offer in Asda, 2 for £1.00. They can also be bought in a 4 pack, I get mine from Tesco and these are slightly smaller and therefore lower in carbs. Try and see what is good for you, regarding your BS. Good luck

Best wishes RRB

 

[AndBreathe]

On Virgin, and following the NHS guidelines, you will find the diabetic meal perfect, I reckon.

On holiday, with burgers, just have half the bun (I'd leave all the bun - American burger buns arent up to much anyway, in my view), and stick with the slaw rather than the skinny fries. I'd do loads of salad.

Alcohol - spirits and diet mixers.

Job done!

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[catinahat]

I agree with RRB, the 9bar is perfect for taking on your travels.
Here's a 9bar review http://nicsnutrition.com/9bar-product-review/
I get mine from tesco, http://m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=274049638

 

[bigcj]

I had an interesting walk around Holland and Barrett today, another first for me and found the 9bar in a range of flavours 99 pence each, I am taking advice and trying Asda ot Tesco to buy them hopefully a little cheaper. I did buy a couple of packets of Nairns Snackers, a 23g bag 75% multigrain oats,13.1g carbs, 0.3g sugars, 1.6g of saturated fat. They were recommended by a very helpful assistant and very tasty. So with nuts, 9bar and Nairns Snackers I should have an assortment of standby snacks. Thanks again for the prompt and very helpful advice, it is appreciated.

 

[Robinredbreast]

I had an interesting walk around Holland and Barrett today, another first for me and found the 9bar in a range of flavours 99 pence each, I am taking advice and trying Asda ot Tesco to buy them hopefully a little cheaper. I did buy a couple of packets of Nairns Snackers, a 23g bag 75% multigrain oats,13.1g carbs, 0.3g sugars, 1.6g of saturated fat. They were recommended by a very helpful assistant and very tasty. So with nuts, 9bar and Nairns Snackers I should have an assortment of standby snacks. Thanks again for the prompt and very helpful advice, it is appreciated.

Great that you have found some tasty snack foods, but please try Asda or Tesco,(a box of 4 is about £2.00 slighty smaller, 40 grams I think and about 11 carbs. All the best RRB

 

[Daffodils1]

Hi, snack bars from the natural low carb store might be worth a look, I've tried the coconut and nut one and taste ok, less than 2 carbs per bar. Have a fab trip.

 

[vit90]

Bit late to this - not sure about Virgin as I haven't flown with them since diagnosis but a recent trip to the Far East with Singapore Airlines revealed a 'No Carb' menu option. This was basically chicken or fish with vegetables and no potato or rice - a bit bland but otherwise fine. The crew did sometimes add a roll or crackers to the tray by mistake along with orange juice and the standard sugar for your coffee but you can request sweetener if you need it (or bring your own).

In the US there is no shortage of food! There are convenience stores and supermarkets everywhere so you have lots of options and the food labelling is very detailed; ham, snack sausages, nuts (some are sweeter than others - cashews for example), cheese and lots of fast food outlets do quite generous salads. I would be careful with cheeses like babybels as I have heard more fussy airport security staff insisting on scanning and other wise investigating these - certainly larger cheeses sealed in wax.

 

[bigcj]

Well folks sadly my trip along Route 66 has come to an end, what a fantastic experience. The advice on this forum was spot on, the 9bars did the trick and there was no problem with availability of suitable food. There were Subways everywhere so selection of chopped salad and the occasional sandwich made for a stress less eating experience. My biggest sin was perhaps a low carb cheese cake at the Cheesecake Factory at Venice Beach, it was lovely. I feel I was over cautious and this may have resulted in lower than normal energy levels, maybe because my carb intake was down but also because of the length of the journeys each day. The diabetic meals provided by Virgin Atlantic were adequate and served before the non specialist meals, to the envy of other travellers.
One surprising negative was whilst preparing for our return flight from terminal 2 at LAX, there was no food available for almost 4 hours and then only a few sandwiches with inappropriate fillings, there was no hot drinks either. This will be the situation for many months whilst major works continue, so please prepare for this if travelling from terminal 2, it may also be wise to take food to any airport just in case.
Thanks again for those who provided advice, it certainly contributed to my great holiday.

 

[Steam Engineer]

I was a bit worried myself when I was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic in early October 2014, just four days before I was due to fly to China for an eighteen day holiday. This involved a lot of travelling within China, including internal flights, train journeys, and cruising on the yangtse river.
It turned out that there was no real problem, just paid attention to what I ate, carried a bag of nuts and a bottle of water for sustinance.
Had to ditch the bottle at each airport and purchase another after security checks were taken care of, but no real problems appeared.
Had a great holiday, glad to hear that your holiday worked out ok.