Low carb living out of a hotel

For two weeks, I would be tempted to replace the hotel with a serviced apartment and cook my own meals.

Sue81 said:

I’ve just accepted a change to my job which means for 2 weeks each month I’ll be working out of another office at the other end of the country and staying in a hotel.

I’m trying to get my head around how I need to adapt my diet to the fact that I won’t be able to cook for myself half the month.

Breakfast is fine as it’s included at the hotel and with a bit of tweaking I’m sure lunch will be okay but I’m struggling to get my head round what I’m going to do for my evening meals.

I’ve got a couple of ideas and I’m by no means a fussy eater but some of the simplest easiest options are carb heavy.

So has anyone got any suggestions for me?

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I had a similar situation some years back which lasted five very long months. I agree the idea of a service flat is a good one as I nearly went nuts over the lack of privacy and no access to a fridge.

Thankfully we were staying at a nice mid priced family run hotel and my employer was paying for all our meals. I found it quite easy to mix and match items from various different dishes on the menu to get the meal combinations I preferred - but I'm glad I wasn't paying for it.

Will your employer be paying for your evening meal?

Sue81 said:

I’ll get an allowance for the evening meal which I wouldn’t describe as generous.

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So are you on per diem? A fixed amount you can spend wherever you like? Or do you have to eat at the hotel?

Sue81 said:

I can claim up to a fixed amount and I can eat where I like.

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I spend a fair amount of time in hotels. A key issue for me is, does the restaurant have a lunch or dinner buffet, so you can pick and choose? If so, is it reasonably priced?

If not, and since you are on the per diem system, you could try to find another hotel or restaurant in the vicinity that does have such a buffet.

I am in America where buffets of this type are common. I also travel to Europe on business and find these buffets at the fancier hotels, but perhaps not at a typical moderately priced "business hotel."

Breakfast is a non-issue, even without a buffet (although they are particularly common at breakfast). Lunch and dinner are harder.

So far my biggest challenge came in Germany, where a lot of food is very high-carb. Once again, it was "buffets to the rescue" but the choice of low-carb food was limited even in the buffets, except at the expensive "international cuisine" hotels.

It's a shame you can't hire a campervan. When my husband had to do this for 6 month he took our van and lived in that during the week on a small campsite on a farm and cycled to the office. All he needed was in the van, though he actually used the work showers instead of the van's, and he got to cook for himself. I'd imagine renting a van would be cheaper for you company than paying for hotels.

When I’ve done this I go to a supermarket and picked things, mainly from the fridge. Prawns, cooked chicken, meats, cheese, salads, berries, coconut pieces, avocados, nuts there is always something you will want to eat. Anything low carb that doesn’t need cooking, if your working away then you will probably have some time on your hands. If you have the option pick a hotel with a gym it will keep you out the bar. Another option is to have a go to option from a fast food in an emergency I.e just chicken from KFC, ribs, sausages, chicken, fish, from a chippy, Nando’s chicken or find a pub doing a Carvery. The main thing is to plan in advance and not need to make any on the spot last minute decisions about what to eat. Take some emergency food, nuts, protein drinks, bars, pork scratchings and leave them in the boot of your car anything that doesn’t go off. You could also use it as an opportunity to try out intermittent fasting by skipping dinner.

Just order a steak and side salad for dinner, have a large breakfast, and maybe a tin of fish with salad for lunch.

Or try intermittent fasting with a 23hr fast each day based on a large low carb breakfast.

Have you considered discussing diertary needs with the hotel? They must occasionally have to cater for people with food intolerances, and IMO we as type 2s could well claim we're carbohydrate iintolerant..,

Robbity

M&S,
Salad pot, no carb + tin tuna and or boiled egg, they sell boiled eggs and cheese potion, Chicken pieces, sausage.
Bag of baby bell. Sliced low carb bread should keep for three days
I have stocked up today for quick lunches.
Invest in a small cool bag.