E veryone loves to travel, but not everyone loves the weight they may gain on their trip. With some immaculate preparation, you can extract the inevitable increase in weight that is expected.

Many of our favorite childhood memories can be traced back to family vacations. Going off to new and exciting places. Buying T-shirts to prove you were there. Eating at restaurants for every meal, which was always more exciting than staying at home to eat. Even after growing up, the desire to see new and exciting places still remains; however, some things have changed.

For instance, think back to the last vacation, road trip, etc. that you may have taken. Did you feel any sort of letdown the first day that you returned? Part of it is the reality of having to go back to your normal routine. It is also possible that you were experiencing a physical letdown as well. These types of feelings usually stem from unhealthy eating habits you developed while on your trip.

Whenever someone feels a twinge of hunger while they’re on the road, it’s easy to stop at the nearest fast food restaurant and chow down. After all, it’s inexpensive and it gets them back on the road quicker. But along with this, they consume almost three times the amount of calories at these establishments than they would eating at home. Extra calories means extra weight, and since exercise is out of the question on most trips, this could mean major weight management issues when you get back home.

But this doesn’t have to be the case! There are several things you can do to maintain healthy eating habits when you’re traveling, and even save time and money. To get from Point A to Point B, you need a road map. So in order to eat healthy, you need a food map.

First and foremost, when you’re making travel plans, such as finding out what hotel you’re staying at, the extent of you’re stay, etc., make room for discussing your eating plans. Certainly you’ll want to eat out while you’re on your trip, but is it necessary to do so for every meal of the day? For every snack? Doing so not only expands your spending, but your waist size as well.

When you find out where you’re going to stay, ask if there is a refrigerator in the room. Most hotels these days have at least a mini-fridge. Also, look for nearby grocery stores where you can buy items that will last you for the duration of your trip.

I realize that not every hotel has a fridge. Sometimes you’ll be in a situation where you have to stay at one. For situations like these, I’ve invested in a cooler. The only extra spending you’ll have to do is buy some ice to keep your food at cool temperature. In fact, coolers are great even if the hotel does have a fridge. That way you have a portable container you can carry with you. Coolers come in handy if you wish to go to locations on your trip that require you drive a good distance and return to the hotel the same day.

Another thing to do is educate yourself about the food in the area in which you’re traveling. For instance, if you’re going to the beach, find out how what types of healthy seafood there are. Research how a restaurant likes to cook their food. Read reviews online from people who have eaten there before. Some of this information you won’t be able to determine until you’re at the restaurant, but the more preparation you have beforehand, the more equipped you’ll be in the fight against weight gain.

Some other common sense practices are to eat a meal before you embark on your trip instead of stopping somewhere and get suggestions from health-conscious people you know who have been to the same place you’re going. Finally, just like packing list or directions, write down your eating plan, thus forming your food map. Doing so not only helps you make healthy eating choices, but it helps you cut down on costs, which means you could have enough money to go on another trip in the near future!