Travelling away from home for training and competition is standard practice for most elite and recreational athletes.  Unfortunately, the disruptions and distractions of a new environment, changes in schedule and exposure to different foods can significantly affect usual eating habits.  Major nutritional challenges faced by athletes while travelling include:
• achieving carbohydrate and protein requirements
• meeting daily vitamin and mineral requirements
• balancing energy intake
• maintaining adequate hydration
• food safety

It is essential that strategies are put in place to minimise the impact of travel on an athlete's food intake. Whether an athlete is travelling overseas or on a long local bus trip, the key to successful eating while on the move is planning and preparation.

Top 10 challenges of travel

• Being on the move causes an interruption to the normal training routine and changes energy needs.
• Changing time zones creates jet lag and the need to adjust your eating schedule.
• A change in environment – sudden exposure to altitude or a different climate – alters nutritional needs and goals.
• The new environment is often associated with reduced access to food and food preparation opportunities compared to your own kitchen and routine. Leaving home also means leaving behind many important and favourite foods.
• The catering plan or expense account may not stretch to cover usual eating habits and nutritional needs, especially snacks and sports foods.
• A new food culture and different foods can be overwhelming to young athletes and those with fussy palates.
• Differences in hygiene standards with food and water in different countries exposes the athlete to the risk of gastrointestinal bugs.
• Reading food labels or asking for food may involve mastery of a new language.
• A substantial part of your new food intake may be coming from hotels, restaurants and takeaway outlets, rather than being tailored to the special needs of athletes.
• The excitement and distractions of being away makes it easy to lose the plot – with common challenges being “all you can eat” buffets and Athlete Dining Halls, being away from Mum’s supervision, and being confronted with a whole new array of food temptations.

1. Plan ahead

Good preparation solves many of the challenges of travel.  Well before you leave home, sit down and consider the issues likely to be faced on the upcoming trip.  Your own past experiences or stories from people who have travelled to this destination will be a good source of information about what to expect, where the challenges will come from, and how best to solve them.  Things to consider include travel itself, the general food supply at your destination, the specific catering plans that are in place for you, and special nutritional needs arising from your training and competition goals or from the new environment.  You will need to follow a good plan while you are away, but many elements of this plan will need to be organised ahead of time. 

2. Eat and drink well when on the move

The challenge starts even before you arrive at your destination!  Travel itself is stressful, changing both your nutritional needs (changes in activity levels, increased fluid losses in artificial environments) and your opportunities to eat.  Changes in time zones also need to be taken into account.  A travel eating plan that matches new nutritional goals to food availability will help you to arrive at your destination in the best shape possible.  See the Nutrition in Transit fact sheet for more details.

3. Take a travelling food supply

Once you know about the food supply and catering arrangements on your trip, consider whether foods that are important to your everyday eating are likely to be absent or in short supply at your destination.  It is not always necessary to disrupt your familiar and successful eating patterns, or risk missing out on important nutrients.  There are a number of foods and special sports products that can travel with you, or ahead of you, to establish a supplementary food supply.  Travel food supplies may be used to provide snacks or an addition to meals, or take care of the special needs of competition.  See the Nutrition Supplies fact sheet for more details.

4. Establish a new routine quickly, based on new nutritional goals and your new timetable.

Hit the ground running, by adjusting your body clock and eating habits to the needs of your destination as soon as possible - even while travelling to get there.  Move meal times as quickly as possible to the new time-frame.  You should factor in not only the general clock adjustment, but the time-table of training and meals that your new environment requires. It may be quite different to the way you do things at home.  Remember that you may have different nutritional needs at your destination, due to a change in climate or altitude, or a change in the energy expenditure of your training and competition program.  Adjust your meal and snack routine immediately, rather than waiting for problems to occur. See the Nutrition in Transit fact sheet for more details.

5. Be wary of food and water hygiene

Even in safe-sounding destinations, you are exposing yourself to a new set of “bugs” and new routines of personal and food hygiene.  The stress of travel and your new training and competition program may reduce your resistance to illness.  Adjust your food and drink choices to minimise your risk of succumbing to gastrointestinal upsets. See the Food Safety fact sheet for more details.

6. Learn about your new food culture

The fun side of travel is immersing yourself in a new culture.  Of course, your priority is to find local ways of achieving your nutritional goals, balancing enough of the “tried and true” with the adjustments that a new country will require.  You will need to identify new foods and eating styles that are compatible with your goals, and how to tap into the best of what will be on offer. See the Approaching Different Cultures fact sheet for more information.

7. Organise catering ahead of time

Whether it be airplanes, hotels or host families, it pays to have other people know about your catering needs in plenty of time to adjust.  Special menus and special food needs may take time to organise, and in cases where your requests can’t be met, advance warning will allow you time to consider a “Plan B”.  When travelling in a large group you will be pleased to find that meals are pre-arranged and waiting for you, rather than testing the limits of your patience.

8. Make good choices in restaurants and takeaway outlets

Whether you have organised ahead of time or are faced with making decisions on the spot, you will need to exercise good judgement when eating in restaurants and fast-food outlets.  Important skills to acquire are an understanding of the nutritional characteristics of menu items, and a pro-active approach to asking for what you need.  Make use of the information about local cuisine provided throughout our wesbite as we “travel” to the various corners of the world.  See the Eating Out fact sheet for more details.

9. Learn smart eating skills for Athlete Dining Halls and “all you can eat” venues

A new style of eating requires a new style of behaviour.  “All you can eat” and buffet style eating provides many challenges, even when it is within the confines of an Athlete Village.  Eat to your plan, rather than succumb to unneeded temptations.  See the Dining Hall fact sheet for more information.

10. Think about the lessons learned for next time and to share with others

Don’t consider the trip to be over until you’ve had time to “debrief”.  It is important to review what you learned on your travels – what worked, what didn’t work, what challenges still need a good solution.  Write it all down while it is fresh in your mind – your memories will fade over time.  This information will provide an invaluable starting point for preparing for future trips, and for sharing your knowledge with others.

This fact sheet is based on AIS / National team athletes and is therefore specific to these athletes. Written by AIS Sports Nutrition, last updated December 2009. © Australian Sports Commission.