I leave for Savannah, GA this week and I worked out a plan to help keep my carb count on track while I’m away. I’ve eaten 20-25g of carbs a day the last two weeks. For my trip to FitBloggin, my goal is to keep my carb count under 50g/day.

I’ll have 4 days where I won’t do any cooking – two of those days spent in a car. That means I won’t have 100% control over the food I eat.

It’s a 9-hour drive to Savannah. To avoid fast food stops, I’m dusting off my small cooler and packing snack packs of cucumbers, red pepper slices, almonds and some bottled water. Pretty simple. For lunch, I’ll suck down one of my protein shakes. I’ll pack extra shake powder so I can easily make these shakes during the conference and for the ride back home.

I’m also packing a few Atkins bars. Typically I’d prefer veggies for my morning and afternoon snacks. However, I don’t have to worry about refrigerating the bars and they’re easy to carry in my purse. Perfect for a conference.

Breakfast is provided. My plan is to check it out early to see what’s offered. If it’s a continental (pastries and breads), I plan to quickly skedaddle to the hotel restaurant for eggs and a veggie side.

Tonight I’m going to Yelp! the local restaurants for healthy, low carb lunch and dinner options. FitBloggin’ provides one lunch. I’m playing that meal by ear, as I don’t know what’s on the menu. But since I’m low carb, I plan to skip all breads and stick to eating veggies and proteins. It’s the best I can do.

I do need to watch myself during the receptions. Usually receptions provide alcohol and hors d’oeuvres. Drinking always makes me hungrier. Networking over cocktails is traditional at conferences, but I think this time around I’ll skip the wine/food and go straight for the chitchat.

A pretty simple plan. Now I just have to stick to it.