Airline food is usually not all that remarkable. But that's fine, passengers are allowed to bring their own food. So there's really no reason to complain. You can eat the average airline food or bring your own.

And I'm usually impressed when I see folks bring their own. It shows preparedness and forethought. It shows that they're taking control of their nutritional choices.

But, once in a while, you encounter someone whose preparedness and forethought might just be misdirected. Like the woman I recently sat next to on a plane destined for Baltimore, Maryland.

After boarding a plane to Baltimore and getting comfortable between two other passengers (both a bit larger so, in those small seats I felt like a hot dog squeezed between two buns), we departed without any setbacks. About 45 minutes into the flight I pulled out a homemade protein bar (think Gourmet Nutrition) while the flight attendant was passing out bags of pretzels.

At the same time, the women to my left reached under the seat and grabbed a medium size brown paper bag. Initially I was impressed - always encouraged when I see others being proactive with their nutrition.

Yet my excitement was short-lived.

The women proceeded to unload a nice spread consisting of:

She opened the tortilla and placed the ham nicely onto the thick layer of mayonnaise. Then she stacked the potato chips on top of that. Next, she wrapped it up and crunched it down for good measure.

I think my fascination was obvious at this point. Like passing a car crash. I couldn't help but stare. In fact, it kinda reminded me of a you tube video I saw recently. Check it out:



After washing the wrap down with a diet soda, she sat back, looking satisfied and a bit sleepy.

Next, the dietitian in me started thinking dietitian things.

"I think the fiber content in her "wrap" was about negative 4 grams. In about 2 minutes the tortilla concoction will be making its way to her small intestine. And on the count of three, I want you to repeat after me. 1, 2, 3.....Constipation.

As a side note: Hopefully by now, unlike this woman, you know that fiber is important stuff. I’m thinking lower body fat, decreased cholesterol, improved gut health, and a lower incidence of colon cancer. Heck, if she would have just dumped a TBSP of flax seeds onto her wrap I might have cut her some slack.

Now, I know, I probably shouldn't be thinking about how she just inhaled a bunch of trans fats, white flower, artificial sweetener, and more unprocessed food into her pie hole.

But honestly, where was her:

She just consumed a load of food with no redeeming qualities. As Dr. Berardi might say, "she just consumed the nutritional equivalent of a cardboard box."

Folks - we've gotta stop the madness!

But in all seriousness - I know it's tough on the road. Many of the executives we work with as well as the athletes have real challenges. And sometimes they're tempted to pull the ol' white wrap with potato chip trick.

Yet when we teach them to keep it simple and to plan accordingly, they do much better. In fact, here are a few of the solutions we make sure they're aware of when traveling.

If you incorporate some of these strategies on your next trip, just think how much better your body will feel!

And for more information about nutrition visit Precision Nutrition