On the go? Don't let your diet go!

Grabbing a piece of toast as you rush out the door; a convenient bite to eat at your desk or in the car for lunch; snacking to avoid an afternoon lull; rustling up a quick dinner at night or flopping onto the sofa with a takeout. Does any of this sound familiar? It's easy to let time and daily work and chore demands ruin your set mealtimes but if you're on the go it's important to not let your diet go!

If you're so busy that food becomes either an afterthought or a fattening feast gorged in haste, then something has to give. It's either your schedule or your waistline, and ultimately your health. It's not just those who are on a weight loss program who can find their diet falling by the wayside, but even those trying to follow a balanced nutritional plan. The solution is to follow some practical tips to make sure that you keep a good diet on the menu of the day.

1. Get up 15 minutes earlier: While you may groan at this first suggestion, having a little space in the morning to actually sit down and eat what should be the biggest meal of the day can really give you the fuel you need to kickstart your day. This can be a great way to clear your thoughts too. Get your digestion moving with some boiled but cooled down water with a slice of lemon before you eat.

2. Don't miss lunchtimes: Someone calls or you have to rush and do something and before you know it lunch has been and gone, except you've not eaten! While there are some people who can't imagine waiting longer than a few hours without something to eat there are many who starve themselves, only to desperately crave all the wrong foods later in the day.

3. Quit indulging when you eat out: It can be great to have a social lunch or use work as an excuse to have a fancy lunch, or dinner, but just because you are enjoying a treat, or perhaps a freebie, doesn't mean you have to opt for the eat-as-much-as-you-can buffet or desserts to die for. Of course you might want to stuff the diet on a special occasion, but you might have trained yourself by then that sugary or fatty foods are not really a treat at all.

4. Take a nutritious power lunch out with you: When you know you're not going to have time to stop somewhere to get a quality lunch - that is a healthy one - then make sure you've got a lunch box that you prepared the night before. This is a great way to tighten up your budget as well as your belt too. Salads, superfoods and homemade soups are the ultimate power lunches!

5. Have a healthy snack box at the ready: You might want to have a few snack boxes dotted around so that whether you're out driving, at home, or in the office, that you have snacks at hand. You don't want to keep changing these so pack them with nuts, seeds, and dried fruits which are going to last longer than a day.

There are many more practical ways you can keep eating while you're on the go and we'll share some more with you in Part 2!