Are you to the point of packing extra clothing for business trips – one set larger than normal so you have something to wear home? In comparing the eating habits of 96 traveling salesmen with more active workers, and leisure travelers, Johns Hopkins University found that on average the traveling salesman gains 15 pounds in two years-three times more than any other group.

When faced with two fixed choices: grainy cereal, or whole grain muffin, skim milk, and a banana; or an omelet and sausage, American Airlines’ flyers chose the "less healthy" breakfast. Sixty percent of the first class travelers and 76 percent of coach passengers selected an omelet over oatmeal, according to American Airlines’ food and beverage director. Leisure travelers also favored the omelet.

Delta Airlines serves Blimpie sandwiches on some flights. Typically, an airline meal contains more than 1,000 calories, although the first class or special order gourmet meals can weigh in at about 3,500 calories. Hyatt Hotels rolled out a low-calorie menu, but only five percent of its guests ordered the diet meals. In a recent year, Los Angeles International Airport sold two million donuts and one million slices of pizza – and only 84,000 salads.

Pizza delivery is available at many large-scale hotel chains. And if food can’t be delivered, a business traveler can always raid those convenient little mini-bars or tiny refrigerators stuffed with calories galore. And then there are always vending machines in the cold hallways of hotels. Normally not perilous, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Bethesda, MD) does report that in 1998 two people met their death when the vending machine they were shaking fell on them.

How is this person to survive?

Keeping track of what and when you eat seems basic to any food management program, say Agnes Armstrong, RN and a certified weight control instructor. She has worked for several years’ in-group settings with regional residents assisting them in achieving weight goals.

"We make lists for almost every other aspect of our daily routines. Why not with food?" Armstrong observes. Actually, according to the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute, about 55 percent of supermarket shoppers write down their needs. "If we write down, or keep track of what food we buy, then why not advance to next step and monitor what we eat?" Armstrong asks.

If politics makes for strange bedfellows (and vice versa), then our eating habits make for strange outcomes also. "About 60 percent of us say we consume diet foods, but will not admit to dieting," Armstrong observes. She also points out that our consumption of potato chips has increased 70 percent since 1980, about the same time that then-President Reagan declared ketchup a vegetable.

"If there is any wisdom attached to dieting, it involves a moderate outlook, making a plan which is realistic, therefore achievable," Armstrong says. "There really are no safe ways to lose large amounts of unwanted weight without shocking our metabolism into an unhealthy overdrive," she warns.

Self-acceptance is as much a part of the weight loss plan as any food time. "Would you rather balloon up and slim down over and over? Would you want to weigh 192 pounds during even numbered years and 157 pounds for odd numbered years? Or, would you prefer to accept yourself at about 170 something for consecutive years?" Armstrong asks.

"It may not be ‘love at first bite’ with low-calorie foods, but there are satisfying ways to keep food interesting to your taste buds," Armstrong says.

Sampling a yard of weight loss magazines on the newsstand, you quickly pick up the other dimensions to weight control. "Once you get a routine established, actually get into the habit of changing what you eat and how much, then you can focus on the longer haul. By that I mean the reasons you find food, or the wrong kind of food, in your life such that you end up overweight," Armstrong points out.

In other words, once you begin eating right, you can wonder about why you ever ate poorly.

"Food is the great pretender. We solve arguments with food; we patch up relationships with chocolate sundaes. We reward or punish ourselves and sometimes others with food," Armstrong observes. She points to these to these psychological factors, and changing them if negative, to a more positive foundation for weight control. In the end, be patient.

"Above all else, be understanding of your needs and the needs of those around you trying to lose weight. There will be superb days filled with no pangs for a large pizza smothered in everything. There will be days filled with dismay, where we will curse perfectly harmless vegetables. "Have a sense of humor, too." Armstrong says. "Smile, we want to see that broccoli in between your teeth," Armstrong concludes.