Are you always on the run? Do you never seem to have quite enough time in the day? Sound familiar? Lack of time is a major reason why many people give up eating right, but you don't have to. In fact, healthy eating is more important than ever when you're trying to keep up with a hectic schedule.

A good diet helps your body withstand stress better. But as you're hustling through your day, you're probably not thinking about making your next meal a healthy one. The following tips can help you eat well when you're dinning in or out.

In Restaurants

Tempting menus, large portions, and festive atmospheres make it easy to skip healthy eating. Splurging once in awhile is okay, but you'll begin to pack on pounds if you make it a habit. Be smart when you eat out.

Choose restaurants wisely. Restaurants that offer a variety of foods are a good choice. Try going Asian or vegetarian. They will give you a lot of tasty options. Visit less often the all-you-can-eat, buffet-only, and dessert-cart places.

Watch out for diet traps:

• Pass on the bread and butter
• Drink water, tea or diet soda
• As an appetizer, order soup made with broth rather than cream
• Choose salsas for flavoring instead of the gravies and rich sauces
• Get salad dressing on the side
• Opt for steamed, poached, broiled, baked, grilled, roasted, stir-fried, or lightly sauteed foods
• If the restaurant servings are large, order one or two appetizers instead. If you want to get the entrée, split it or immediately doggy-bag half your meal for the next day. Eat the same portions out that you do at home
• Try herbal tea or decaffeinated coffee for dessert. If you absolutely can't resist the dessert tray, split your sweets with at least one other diner
• Consider ordering a la carte. It might cost more, but your portions are likely to be smaller and you have a better chance of getting just what you want, the way you want it

Feeling like eating out is no fun? Don't overwhelm yourself by taking on these tips all at once – every time you visit a restaurant pick one or two of the options and enjoy your meal. If you do it often enough, before you know it they will be habits rather than options you feel you have to take.

In Airports

Airports can be stressful places. But don't scrap your diet because of it. Eat because you're hungry, not because you're stressed, bored, or trying to kill time. If you're anxious or have time to spare, take a walk. Airports usually have plenty of room for a brisk jaunt. Bring your own food if you're leaving or arriving very early or late when eateries are likely to be closed or if you don't want to eat fast food. A whole-wheat bagel or crackers, a piece of fruit, granola bar, juice box, or cut-up cheese and vegetables can save you from feeling starved and from unwanted calories.

In Fast Food Places

If you find your only option is fast food, check out different menus – some fast food places have healthier choices than others. Don't be afraid to ask the manager for the restaurant's nutritional information sheet – most fast food places have them posted and pamphlets available upon request. Remember, an informed customer is a healthier customer.

• Watch portion sizes – no need to supersize
• Seek out deli-style fast food, they make it the way you want it – healthy
• Trade in the fries for healthier options – side salad, fruit cup or veggies
• Chicken isn't always the healthiest choice – get grilled vs. fried and breaded
• Hold the mayo
• Drink water or diet soda vs. regular soda
• Be careful with salads – the dressing, bacon bits and shells they come in could mean lots of extra calories
• Skip the milk shakes
• Order non-fat milk with your coffee and skip syrups and the whip cream

In Your Office or Car

If you only have 15 minutes for lunch between meetings, don't ransack the snack machine. Be ready for a quick meal or snack by stocking your office or car with a few staples:

• Water
• Keep soup or oatmeal handy if you have a microwave at the office
• Raisins, apricots, or other dried fruits
• Crackers or pretzels
• Nuts and trail mix
• Granola bars

Keep some take-out menus from nearby restaurants in your office for when you have to work late or have a little more time for lunch. Another option is packing a nutritious lunch in the morning and bringing it with you to work.

In Your Home

Mornings and evenings are especially busy times in many homes today. Making time to eat well can be a real challenge. Don't run out the door without breakfast. Whole grain cereal with milk, a banana, a low-fat muffin or shake, or a bagel with peanut butter will jump-start your day. You can even take your cereal with you as cereal bars or packets.

Slip-ups

Sometimes we slip up. We overeat or pick less healthy foods because they sound good, we're stressed, or we just feel like it. Healthy eating is a lifelong goal. If one meal isn't healthy, make sure the next one is. If you overdo it one day, eat less the following day. And don't forget to work in physical activity. At least 30 minutes, five or more times a week, can help you maintain your weight and health.

AARP Resources

Eating Right
Make healthy eating a way of life.

Food as Fuel – How to Nourish and Strengthen your Physically Active Body
Nutrition recommendations to optimize physical activity and health.

Eating Out the Healthy Way
Information on reading nutrition labels, eating out wisely and links to nutrition information and articles.

Additional Resources

My Pyramid
USDA website with nutrition and physical activity resources – keep track of your progress with the pyramid tracker.

American Dietetic Association
Nutrition information and resources for all ages.

Your Guide to Eating Out
With or without diabetes, these tips from the American Diabetes Association will help you eat healthier when dining out.

Fit Day
Free, user-friendly online journal to monitor diet and exercise – has nutrition database for recording calorie intake and activity counter for calorie output.

Books

Find these books online at Borders.

American Diabetes Association Guide to Healthy Restaurant Eating (3rd Edition)
American Diabetes Association, The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2005

American Heart Association No Fad Diet: A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss American Heart Association, Crown Publishing Group, 2005

The Calorieking Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter
Allen Borushek, Family Health Publications, 2006