Losing Weight On The Road

cromulus

I travel a lot for work and this is usually my biggest challenge regarding weight loss. Does anyone have any useful tips to impart?

Also, generally speaking, do you know of any hotel chains that have reasonably well equipped gyms?

Thank you!

LoraF83

Look for chain restaurants with published calorie counts. Research ahead of time and make a list of reasonable options at a variety of places. When you can't eat at a place that provides calories, make decent choices - grilled chicken or steak, steamed veggies, baked potato, etc.
Take a cooler with you when you can. Pack snacks and water so you're not tempted to load up on gas station fare.

I have yet to find a hotel chain with a decent gym. I would suggest getting a plan for a good bodyweight program that you can do with limited equipment.

Lauren5280

Request a small fridge in your room to keep some food items. Use your coffee maker to make oatmeal in the morning and have some fruit with it. Those keep without refrigeration. For lunch hit the grocery stores and buy a salad with grilled chicken. For dinner stick with something easy from a restaurant like a garden burger and avoid their sauces.

jemhh

If you are driving places, take food with you. If not, research ahead of time and come up with a few fallback restaurant meals. I generally look for protein and decent vegetables on a dinner menu--grilled chicken, pork chop, steak, or salmon plus a good salad and/or side vegetables that don't have a lot of sauces on them. Baked potatoes with butter on the side so you can control how much goes on are good too. I just try to stay away from casseroles or cheesy saucy things in part because they don't appeal to me but also because it's really hard to estimate calories. I eat out 3+ times a week though so losing weight while eating out is definitely possible.

The best hotel gym I've been to was the Alexandria Mark Hilton in VA. They had a really nice extensive dumbbell rack. A few machines and several treadmills too but the dumbbells are what I remember being surprised by. I'm not sure if all Hiltons have good gyms though.

Also, I just looked at your profile and the Abraham Lincoln thing completely took me off guard and made me laugh.

cromulus

Thank you all! So much good advice! I'm usually obsessive about where I stay. I try to scout out hotel gym pics before I commit to staying there, I Google Earth them so I can see if I can go for a safe jog at night, I almost never eat their fare unless it's fruits and vegetables (the Hilton Chains are usually very good about this), I request a refrigerator and microwave and yet the weight loss is just that much more difficult on the road... sigh...

I'm also wondering if airline travel slows the metabolism down in any way. I can't imagine being in a pressurized cabin and sitting down for long periods of time is doing my body any good...

jemhh - Abraham Lincoln is actually a hero of mine. Not so much because of his physique, though one must give props to Honest Abe for staying svelte. That man definitely did not stress eat!

SueInAz

Eating out is a lot like eating at home in regards to the choices you make. Stick to lean meat, steamed veggies and other choices that you know are lower calorie. I second the recommendation to choose chain restaurants with posted calorie counts. Salads might seem like a good choice but some restaurants have salads over 1000 calories once you factor in the cheese, nuts, wontons and dressing.

Ask for a box as soon as your meal arrives and, depending on the calorie count of the meal and how much you're planning to eat, put the extra in the box. This way you won't overeat by accident. If you have a fridge in the room, and will have a chance to eat the leftovers, take it back with you. If not, just leave it on the table when you leave or take it with you and immediately throw it away.

Always ask for salad dressing on the side and choose salads that all lean meats and veggies.

Red Lobster has some great wood fired grill options. Get double veggies instead of rice or a potato and skip the biscuits.

Outback and other steak restaurants are great if you choose a lean, small steak. Get only veggies for the sides.

Applebees has been advertising meals under 600 calories.

jemhh

cromulus wrote: »

jemhh - Abraham Lincoln is actually a hero of mine. Not so much because of his physique, though one must give props to Honest Abe for staying svelte. That man definitely did not stress eat!

I ran a 5k last year and, at the end, there was an Abraham Lincoln impersonator hanging around the water and food table. Honest Abe keeps sneaking up on me.

cromulus

Thanks guys!

WickedPineapple

I agree with the above suggestion of asking for a fridge/microwave. I've lost weight on the road, and in my experience the thing that made it possible was going grocery shopping the first evening. Even if you don't have a fridge, there are plenty of things that don't require refrigeration (but it definitely helps). I tend to get a rotisserie chicken and eat it throughout the week for dinner along with apples, carrots, nuts, cheese cubes, etc. Sometimes I make sandwiches for lunch and bring them.

Eating out, even knowing the nutritional content, is just generally difficult. Portion sizes tend to vary by who's making your plate except for steak. So avoiding it in general helps. Although if I'm out Monday to Friday (or only one night), I'll eat out once. My suggestions for eating out include everything people have said above and also asking for dressings/mayo on the side, get veggies without butter, avoid 'piled' high calorie foods (mashed potatoes, fries, etc.), and if you get pasta, go for marinara sauce, not alfredo.

jbee27

cromulus wrote: »

Thank you all! So much good advice! I'm usually obsessive about where I stay. I try to scout out hotel gym pics before I commit to staying there, I Google Earth them so I can see if I can go for a safe jog at night, I almost never eat their fare unless it's fruits and vegetables (the Hilton Chains are usually very good about this), I request a refrigerator and microwave and yet the weight loss is just that much more difficult on the road... sigh...

I'm also wondering if airline travel slows the metabolism down in any way. I can't imagine being in a pressurized cabin and sitting down for long periods of time is doing my body any good...

jemhh - Abraham Lincoln is actually a hero of mine. Not so much because of his physique, though one must give props to Honest Abe for staying svelte. That man definitely did not stress eat!

Not sure about the metabolic effects of airplane travel, but I know that sitting (anywhere) is not great for you. When I travel, I do a lot of airport walking when I'm waiting for my flight, easy way to get some movement in and keeps me from feeling so pent up and travel weary!

cromulus

WickedPineapple, I see you also do yoga. Do you do that on the road? Do you find that it helps with weight loss? I resolved this year to start carrying p90x workout videos on my laptop (the cardio ones) in case I can't get out of the room or if the gym at the hotel is closed or crappy...

jbee27 - good advice. Perhaps I will extend my wait time between planes and get some walking in at the airport, especially if I check in the luggage.

Maybe I'll start like a travelers group here on myfitnesspal to share all these great tips!

WickedPineapple

Honestly? No. I tend to assume the rooms are disgusting and don't want to touch the floors, either directly or indirectly. I usually swim, walk around outside, or use whatever gym equipment they have if my day has been slow. (Usually when I'm out of town, I'm outside, my activity level is high, and my day is long so my experience may vary quite a bit from others who travel for work.) I'd be careful about using any videos in your room that have jumping if the floors are 'thin'. Although some hotels are definitely better than others in managing sound between rooms.

Does yoga help with weight loss? Specifically by itself? No idea. I've always done it in conjunction with other exercises and watching my diet. I've had the experience that weight loss is overwhelmingly dictated by calorie intake as well as being aware of your activity level w/o exercise.

cromulus

Thank you, WickedPinneaple

dopeysmelly

I have a few simple rules which work for me and sound similar to the ones above.

- Google maps a grocery store before I leave, print out directions and schedule grocery shopping in. If I can't (staying in the middle of nowhere with no transportation) I take all my supplies with me.
- Skip hotel breakfast - I eat something really small which I buy/bring so it's a known quantity, because lunch and dinner will probably be more than I want
- Skip breads with lunches/dinners, scrape off sauces, skip potatoes, skip desserts, just have one drink. No one notices. They don't care what anyone else is eating.
- Focus on lean proteins and load up on vegetables and fruits
- Do something physical every day, even if it's just for 15 mins

I can't always request a fridge/microwave overseas, so I buy fruit, small amounts of light cheese and pack granola bars and very high bran crackers (insoluble fiber is hard to find when you travel IMO) with me.

I also do serious laps around the airport, and if I have spare time during the day try really hard to go for a walk. I don't usually get to choose whether I stay in a hotel with a decent gym, but I try to make use of whatever they have no matter how crappy.

Oh and I drink ridiculous amounts of water.

LeanButNotMean44

Lots of great advice in this thread. I travel a fair amount for work too, and make sure to ALWAYS workout - no matter what. I've gritted my teeth through some pretty tough ones due to lack of sleep and/or having been overserved the night before. My biggest challenge is that I usually entertain clients when I travel, so eating out is a necessary evil.

I have not found a hotel chain that has consistently had good gyms, but there seem to be certain parts of the country that do - i.e. the west coast.

OP, if you are looking for support/advice please feel free to friend request me.

cromulus

Thank you again. I never thought of the very high fiber crackers. Good point.

LeanButNotMean - Thankfully most of my travel is to the west coast. I'll keep looking for chains with good gyms and point those out on yelp to help fellow travelers.

kyta32

Wendy's small chili with garden salad, or Wendy's Apple Pecan salad (I get mine without cheese or dressing).

McDonalds Fruit & yogurt parfait for breakfast.

Grilled chicken breast and corn-on-the-cob at Kentucky Fried Chicken isn't too bad.

Holiday Inn Expresses have gyms, and sometimes pools, but I wouldn't say they are well equiped. Scale, treadmills, eliptical, weird weight machines. You can put some towels on the ground and do interval training (mountain climbers, squat thrusts, sumo hops, jumping jacks, jumprope etc alternating with bodyweight exercies - there's resources on the internet).

I used Blogilates (no equipment required most of the time), but I think there are workouts on Youtube and FitnessBlender? It doesn't hurt to try something new, like yoga, just for a day, and you can find free routines online (if you want to follow on your laptop or have data room on your cell phone).

Good luck

cromulus

Thank you, Kyta!

nicoleromine

I travel a ton for work. Here are some of things I do to stay on track.
1. Pack a lot of premeasured snacks out - nuts, granola, carrot sticks, etc.
2. Bring a water bottle and force myself to keep hydrated. I find this is particuarly important if I'm flying for some reason. If I don't load up with water on the plane, I feel like crap later.
3. Ask for a room with a fridge and go shopping for healthy food - yogurt, salad, healthy sandwich options.
4. I do yoga every morning, so I pack a couple of DVDs to play in my laptop. I travel with this mat and love it: http://www.amazon.com/Super-absorbent-Microfiber-Technology-Phthalates-Satisfaction/dp/B00LMAFV9C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1420649162&sr=8-6&keywords=travel+mat
5. Since I lift, working out at the hotel really isn't an option. When I'm reserving for the hotel, I ask if they have any agreements with outside gyms. A lot of the time (even if they have a fitness room), the hotel will have a reduced fee arrangement set up with an outside gym. Even if they don't have a fee arrangement, the front desk can usually give you recommendations for good gyms.

cromulus

Thank you, Nicole!

dgbush0208

I travel for work 100% of the time and I have a few tips that I do all the time. I fly in on Monday mornings and the first thing I do Monday night after working out is go to the grocery store. I tend to look for grocery stores with their own salad bars and I make a huge one that I divide for lunch all week. I buy a small pack of luncheon meat (turkey or ham), a pack of boiled eggs, Laughing cow wedges, fruit, individual packs of baby carrots, a head of romaine lettuce, a pack of reduced fat cheese sticks, fat free hummus, Walden Farms Calorie free salad dressing, a rotisserie chicken breast, a pack of multi-bran mini tortillas (50 calories), and some type of gluten free cheese puffs. I pack the glad plastic ware or either buy it in the grocery stores (its only a couple of dollars for a multi-pack). I go ahead a pack the puffs in 1/2 cup snack containers for the week. I make a ham and laughing cow wrap for breakfast along with a boiled egg. I eat the salad at lunch and usually have the carrots, apple or a cheese stick for snacks (2 per day at work). For dinner I make lettuce wraps with the romaine, chicken and hummus (sometimes I get boiled shrimp and salsa if I am tired of the chicken). I eat the puffs with this along with another piece of fruit. Sometimes I get yogurt from the concierge lounge in the hotel.

I am a member of Planet Fitness so I look for a location in the city where I am working. if they don't have one, I tend to use the hotel gym. I am working in Chicago now and the weather has been so bad that I have an app on my iPad called 7 which is circuit training in 7.5 minutes cycles and I will tend to do 5-6 circuit for 35-45 min.

I carry a water bottle and keep it with me.

Hope this helps