Frequent Flyers - Making Healthy Choices

upformore

As someone that travels nearly half the year I have found that lots of bad health decisions and habits are created while travelling for work! Anyone that has tips and tricks for the travelling individual to stay the course, keep up the health eating, etc. Any and all feedback/tips is welcome!

Cbean08

If you are traveling frequently for work, then don't look at your trips as vacation or as time away from your routine.

Airport tips-

don't show up hungry- if you have a 6am flight and you're at the airport at 4:30am, either eat before you arrive or wait until after you land. Airport food is not only super expensive, the limited/pre packaged options can make finding something that fits your goals tricky. If you must eat due to an extra long layover or a delayed flight, then plan to bring a snack that fits your goals. Fruit, protein bars, sandwiches, jerky, hard boiled eggs, nuts etc, are all able to be taken through security.
don't snack on the plane - a flight is not an excuse to eat for 4 or 5 hours straight to keep yourself occupied. Personally, I sleep or bring a NYT crossword book.

Hotel tips-

go grocery shopping - it's mostly for convenience. Plan a breakfast that you can eat in the room that doesn't need work. When I traveled for work, I bought a bag of pita bread, a bag of baby carrots, 2 packages of lunch meat, pre-hardboiled eggs, apples, protein bars and ziplock bags. I made sandwiches for lunch, with a bag of baby carrots. I brought an apple to work for a snack. And I had eggs and a protein bar for breakfast.
hit the gym - most hotels have a workout facility. Use it. No matter how little equipment the gym has, find something to do to get yourself moving. Even if it's just running on the treadmill for 30 minutes or walking for an hour or lifting little weights or doing body weight exercises. If there is a pool, you can always swim laps.

Eating out tips-

be smart - when eating out, just make a smart choice. Educate yourself beforehand on portion sizes and have a plan for eating in restaurants. When I eat out, my go-to is always chicken and a vegetable and a beer. Sometimes this means just ordering chicken skewers from the a la cart or appetizer menu. I find it fun because then I can compare chicken and vegetables across restaurants and rank them based on who has the best. And I like beer, so I drink it.