Business Travel and the diet

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tachyon_master
tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
in Motivation and Support
First post on the forums...Hopefully in the right place.

I'm just wondering how many others out there suffer setbacks due to business travel? I have to travel a lot for work, both domestically and overseas. Domestic travel I can usually handle pretty easily, but international travel is a killer in terms of my diet and exercise.

I can't stick to a diet overseas. There's constant dinners out with clients, and there's this expectation that you'll eat whatever they order for you (as is the norm in some cultures), and drink whatever they're drinking. Failure to participate in this sort of thing is considered a sign of rudeness and is an easy way to lose the client or kill a deal.

It's not always easy to exercise either due to personal safety reasons outdoors and the fact that not all hotels have a gym.

I don't know what to do. Every time I'm getting close to my goal weight, I have to go on a business trip and end up putting 1-2 kg back on in a week. Anybody else suffer from this and have any ideas?

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Replies

  • Dahllywood
    Dahllywood Posts: 642 Member
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    No excuses
    I've traveled fairly often the past year. I have found ways to exercise and eat right.
  • clarebrad
    clarebrad Posts: 188 Member
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    Solutions not excuses, that is my motto. I don't have to do overseas but travel for work. Re workouts in hotel room. Look for workouts online. Could do skipping without a rope, just pretend, push ups , squats , lunges, jumping jacks etc. Also could look into getting resitance bands, where you can use the hotel room, and they would be easy and light to travel with. Other thing is workout dvds, if don;t have weights could use bottels of water etc. Either use DVD in hotel room or in your computer. Just means you either do after work or wake up earier and do a workout. Make up a circuit. Re the eating, either select the better options or straight out explain that you are either training for something and therefore have stict requiremnts or say, you are on a healthy eating plan and don't want to disprespect them but need to continue to follow it even when you are away, and ask that they can respect this choice you have made. It will be hard as temptation is there, but you can do it. Am sure if you explain they will understand, you have to be strong.
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
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    No excuses

    Fair call...But perhaps I should go into more detail here.

    Genuine question...How do you "eat right" when there is literally one thing on the menu in a one horse town with one "restaurant". Not even kidding here. It's easy to say that when you're travelling to places that actually have the options. I am, unfortunately not. And no, they won't understand if you refuse to eat what's put in front of you even if you can explain why. That's a very western mindset. Some cultures won't accept that.

    DVD in my hotel room? Half the places I end up in don't even have electricity. I know there's stuff I can do inside my hotel room, but experience suggests that unless I am running or doing other serious cardio, it's futile.

    It's excuses, I know. But if it was just as simple as what's being suggested, I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    The big thing is going to be portion control and making time to find some workouts you can do in the hotel. Resistance bands will pack up well and give you some way of strength training. You can also go jogging or running when possible. Workout DVDs can be helpful as well.

    If you have options, go for lean meats (baked, steamed, or broiled poultry or seafood) and vegetables. Try to exercise some portion control over things like creams, gravies, and thicker sauces and fattier meats. Cheeses like mozzarella are less calorie-dense than things like brie, so try to look up what local varieties of cheeses are there in advance so you know what you can order if you like cheese. It can be done, but it's hard, and it will require a lot of careful prep work on your part and self-control. Just do your best.

    Not sure if you drink, but things like hard clear liquors are lower calorie than beer and sweet wines, generally. If you can stick to things like gin or vodka, that should help trim a few calories as well. If you do end up going for beer or wine, just exercise some moderation.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    No excuses

    Fair call...But perhaps I should go into more detail here.

    Genuine question...How do you "eat right" when there is literally one thing on the menu in a one horse town with one "restaurant". Not even kidding here. It's easy to say that when you're travelling to places that actually have the options. I am, unfortunately not. And no, they won't understand if you refuse to eat what's put in front of you even if you can explain why. That's a very western mindset. Some cultures won't accept that.

    DVD in my hotel room? Half the places I end up in don't even have electricity. I know there's stuff I can do inside my hotel room, but experience suggests that unless I am running or doing other serious cardio, it's futile.

    It's excuses, I know. But if it was just as simple as what's being suggested, I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.
    .

    Kindle or other small device that can load some dvds or videos on that wont need a power source...honestly I'd go mad and probably have my lap top with about 2-3 back up batteries....or a solar charger (pricey). You don't need a DVD if you memorize some of the work outs or write down a circuit routine for in the room :) You could write down something like the insanity work outs, it isn't as motivational but you could. Also many cultures DO understand allergies, develope an allergy...fast (and make sure you can explain it in their langauge).
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    The big thing is going to be portion control and making time to find some workouts you can do in the hotel. Resistance bands will pack up well and give you some way of strength training. You can also go jogging or running when possible. Workout DVDs can be helpful as well.

    If you have options, go for lean meats (baked, steamed, or broiled poultry or seafood) and vegetables. Try to exercise some portion control over things like creams, gravies, and thicker sauces and fattier meats. Cheeses like mozzarella are less calorie-dense than things like brie, so try to look up what local varieties of cheeses are there in advance so you know what you can order if you like cheese. It can be done, but it's hard, and it will require a lot of careful prep work on your part and self-control. Just do your best.

    Not sure if you drink, but things like hard clear liquors are lower calorie than beer and sweet wines, generally. If you can stick to things like gin or vodka, that should help trim a few calories as well. If you do end up going for beer or wine, just exercise some moderation.

    Resistance bands are a good idea, however he has already said he often doesn't have power, can't run outside due to safety concerns, and is served both food and alcohol not of his choice.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Options
    The big thing is going to be portion control and making time to find some workouts you can do in the hotel. Resistance bands will pack up well and give you some way of strength training. You can also go jogging or running when possible. Workout DVDs can be helpful as well.

    If you have options, go for lean meats (baked, steamed, or broiled poultry or seafood) and vegetables. Try to exercise some portion control over things like creams, gravies, and thicker sauces and fattier meats. Cheeses like mozzarella are less calorie-dense than things like brie, so try to look up what local varieties of cheeses are there in advance so you know what you can order if you like cheese. It can be done, but it's hard, and it will require a lot of careful prep work on your part and self-control. Just do your best.

    Not sure if you drink, but things like hard clear liquors are lower calorie than beer and sweet wines, generally. If you can stick to things like gin or vodka, that should help trim a few calories as well. If you do end up going for beer or wine, just exercise some moderation.

    Resistance bands are a good idea, however he has already said he often doesn't have power, can't run outside due to safety concerns, and is served both food and alcohol not of his choice.

    I understand that. I also prefaced my comments with "if you have the options" for that very reason. There are things that can be done when choices are available. Regardless, portion control is always an option.
  • jskaggs1971
    jskaggs1971 Posts: 371 Member
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    I travel a lot for work too, but mostly domestically, so it's pretty easy to find a hotel with a gym. Even if the hotel doesn't have one, lots of hotels partner with local gyms and can get you a free or discounted day pass. Barring that, there's always body weight exercise you can do in your room. Check out the nerd fitness hotel room workout (google it) for one plan.

    Diet is harder. For me, I just try to watch the portions, and never, never order an entree salad in a restaurant. They're often the worst thing on the menu. Like other posters have said, go for lean meats and vegetables over other stuff. Even a burger can be ok if you pair it with a side salad, hold the mayo, and toss the top bun.

    If you have to, you could even consider skipping a meal if that works for you. I end up doing that a lot on flying days, since airport food is mostly bad for you crap anyhow. My big weakness during travel is liquor/beer/wine.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
    Options

    I understand that. I also prefaced my comments with "if you have the options" for that very reason. There are things that can be done when choices are available. Regardless, portion control is always an option.

    Sorry if I upset you - it just seems like he knows what to do "if" he has options like those :)
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Options

    I understand that. I also prefaced my comments with "if you have the options" for that very reason. There are things that can be done when choices are available. Regardless, portion control is always an option.

    Sorry if I upset you - it just seems like he knows what to do "if" he has options like those :)

    Not at all. It's just that sometimes people don't think of looking up local foods in advance, and it's hard to tell what the OP knows or doesn't know. It was just some suggestions is all, a few things I learned by traveling myself and not having all that much control over my food choices.
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    Options
    I'm actually pretty good when I have the options. I have no issues getting myself to the gym/exercising 7 days a week and eating well when I'm at home or travelling in Australia, Europe or North America. The issue comes when I end up in the middle of nowhere in Africa or Central Asia, when there are no real options. I will definitely look into the resistance bands though.

    Also, "he" is actually a "she" :)
  • harrip99
    harrip99 Posts: 5 Member
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    I came across this article and thought it had some useful travel tips:

    http://www.jcdfitness.com/2010/08/vacation-diet-how-to-maintain-your-weight-while-traveling/

    The restaurant only serves one meal? I find that a bit surprising, but why not call in advance and put a request in for something healthy?
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    So i have learned to literally eat around rice, pasta, potatos or bread at any meal. I have found it is not offensive in any language/country to ask for water instead of wine or beer or alcohol.

    If I went to the middle of no-where, I would pack those small packages of protein drinks (they don't weigh that much) or protein bars. It would kill my appetite before the meals and help me with portion control. But luckily, I don't have to go to those places for work.

    I get exhausted on business trips as I generally have a lot of technical work to get thru. Drinking water helps, I have made it my mission to have a full water container in my hand at all times except when going thru security at the airport. Then I refill my personal brita water cup (child size) after I get thru security. Most of the fast food places will do it for me if I ask nice in airports.

    Good luck with your journeys!
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    There's plenty of workout routine videos you can get that should burn a decent number of calories in your hotel room.
    I'm presuming if you are being paid to travel abroad you have a laptop, so should be able to use that for them.
    Also, lots of body-weight exercises that can be done as far as resistance work goes.
  • pedraz
    pedraz Posts: 173
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    No excuses

    Fair call...But perhaps I should go into more detail here.

    Genuine question...How do you "eat right" when there is literally one thing on the menu in a one horse town with one "restaurant". Not even kidding here. It's easy to say that when you're travelling to places that actually have the options. I am, unfortunately not. And no, they won't understand if you refuse to eat what's put in front of you even if you can explain why. That's a very western mindset. Some cultures won't accept that.

    DVD in my hotel room? Half the places I end up in don't even have electricity. I know there's stuff I can do inside my hotel room, but experience suggests that unless I am running or doing other serious cardio, it's futile.

    It's excuses, I know. But if it was just as simple as what's being suggested, I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place.

    It doesn't sound like excuses to me at all! These are very real problems that are difficult to resolve. People become offended if you don't eat/drink or even smoke cigarettes like they do. As you have little choice in terms of food (and yes, in many many cultures on this planet sharing food/drink is equal to friendship.) I would try my best to up the exercise routine. As one poster said, get up earlier. If you can't go walking/jogging/whatever outside, build up a really good routine in your hotel room. Good ole calistshenics are effective as we all know. The elastic bands are great for toning. Jumping rope without the jumprope is cardio. When you are in a western country, buy a quick DVD fix like Jillian Michaels and memorize it. It's very short and direct. If it's not your thing, look into something that you would prefer. Bring earphones and listen to great music. DANCE! Enjoy the freedom that a solitary hotel room can offer. Noone is watching. ; )
    Good luck!

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