commuters -- how do you handle the drive home?

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13

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  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    This has never been an issue for me, geng off the highway or diverting from my path just seems like a collosal pain in the *kitten* that simply delays me from getting where I want to go. Turn on some good music, and dig deep and find some self control to stick with the snack you pack. You have to have some at some point and drop your excuses, be accountable, if you don't start now you never will.
  • lizpirate
    lizpirate Posts: 92 Member
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    I commute about 75 minutes each way and I find that listening to a podcast on my way home keeps me entertained and makes the drive go really quickly.
  • Julettashane
    Julettashane Posts: 723 Member
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    Lately I've been rewarding myself with money!

    Every time I'm tempted to eat out but make a conscious decision to eat at home, I take the money I would've spent and it goes into my vacation jar.

    that is a freaking great idea!!!
  • Lt_Starbuck
    Lt_Starbuck Posts: 576 Member
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    I WALK. MY CAR IS A PAIR OF NB'S. IT'S AWESOME.
  • alishacupcake
    alishacupcake Posts: 419 Member
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    I WALK. MY CAR IS A PAIR OF NB'S. IT'S AWESOME.

    That sounds effing awesome! :smile:

    I also have this problem!!! I drive an hour and a half one way everyday. There are some great tips in here. I started going straight to work out after work then I am rushing to get home (so I don't have to pay the babysitter more money) and there is no time to stop.
  • Calantorntain
    Calantorntain Posts: 172 Member
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    I'm a commuter, but I'm a bike commuter. I handle the ride home by having an awesome time :D

    Would moving closer to work be a good choice? Before you immediately dismiss the idea, please consider the REAL cost of commuting! http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/
  • neilisfat
    neilisfat Posts: 20 Member
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    I commute across Nashville most days by bicycle. There's not much room for me to carry a hot meal on the bike. That keeps me safe. I get 10 miles across town faster on the bike than I would driving.

    Not to mention, I don't want to wander around a market / resturaunt in my lycra superhero outfit.

    1 pound to go!
  • blacklabelbabe
    blacklabelbabe Posts: 48 Member
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    I commute an hour and a half each day. I have no problems in the morning but on my way home I get hungry so I eat an apple. It keeps my mind busy because I can't just gobble it up really fast. And the fiber keeps me full. I also drink water, chew gum and crank up my radio. This is also how I quite smoking!
  • hypocritelecter
    hypocritelecter Posts: 61 Member
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    Willpower. If I'm driving, I always have water with me and some gum. The world won't end if I'm hungry during my commute, and just because I'm hungry doesn't mean I should splurge on fast food. I find that, when you can, not bringing your debit/credit card or cash with you also helps. I use to work at a gas station and surrounded by processed, prepackaged goodies was torture. I gave myself three months to not bring my debit card and just suck it up with the food I brought from home, and at the end of those three months I had no desire to eat the 'indulgences' at all. Problem solved. I think the secret is to reward yourself with other things, rather than food, and remember that you're on the road to health and that McDonald's doesn't fit on that road.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
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    I just road rage during my commute so I'm usually so worked up that I'm burning calories from all of the hand signals AND upsetting my stomach enough with anxiety to keep me from wanting to eat much of anything for at least an hour. My commute is thankfully only 20 minutes. I do not condone 3x as much road rage in one sitting, it can be addictive. :tongue:
  • annepage
    annepage Posts: 585 Member
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    Yes. I commute a few different places, minimum of an hour each way. I don't make stops on the way home. Make sure you use the bathroom before you leave so you don't have to. Don't pack just a snack.

    Pack a large lunch with extra snacks or a lunch and a dinner. I've been doing it for over two years now and don't have the urge to stop at those places.

    If you can, eat something healthy before you leave for home. Apples are great for the car ride home, so are protein bars because they keep you full. Chewing gum helps as well. A slice of bread with peanut butter also helps because of the protein.
  • jenniferswooten
    jenniferswooten Posts: 137 Member
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    I also commute an hour each way and I arranged my route where I don't pass any fast food joints at all. I drink a liter of water on the way home every day so I am not tempted to eat. So far this has worked for me.
  • JenSD6
    JenSD6 Posts: 454 Member
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    35-60 minute commute each way, but it's very rare for me to stop. If I do stop, it's at the grocery store for something healthy I can quickly make up fresh when I get home. I'm usually more focused on what I'll make when I get home so that stopping to pick up dinner doesn't cross my mind.

    Plus no eating in the car. I can't stand the thought of food bits rotting away in the nooks and crannies where it's fallen.
  • jennmodugno
    jennmodugno Posts: 363 Member
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    I drive an hour and a half to my karate class twice a week, and an hour home. (Traffic going, but none coming back. Nice, that.) I get the most horrible dairy cravings after class, and it had been a habit of mine to stop for a milkshake to get rid of them. And then I started tracking calories and realized how bad they were, and I knew I had to stop. But I had an hour-long drive home, and the cravings are awful. In the summer it's so hot I can't even just keep a milk in the car during class like I do all winter. So now, the moment I get in the car, I put my wallet in the trunk, and keep my driver's license in the little compartment next to me. If I have to get out of the car to get my wallet, chances are I'll just drive right home instead. Then I crank up my music to occupy my subconscious mind, and force myself to remember the chocolate milk and two or three cookies I can have when I get home if I don't go get a milkshake. So far, so good! Only one bad night with ice cream in the past several months. :)
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,841 Member
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    Sometimes it is just music to chill by. Sometimes no music and thinking through some things in my head. Sometimes I just roll the windows down and enjoy the weather. All depends, but through it all I just chill. I pretty much stay in one lane and go with the flow. I stop worrying about time or if things go too slow...oh well.
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
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    I used to snack an awful lot in the car during my 45min each way commute but found that since buying a new car and realising I don't want it full of crumbs, wrappers and sticky fingerprints on the gorgeous brushed metal finishers has weaned me right out of that habit lol

    It will be a different story when we go on holiday later in the year as we'll go in my husband's car and that is officially snack central so I'll need a plan!
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
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    Water bottle and Podcasts!
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    Willpower!!!!!
  • Gracerrr
    Gracerrr Posts: 141
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    My bank account stops me!! Stopping for food is simply not a wise financial decision, especially when I have smart purchases waiting at home for me :)

    Try specifically packing a snack for the drive home.
  • cindygretz
    cindygretz Posts: 94
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    I have a short commute but some days I'm at work 10-12 hours and very active while I'm there. When I leave work on those days I'm exhausted. The thought of actually cooking something when I get home goes right out the drive-thru window.

    I have learned to make healthier choices that fit into my daily calories. Taco Bell crunchy tacos, fresco style, are only 140 calories each. You can order any sandwich at Hardees 'lo-carb' and they leave off the bun, instead they wrap it in lettuce and wax paper so it can still be eaten in the car. The new grilled cod fish sandwich, no bun, 240 calories.

    If I have a decent 6-8 hour day and I know I'm cooking when I get home I always carry home made 100 calorie snack bags. My favorite is 7 almonds and 18g of raisins. I have one of those and some bottled water, or an apple, or some grapes, and I'm satisfied until I can get home to my healthier choices.

    I also do as a previous poster suggested and purposely drive a route that doesn't pass any fast food, or any food, places when I know I'm cooking at home.

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