When you travel for work...

Exercise-wise, if your hotel doesn't have a gym, bodyweight workouts are your friend. Take a walk outside (or in the halls of your hotel if you don't feel safe outside). Do push-ups, squats, plank, jumping jacks, stretch, etc in your room. Run in place while watching television. There's lots of stuff you can do!

As for meals, if you have a car, your best option is a grocery store+your hotel mini fridge. Buy salad ingredients, canned beans (bring a can opener with you), fruit, and so on. And just make good choices when eating out. Obviously you want to avoid fried foods and the like, but most restaurants have nutrition guides on their websites now, especially big chains--so you can check that. I always try to check and chose my meal AHEAD of time, which helps me avoid temptation and gives me more accuracy when I log stuff. Avoid "treat" meals; this is a routine for you, and should be treated like one. It's harder than being able to homecook, but it is possible!

For reference, I spent three years working as part of a traveling children's assembly program and could spend up to a week at a time in hotels.

BxRaymond wrote: »

Does anyone have tips for calorie-wise fast food or restaurant meals (even grab-and-go items from a grocery store)? !

Well, low-calorie meals can be had anywhere (simply limit portions), but if i didn't have healthy foods readily available, i'd consider getting a 12 volt refrigerator for the car and a hotplate for the motel room. And lots of canned salmon.

For strength training, i'd bring a pair of adjustable dumbbells, and a good resistance band kit that's door-mountable (Black Mountain, Bodylastics, etc).

For cardio, running shoes and bear spray.

If you are driving to your work location, then it should be pretty easy to plan ahead for at least some of your meals - breakfast and lunch aren't too hard: sandwiches, cereal, fruit, yoghurt etc are easy to make as long as you have a cooler in the car on your drive out and a fridge (or ice for your cooler) once you get there. Or you can make a list and buy from the local supermarket for a full trip's worth of brekkies or lunches if work will reimburse you for this.

If you get to book your own accommodation, check online to see if there are any options who have a small kitchen - even a microwave and toaster give you options.

Eating out for dinner doesn't have to be so high in cals - grilled fish or steak or chicken is often on menus in the places I go, and you can add veggies and salad and ask for dressings, sauces etc on the side which gives you a bit more control. Getting used to eating just enough and leaving some on your plate if there's too much is a good idea too. Skip the sides or ask for mashed potato instead of chips (fries) or ask them to leave off garlic bread or similar if it all sounds like it will be too much.

If I am with colleagues who want to go to the pub, I usually have one beer or wine then stick to plain soda water with a slice of fresh lemon. It looks like a proper pub drink and I don't get asked why I'm not drinking. And my colleagues often go out for more drinks after a group dinner but they are used to me going home early now.

Exercise is tricker - if I'm not sure about the area, I will ask the hotel staff if they can suggest somewhere I can walk or run. Or if I'm not confident in the area, I will either skip it (I don't suggest this!)... but I like the idea to find online workouts or things you can do in your room. Have a look at darebee.com - lots of great free stuff there that you could print out ahead of time so you don't even need reliable internet (which can be tough to find in country parts around here).