Work travel and eating well

MikeMcLachlin
MikeMcLachlin Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
Hi guys
I travel quite a bit and am looking for input on ways to keep clean and eat well. I've been booking hotels with fridges and buying some healthy foods to try an avoid the dreaded drive-thru.
Thanks and please add me as a contact.

Replies

  • JustRobby1
    JustRobby1 Posts: 674 Member
    edited September 2016
    I feel your pain. I am out of town right now as a matter of fact. Really though, it is not that difficult to stay under your calorie goal so long as you watch your step. Most hotels have fitness centers, so make nice with HR at your company and they will probably hook you up. If you have already stayed at a certain hotel in a given city that has one, just tell them to make sure to book you there again. This is not typically a problem, as HR almost always takes the path of least resistance. Worst case scenario you can always take a walk or a run outside of your hotel to get some exercise. Depending on where you travel to, you can also get in some exploring this way. Another good trick is to make the most of your time while you are at airports. With TSA being so unpredictable at most major airports, chances are you showed up early and have some down time on your hands. Put that to good use and do walking laps around the terminal instead of sitting around with your laptop or phone. You can get in thousands of extra steps in no time this way. Plus you are about to be crammed into a plane for however long, so it's good for you to get the juices flowing a bit. Lastly, if you are like me and have to give lots of presentations, don't just sit there in the conference room when going over powerpoint slides. Stand up and get in some movement while you rock it out. This has the added benefit of making you come off as more BA as a public speaker too. Win-win situation.

    As for food, what I normally do is stick to the chain restaurants because all of their nutritional information is online. Even if it's a client taking you out to places you have no control over, you can likely find at least a couple of items on any given menu that are diet friendly.

    Yes, I admit traveling all the time sucks when it comes to staying on your plan, but with a little effort and creativity you can handle it just fine.
  • the3dwizard
    the3dwizard Posts: 39 Member
    On the road myself but managed to go over a bit today. I just didn't make the right choice at dinner but hey moving on.

    I bring a blender bottle with me and do a shake in the mornings so I don't go down to the high calorie free buffet.
    I pack some snacks in little plastic baggies. Each snack is one serving and i try to plan out when I eat them. Like I will bring one on the plane or have one with my shake.

    Joining this thread to hear other ideas, thanks for starting it.
  • JustRobby1
    JustRobby1 Posts: 674 Member
    edited September 2016
    Another thing I wanted to add is probably the best hotels I stay in for fitness centers and food are Hyatt's (Hyatt Place concepts in particular). They have always had great fitness centers and have tasty, bistro style food served 24/7 that includes numerous healthy options with clear nutritional information printed on the menus. This theme also extends to their free morning breakfast buffet, which has tons of healthy options.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 79 Member
    A lot of hard boiled eggs and oatmeal from hotel continental breakfasts. Or if there is an omelette station as an option, I will do that. When eating on, I try to stick with mostly grilled chicken and broccoli and asking for no added seasonings, butter, oils. Now if I go out to a nice dinner or am with a group of people, I just try to make a good choice, enjoy my meal without going nuts, limit the alcohol, and don't worry about it. But if I'm on the road for several days or travel for work regularly, and just grabbing stuff on my own, then I start ordering boring to not get too off track.

    I take a fitness class at a studio that has locations across the country, and can use my membership anywhere, so I'm usually able to hit my workout in different cities which I love.

    I will bring along quest bars on the road, which is not my ideal, I prefer real food, but I figure there are worse options if I'm on the road and starving. I try to always keep an apple, bag of almonds, rice cakes, etc. on me.

    On travel days, I typically will prep a breakfast or lunch that I can bring through airport security with me in a big plastic ziplock bag. Once I am through security, I go in search of a place that will let me fill up a cup of ice and then fill up the ziplock bag so my breakfast or lunch stays cold. I'll either eat it on the flight or on my layover. I try to get in as many good meals within my control so I don't worry so much about the meal where I just have to wing it or eat what's available or where it would just be awkward to eat out of tupperware.
  • musicathy
    musicathy Posts: 23 Member
    I spent a year flying all over the country for work. It's tough sometimes to eat healthy while traveling, especially because I was often in rural
    Areas with no vehicle so getting to a grocery store wasn't always possible. So some things that worked for me:

    - I kept a bag packed with healthy lunch/snack options: apple sauce with no sugar, kale chips, lower calorie protein bars (I like the simply protein ones), apples (they always travel well), roasted chickpeas, etc

    - I always brought my own breakfast as hotel continentals don't always have lean options and can be carb and sugar heavy. So I would pack individual packets of protein powder (someone suggested a blender bottle - that's what I used too, I'd pack the packets right in the bottle to save space), also brought individual packets of oatmeal (whole foods had nice organic options with lower sugar) - every hotel seems to have a coffee maker or microwave to make hot water for it

    - when not traveling too far and if I had a fridge (I always called ahead) I'd pack other fruits, veggies and hummus, cheese slices etc.

    - individual packs of PB and a couple English muffins work well in a pinch and better than McDonald's

    - go through the menus/nutrition guides at common restaurant/fast food chains. Make a list of go-to's that are good orders. Unbreaded chicken sandwiches, lighter salad dressings, etc that way if you do need to eat there you don't have to guess, and helps to avoid temptation.

    - I downloaded the 7 minute fitness app (there's lots of others) to do little hotel room workouts when there wasn't a gym.

    Hope some of that is helpful!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I travel quite a bit as well.
    I tend to bring quest bars, nuts etc. for snacks (and sometimes breakfast).
    I tend to get protein and veg for the other meals.
  • hillaryjess
    hillaryjess Posts: 39 Member
    Keeping a good eating plan gets about 10283% harder when you're on the road, so I feel your pain. You're definitely on the right track trying to get hotel rooms with a fridge. I guess my question is are you flying mostly or driving?

    If you're driving, you might benefit from getting one of those fancy meal prep bags (6-Pack, FitMark, etc.) or or a quality set of tupperware with a decent cooler. If you have time to meal prep the day before that will be a huge help in staying on track. Don't forget your snacks, but try not to rely on just snacks as your primary fuel. Go as far as holding yourself accountable by logging your meals into MFP in advance that morning or even before your entire trip to help stay on track.

    If you're flying, though, that's way tougher. I read someone above suggest to stick to chains which is good, but also be a burden to the host/hostess and ask for their Nutritional Facts menu. As much as we like to think we're getting good at guessing calorie/macro content of a meal, it really does help to see it on paper before indulging in that half priced app during happy hour.

    Happy travels!
  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
    It's boring, but most restaurants have the basics and will cook your food to order. Knowing this, you can piece together meals that accurately fit your calorie goals.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    MikeMcLachlin wrote: »
    Hi guys
    I travel quite a bit and am looking for input on ways to keep clean and eat well. I've been booking hotels with fridges and buying some healthy foods to try an avoid the dreaded drive-thru.
    Thanks and please add me as a contact.

    Protein bars and shakes are a god-send for those who are on the go. Maybe invest in a large cooler lunch box as well? Depends how long you're travelling for though.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 79 Member
    I got a 6 pack prep bag and use it all the time when I'm on the go.

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