Wellness Wednesday: Staying Healthy on the Road

Happy hump day! Today on the blog I’m sharing some details on how I stay healthy while on the road. Whether it’s for work or for fun, my travel schedule has increased significantly this past year. While a busy travel schedule can “sound really fun”, it can be challenging for a lot of reasons.

I know, you’re over there like, “What’s so bad about traveling for work? You get all your meals paid for and get to sleep in nice hotels for free”. Yes, I save some money while I’m traveling for work because I don’t have day to day living expenses. I do have to pay for my rent even if I only spend 50% of my time at home though. Yes, I get all my meals paid for. No, there are not a lot of good vegetarian options in most places where food manufacturing plants exits. Yes, I get to sleep in decent hotels with free breakfast all the time. Yes, believe it or not A LOT of hotels have bed bugs and I know more than one coworker who has gotten them before. Ew.

So how do I stay healthy when I’m traveling?

For one, I make a very conscious effort to make healthy decisions when it comes to eating. I’m not saying eat hard boiled egg whites every day for breakfast and salad for lunch and dinner, because that’s not realistic. What I’m saying is, try and eat one salad a day for lunch or dinner. Or, fill your plate with vegetables and fruit before you go for the rest of the catered lunch buffet. Having a serving of pasta or a few pieces of pizza isn’t going to kill you if the other 2/3 of your plate is filled with nutrient dense options.

I also don’t go out to dinner every single night like a lot of people do. Personally, I’m an introvert so the idea of eating dinner with a group every single night of the week is already exhausting enough. I understand that if you work in sales or another very socially connected position that this could be difficult. However, if you say “Hey coworker, I’m trying to watch what I eat these days so if you don’t mind I’ll only be joining you for dinner one or two nights this week so I can try and sneak a work out in” you’ll find that people are pretty accepting.

If you can, go grocery shopping to buy some healthy snacks for during the day. Otherwise you might find yourself going for hand full after hand full of M&Ms during your all day meeting. I am NOT saying don’t eat M&Ms. I’m saying bring an apple or some carrots and hummus to eat during your first two breaks and have a few M&Ms towards the end of the day on your way out if you want to treat yourself. Personally, I eat when I’m bored and also crave sugar significantly more after I’ve already eaten some.

And last but not least, get a few work outs in. It can super suck to get up early to work out or have to wait until after dinner, but you’ll feel so much better afterwards. I know I personally am a much happier and enjoyable person to be around when I get some exercise in. Maybe that’s just a walk outside with a coworkers. Maybe it’s one of my favorite Fit Foodie Finds workouts (this one is favorite right now). Maybe it’s a travel day so all I did was walk around the airport and take the stairs. Whatever works! Find some time in your day, and remember why you want to work out. For me, it’s about being healthy, but also happy.