Healthy on the Road :: Biz Travel & Eating

[Happy Canada Day! Today I'm in Canada's Capital for the occasion. I'll post pictures Monday] The Business of Eating Healthy for Business Travel Eating nutritiously while traveling may seem like an impossible challenge, especially for you business travelers out there. If you’re travelling for pleasure, indulging in less-than-balanced cuisine may be just the treat you were looking forward to, so enjoy, but try to be mindful to enjoy in moderation. However, for the business traveler who is regularly on the road, it’s much, much more important to have a plan of attack.

Lack of Routine Lack of routine is a huge culprit here. For the business traveller, it’s often numerous meetings, hurriedly navigating an unfamiliar city, grabbing whatever food is convenient or dining clients with rich foods and drinks.

How to Avoid Nutrition Traps on your Travels Eat Healthy When Eating Out You don’t have to order steak just because you’re at a steak house! Your heart will thank you for it. Learn to choose healthier menu choices while still enjoying great tasting food. Some tips:

• Look for the entrées that are described as: grilled, baked, steamed, or broiled.
• Avoid dishes that are fried, sautéed, crispy, rich, and au gratin. These are code words for high in fat.

Beware of Fast Food In fact, try to avoid it all cost. Time constraints make this “cuisine” all too appealing, but try to find alternatives as often as possible.  If you absolutely must eat fast food, here are some tips:

• Opt for smaller portion sizes.
• Choose healthier side items such as salads instead of fries.
• Drink water instead of pop.
• Skip heavy condiments such as mayonnaise, bacon and dressing that add extra calories.

Watch What you Drink A glass of wine with dinner is a reasonable expectation for most, but it's the calories in the pre and post-dinner drinks that can put you over the top. Being in a foreign city, travelers often have no where left to go at the end of a day, which means dinner and drinks can stretch on for hours. Some tips:

• Avoid those pre-dinner cocktails or post-dinner binges
• Space Your Drinks: alternate a drink of water, juice or soda between your alcoholic beverages to limit your consumption.

Eat Breakfast Most people give a variety of reasons for not eating breakfast. A common reason is that they are not hungry in the morning, which is usually a result of eating a full meal late in the evening or late snacking. Whatever your reason for not having time for breakfast, change it!  Starting with a good breakfast boosts your energy and readiness for the day ahead. Skipping breakfast causes low blood sugar, low energy, and decreased work productivity.  Some tips:

• Try having some fruit, healthy bars, or small pots of yogurt on-hand for a quick breakfast on the go.
• Avoid relying on those unhealthy pastries awaiting you at your conference or meeting.
• If you are trying squeeze in some extra work pre-meeting, multitask and do work at breakfast.

Be sure to check out previous Healthy on the Road posts to learn more about the advantages of being of being active while traveling, as well as the health benefits of eating well on the road.  Healthy on the Road posts are published on the first Thursday of every month and written by our resident health consultant, Leah Munday, owner of OTfit.ca.

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[photo by UggBoy]

Healthy on the Road :: Forethought & Discipline

Frequent travels can wreak havoc on health due to a) loss of sleep b) loss of time [to eat healthy or exercise] b) fewer healthy eating options c) lack of exercise facilities d) less space to pack work-out gear

This is a subject I'm particularly passionate about because our health shouldn't suffer at the expense of our business or pleasure travel. Yes, it's easy to pack runners and work out gear on a week-long trip to Hawaii because it's safe to run, most hotels have gyms and there are plenty of heathy eating options. Same goes for a cruise. But what about when you're on a multi-leg business trip in Asia or traveling through South America?

Forethought and Discipline
Complicated and not-so-complicated trips make it tricky to maintain a healthy way of life, however, two important steps in keeping healthy on the road are forethought and discipline.

Forethought
- Does your hotel have a gym? If not, does it have a safe walking/running route nearby?
- Does your hotel have a program like Fairmont Fit, whereby the hotel provides workout gear to President's Club Members?
- Pre-plan time in your schedule to exercise
- Do you like the food in the region you're visiting? If not, does your hotel have a restaurant on site (or nearby) serving a more globally-inspired menu?

Discipline
- Don't partake in the wine, coke, tea/coffee offered on the plane, it will just dehydrate you 
- Think twice before grabbing a morning coffee with a baked good; opt for a protein-filled breakfast instead 
- Go for the 90/10 rule -- 90% eat well, 10% indulge
- You've pre-planned when you can likely exercise, now do it 
- Be intentional about sleep -- avoid late-night bar chats and hang out with your pillow instead. 

BONUS
- Now we all have less of an excuse not to exercise while on the road, this television programming company has teamed up with ExerciseTV to provide free workout videos in hotel rooms at Hyatt, Marriott, Fairmont, InterContinental, Hilton, Loews, Omni, Radisson, Crowne Plaza, DoubleTree and other hotels throughout the US.

Stay tuned for more "Healthy on the Road" posts on the first Thursday of every month, written by our resident expert, Leah Munday, owner of OTfit.ca.

[image via fairmont]