Nutritious Travel
One issue that gets brought often when I talk with clients about nutritional habit change is how much they travel for work. The most common travel barriers are time, space, equipment, and drive. Even though it is not easy and everyone’s travel situations and priorities are different, here’s a few ideas to get started.
One cool thing about travel is that it can be a great opportunity to start a new habit while you are away. Since you are in a new environment, it can be easier to make a small change to consistently practice. You can see if this is something you see the benefit from and want to implement during your normal routine. The trick is finding a way to bring your new habit with you, even when you are home. Check out Atomic Habits for some ways to make that stick.
Hydration
Between flights that dehydrate you, not wanting to make extra stops while driving, decreased number of places to get water, rushing around, and changing schedules, keeping hydrated can be a real challenge. Consider trying to put some extra effort into your hydration to keep on top of it so that you avoid some of the common pitfalls of dehydration.
Bring a water bottle with you (empty through security). Bring an extra one if you want to also bring flavor packets to entice some extra drinking so not all of your water gets flavored
set reminder calendar alerts to finish water bottles
If you don’t like cold water, ask for hot water from a cafe and mix it with the cold water, or buy water bottles early to let them come to room temperature
If you need cold, give yourself enough time to stop at corner marts to get water
Drink slowly so that you don’t have to make emergency bathroom trips
When driving, take time to stop because it means you’re hydrated
Take 10 To Answer 10 Questions:
Before you go, taking a few minutes to plan can help you save some time on your trip, give clarity of what is possible, and think through what you need to bring with you. Also, having some of these decisions picked out ahead of time makes it easier to make a more quality choice in the moment.
Do you know where you will be going out to eat?
Do you get to pick some of the eating places?
Can you look up the menus of the places to eat and pick out your selection ahead of time?
Can you/do you have a fridge in your room?
How far away is the nearest supermarket?
Do you have any down time planned that you can add in a workout or training session, even if it’s shorter than a normal one?
What opportunities are there space wise for you to workout at (hotel gym, local gym, safe walk/run route from hotel, in room, pool)?
How much space do you have (car travel w/ or w/o cooler; carry on; checked luggage)?
What items do I need to bring with me?
What are my top 2 priorities during this trip? Hint: it’s okay if somethings need to be left out for the time being. You can come back to them when they are your priorities.
Bring What Is Hard To Find
Some of the most common hardest things to find are workout time/space, lean protein, and vegetables. Here’s some ideas for each.
Workout time/space
Look for a local place to call ahead for a drop in
bring a TRX, resistance bands, and a lacrosse ball. They travel light
Doing something is better than nothing
Be reasonable about how much time you will have and only plan for what you will likely be able to do. Anything above is bonus
Lean Protein
bring lean jerky sticks, protein powder, protein bars
buy deli meat at a grocery store when you get to your location
look for restaurants that have fish selections, and go easy on salad dressings or fried foods
pick one meal to be a splurge meal that still has your carb, fat, protein & vegetable, so the rest you can focus on being better quality
Vegetables
bring more “grab & go” veggies than you think you will want and use them for some mindless stress munching
They are great snacks for some munching if you end up needing some mindless chewing
buy extra vegetables at the supermarket
Car Travel
Bring a cooler with you if you can. You can also bring more eat on the go boxed lunch items. You can stop at rest stops on interstates or a gas station parking lot to have a safe moment to eat instead of driving. Plan enough travel time so you can also get your scheduled meal times, even if this takes a little adjusting. You can also bring extra snacking grab and go vegetables for the mindless car snacking munchies. There are some opportunities that you can prepare a few days in advance and bring the food with you as well to save some time and money.
More Can Get Through TSA Security Than You Might Think
Even though there are some crazy rules about what can and cannot go through TSA, you can still get through days of healthy food through security to travel with, even if you get stuck in an airport. Bring more than you think you need of these. Things that are allowed that you may not think about:
· Snacks- nuts, granola bars, energy bites, Hammer Gel
· Proteins- Country Archer bars, beef jerky, protein powder, protein bars
· Vegetables- basically everything! Consider snow peas, bell pepper strips, carrots, broccoli, napa cabbage, bok choy, celery, cucumber, cherry tomatoes
· Supplements– Don’t forget your performance and daily vitamins can go with you incase your bags get delayed
Travel Set Up Example:
For a 2-3 day trip, I usually bring:
Food Items In Carry-On
4 scoops protein powder (either in individual packets or 1 sealed container with scoop)
4 lean jerky sticks/bars
4-8 carbohydrate snack options- granola bars, teddy gram packs, goldfish, fig newtons, rice cakes, honey stinger waffles, carb powders (UCAN), GoGo Squeeze apple sauce packets, apples, etc.
2-4 baggies of 1-2 servings of nuts or peanut butter (Justin’s makes small to-go packs
2-3 vegetable containers- baggies of green beans, broccoli florets, baby bell peppers, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes (in a hard shell container)
Other Items In Carry-On
a water bottle
a shaker bottle (that doesn’t jingle)
Clothing In Checked Bag or Carry-On
sneakers- if you can get out for a walk, run, or quick lift take the opportunity. You will never be upset that you even took the 20 minutes you had to get some mind clearing activity
workout clothes: bring something for if it’s cold and something if it’s hot.
Optional Other Items
workout equipment like a TRX, foam roller, lacrosse ball, bathing suit, resistance bands, or jump rope
Cooler for car travel or if you want to keep as your carry-on
