Has it ever happened that, just when your training is going well and seems so dialed in, it’s time to go out of town and all your hard work goes out the window?  Most times, your nutrition quickly follows.

In this article I’ll address the challenges of business travel, where I’ve found it particularly difficult to stay active and motivated. (Generally my vacations revolve around major physical activity, and extended visits with family are both easier and more difficult in terms of diet and exercise.)

As challenging as it can be to maintain good training schedules and eating habits during “normal” times, the added elements of a business trip and a stay away from home can completely derail a program.

Here are some tactics that have worked for me on recent work-related trips:

v     Find out what you can about your accommodations, if you don’t already know. Many hotels/motels have websites with details on what’s provided: breakfast buffet, pools, aerobic equipment, room refrigerator, etc.

v     Plan your exercise based on what you know about the accommodations. If you can’t do your regular routine, do what you can:

Ø      Walk

Ø      Swim

Ø      Play in the park

Ø      Take stairs instead of elevators

Ø      Find the space to swing those Clubbells.

v     Take along what you can.  It can be a bit embarrassing to haul in the mound of stuff that I tote along on these trips, but I do it anyway. I generally bring: Clubbells (disguised in my mini golf bag, although how many golf clubs weigh 35 pounds?), my bike and all the related paraphernalia, a soft-sided cooler, a couple gallons of drinking water, and, oh yeah, clothes and shoes.

v     Keep your training logs going, in some form. I log because I exercise, but I also exercise sometimes just so I can log.

v     Clean up your diet before you go. I used to find travel a great excuse for eating whatever junk I came across – part of the “I deserve a treat today” mindset.  By being in good nutritional shape before leaving, I find myself more resistant to impulse and rationalization. The closer that I follow the plans outlined in Potatoes Not Prozac, the easier this becomes.

v     Plan your food:      

Ø      Plan some meals and shop in advance.

Ø      Take what you can, depending on the circumstances. (Air travel these days means packing your own lunch, unless you can live on 2 ounces of pretzels.)

Ø      Hard-boiled eggs, sandwich makings, nuts, fruits and prepared raw veggies can be packed along in a cooler or an insulated lunch bag.

Ø       Some supermarkets are now providing better selections of ready-to-eat foods, fresh salads and soups etc.

Ø      Read the ingredients of foods that you buy. “Natural” doesn’t always mean “healthy”.

Ø      Space permitting, take a blender or a hand-held blender for mixing Power Shakes.

Ø      Take advantage of the research that you did on accommodations, especially if there’s a microwave and/or small refrigerator in the room.

Ø      Put together a “kitchen travel kit”: a few utensils, a bowl, cup, maybe a can opener, etc. 

As boring as my regular diet may seem, restaurant food becomes even more disinteresting in a very short time. In addition, the better that I maintain my diet, the easier I find it to refuse my former downfall: the unhealthy “free food” served at conferences and work-related training.

With some planning and preparation, travel doesn’t have to mean unravel. Plus, knowing that you have a strategy can be a great antidote to sitting all day in meetings or in some windowless room trying to absorb a Power Point presentation.

In the past, after business trips, I’d feel out of shape, discouraged, and I would have difficulty in resuming a training routine. In addition to the benefits of maintaining good nutrition and a semblance of a schedule, an added bonus of training on the road is the ease with which I return to the former program when I come home again.

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