It’s really really hard, almost impossible, to eat healthy when you’re traveling for work.
In this post, I’m going to share my top three tricks for keeping consistent with your diet when you’re on a work trip.
For everyone who doesn’t know me, I’m a traveling CPA with a passion for physical and financial health. I help busy people keep their bank accounts fat and their bodies strong.
The Problem
Whenever I travel for work I’m usually stuck flying three to six hours on a plane. This doesn’t include the hour drive to the airport, half hour from the airport to the hotel, or the two hours sitting around waiting for the plane.
Once I get to the hotel I’m limited to whatever hotel restaurant is on-site or the fast food places down the street.
Office food is even worse. Between team meals, client cafeterias, and coffee runs, it’s easy to run WAY OVER my calorie limit.
I’ve found that these three tips help me solve the problems I just laid out:
- On night one, load up on high protein food to eat
- Eat more, smaller, meals than normal
- Under order at every restaurant
Load Up On Night One
First up, every time I get to a hotel I place a major Grubhub or Uber Eats order. Feel free to use whatever service you want, these are just my go-tos.
People might not know this, but these services usually deliver to your room. They also have options to add things from nearby stores without increasing your fee. This makes them a lot more useful than normal room service.
What I’ll do is get to the hotel, drop my bags, and immediately order a protein and veggie filled meal from Chipotle or Panda Express (not the healthiest but we’ve gotta make it work). In that same order I’ll add at least one protein bar for each day I’m at the hotel.
This way, I’ve got my first night’s meal locked down and I’m able to start my days strong with a dose of protein before work even starts.
Have More Meals Than Normal
Second, I find that eating a lot more often helps me stay healthy. At home I only eat twice, lunch and dinner, but that doesn’t work on the road. There’s too many chances to cave and over eat.
Here’s how I fit more, smaller, meals into my days on the road. First, I’ll start with a protein bar early on, then I’ll grab breakfast from the hotel or a restaurant. During lunch and dinner I’ll go out with my team wherever they’re going.
This means I end up eating four times every day, but each meal is smaller than my typical meal at home. This way, my stomach never gets fully empty and I can say no to high-calorie options.
Under Order Everywhere
Finally, I always order way less than normal. Restaurant food is super high in calories even though the items don’t seem too big. Think about how one piece of sushi is 50-60 calories for fish and rice…
My rule of thumb is to majorly under order when I eat out with coworkers or clients. If I feel like I should eat 1000 calories, I order something that should be about 600.
The added benefit is that I’m able to have a few bites of any appetizer the group orders and not look like the crazy fitness guy.
You might be thinking “if I under order, won’t I leave hungry”?
That’s possible, but, if you eat more often each day it’s easy to manage hunger. In fact, those protein bars from tip one can be super helpful as a post-dinner closer. If you feel a little hungry just eat one of those before bed and you should be good. It works for me.
Next time you’re traveling for work try one or two of my tips and let me know if they work for you.
Until next time,
Fit and Finance