Diet whilst on travelling for work

[Countdown]

When I travel for work I find my diet suffering, ending up with me feeling tired and bloated. It's mainly due to unhealthy snacking on stations / airports/trains/planes, eating out with clients at the end of the day, and succumbing to a "Full English" hotel breakfast (justifying it to myself on the grounds that I'll end up working through lunch).

If you do a lot of travelling and living out of a suitcase how do you "stay healthy" for want of a better phrase? Is it simply willpower?

[Hoofy]

By stay healthy, just to clarify you mean lose weight and maintain a lower weight than you currently are.

I do hate "get fitter" and "get healthy". I see plenty of fat runners who are fitter than me. I can't (be bothered to) run more than 100m...

Anyway, on dieting, your idea of the full english is fine if you really do skip lunch. If you just go degenerate about 3pm then it's not working. If you go degenerate at 7pm and eat everything for dinner then again it's not working. If you only eat the full english and nothing else all day, then you're lying to me or to yourself.

Eat less.

Someone will be along shortly to say you mustn't skip meals, should eat 18 small meals a day and not eat after 6.32pm. Ignore them.

Edited by Hoofy on Sunday 6th September 13:00

[HootersGsy]

Yes, it's basically willpower.

There are always healthier options, the breakfast menu might not say so but ask for a couple of poached eggs and some whole grain toast and unless you're staying in a complete hole they'll make it for you.

The difficulty is when entertaining clients and having three course meals all the time! You just need to try and choose as healthily as you can.

Pack some trainers and shorts+t shirt and get out for a run first thing.

[Countdown]

Sorry I should have clarified better - it isn't a long term thing. It's just when I'm away on business (so 2 or 3 days at a time).

It breaks my gym routine as well as my diet. I end up eating unhealthy food, going for long periods of time on caffeine and then eating restaurant or takeaway food in the evenings.

I'm thinking it's more a case of disciplining myself, sticking to the muesli in hotel breakfasts, maybe keeping nuts to snack on during the day, drinking water rather than caffeine, and taking long walks where there isn't a gym available.

[Hoofy]

Only 2-3 days a week? fk it. Carry on.

If the other 3-4 days a week are not on point then sort them out.

On Christmas Day, I eat everything. I have two Christmas dinners in a row plus desserts (note the plural) as the Chinese* way is to put the dishes on the table and you just help yourself. It's the rest of the time that I am careful. (I say the rest of the time, again, same rules apply at Chinese buffets - eat the restaurant owner into bankruptcy.)

*- so what happens is that we have the traditional western food AND chinese food all laid out on the table.

Edited by Hoofy on Sunday 6th September 13:18

[Countdown]

Thanks for the comments/suggestions

Any muesli / energy bars that people can recommend?

[Countdown]

Starters are my favourite bit. I could quite happily have 3 courses of starters

I think it's a combination of tiredness, laziness, being away from home, and knowing that it's all covered by expenses. The cardio definitely sounds like a good idea and will probably help me sleep better anyway (another bugbear of mine).

[Hoofy]

Countdown said:

Thanks for the comments/suggestions

Any muesli / energy bars that people can recommend?

You want to lose weight but you're thinking of eating MORE?

Let's examine this in more detail.

This looks healthy and tasty. https://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-g...
Right at the bottom... each tiny bar is over 200kcals. fk that.

You could have a normal sized Mars Bar for a similar amount of calories. Those new austerity packs - each bar is 177kcals. http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?...

And you won't feel cheated.

[Hoofy]

Countdown said:

Starters are my favourite bit. I could quite happily have 3 courses of starters

I think it's a combination of tiredness, laziness, being away from home, and knowing that it's all covered by expenses. The cardio definitely sounds like a good idea and will probably help me sleep better anyway (another bugbear of mine).

1) So have 3 starters... but don't go degen and have a large or any main or dessert. I keep meaning to go into a restaurant and just have 2-3 desserts but the people I'm with would just frown at me.
2) Don't do cardio, then. Do something fun but active. Whether that's wking while standing up or tennis is up to you.

[Countdown]

Hoofy said:

You want to lose weight but you're thinking of eating MORE?

Let's examine this in more detail.

This looks healthy and tasty. https://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-g...
Right at the bottom... each tiny bar is over 200kcals. fk that.

You could have a normal sized Mars Bar for a similar amount of calories. Those new austerity packs - each bar is 177kcals. http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?...

And you won't feel cheated.

No!!! I dont want to lose weight (well I do but that's NOT the point of this thread)

To summarise - I feel like rubbish when I travel on business. This is probably due to the food I eat whilst travelling (probably because it's high in salt, fat, sugar, all the stuf that tastes nice). Combined with the fact that Im stuck in a train/plane/meeting for 14/16 hours a day.

So the answer is - eat more cereal, less fried eggs and go for a run

Thanks again


ETA Just read you Mars bar tip - excellent!!!! Apologies for the noob question - arent the calories from the granola bar "better" than the calories from the mars bar? Surely the mars bar is the type of thing that's making me lethargic?

[Countdown]

Hoofy said:

1) So have 3 starters... but don't go degen and have a large or any main or dessert. I keep meaning to go into a restaurant and just have 2-3 desserts but the people I'm with would just frown at me.
2) Don't do cardio, then. Do something fun but active. Whether that's wking while standing up or tennis is up to you.

You misunderstand - the bugbear is "sleeping in hotels", not cardio.

Although wking whilst playing tennis sounds interesting

[Hoofy]

Countdown said:

No!!! I dont want to lose weight (well I do but that's NOT the point of this thread)

To summarise - I feel like rubbish when I travel on business. This is probably due to the food I eat whilst travelling (probably because it's high in salt, fat, sugar, all the stuf that tastes nice). Combined with the fact that Im stuck in a train/plane/meeting for 14/16 hours a day.

So the answer is - eat more cereal, less fried eggs and go for a run

Thanks again


ETA Just read you Mars bar tip - excellent!!!! Apologies for the noob question - arent the calories from the granola bar "better" than the calories from the mars bar? Surely the mars bar is the type of thing that's making me lethargic?

Really doesn't make that much difference. I eat either before hitting the tennis court for 2 hours. Nowadays I take the piss by dumping my bag at the side, then eating a packet of McCoy's and a Snickers. "Just having lunch!"

For lunch, go for whole grains eg brown bread, brown pasta, if you find that the afternoon is a grind.

Edited by Hoofy on Sunday 6th September 14:53

[Hoofy]

Countdown said:

Hoofy said:

1) So have 3 starters... but don't go degen and have a large or any main or dessert. I keep meaning to go into a restaurant and just have 2-3 desserts but the people I'm with would just frown at me.
2) Don't do cardio, then. Do something fun but active. Whether that's wking while standing up or tennis is up to you.

You misunderstand - the bugbear is "sleeping in hotels", not cardio.

Although wking whilst playing tennis sounds interesting

Certainly, there'll be court action.

[davepoth]

One trick I heard about is to pretend that you're vegan. Any big chain hotel should be able to deal with that for you and provide you with something a bit less greasy for breakfast. Obviously if you're away doing selling then that might be less of a good idea for business meetings, but if you can swing it at the workplace too you should end up with healthier options all the way through.

[MrBarry123]

It's about being strict OP.

NO MORE than 3 meals a day whilst travelling and no snacking. If you miss one meal, don't make up for it with snacking. You might feel hungry as a result however providing you're eating at least two meals a day, you're not depriving your body of what it needs.

I try to keep any evening meal I eat out to as close to possible to resembling a chicken breast, broccoli and carrots and a jacket potato. Any element can be substituted for an alternative (chicken for beef, jacket potato for chips) however it stops you going to a steak restaurant and ordering a steak, onion rings, chips, creamed spinach, a fried egg, a sauce of sorts etc. If people are eating pudding, have a coffee or a tea instead and if you feel inclined to have a starter, choose the soup.

There is always a healthier option when it comes to takeaway food. Kebab - have a shish kebab instead of a donner; Indian - have a tandoori dish instead of a full blown curry and rice; Chinese - have a rice dish and a meat dish and nothing else.

Edited by MrBarry123 on Sunday 6th September 21:14

[Pickled Piper]

Skip lunch and go for a walk. I find it difficult to avoid evening meals as they are often social / networking events. However, no one appears to be bothered if you duck out at lunch time.

[chris watton]

I I'm away I pack a few protein bars with me, I find they really help keep hunger pangs at bay.

[Countdown]

Just back from a 3 day trip - lots of time sat on my behind. In hindsight this seems like common sense but what worked for me was

Keeping off the salty snacks
Having fresh fruit and some muesli bars (surprisingly filling)
Not bingeing on fatty food and taking a long walk in the evening / bit of cardio in the hotel gym.

The salty snacks must have meant water retention and subsequent bloatedness whereas the fruit and muesli stuff must have reduced bloatedness by err "keeping me regular" The exercise helped to loosen up the stiff muscles as well as helping me sleep better.