ROAD WARRIORS NEED TO EAT (How to eat healthy while on the road?)

ROAD WARRIORS NEED TO EAT


A long, long weekend away with the family.  To sum it up, lots of driving, lots of walking, lots of eating and lots of fun.  Oh, did I mention lots of eating?  The road is riddled with fast food joints, convenience stores and foods disguised as healthy alternatives.  It's a daunting task to stay on point with a healthy lifestyle when every corner is taunting and tempting you with sugar laden treats. The key to success is to plan for it.

Day 1 - Lots of walking at the Toronto Zoo after being interviewed by the Toronto Sun.  - Did you know that the workers might have been on strike when we arrived?  Hours of driving to a closed gait would not have put me in a happy place. Jump in the car and drive to friends where we had lots of great food followed by an invite from this very same friend to a morning workout at her gym, Extreme Bootcamp.  

Day 2 -More food.  Big breakfast and bootcamp. What an awesome workout! Return for a shower and post workout lunch of ribs.   Then time spent doing more walking around with the kids in summer like weather while drinking one of the best mocha-chinos ever. Dinner of gourmet burgers. Evening of some wine and chatting.

Day 3 -Wake up, lots more driving. Off to friends number two. We do more walking.  This time around the Children's Museum and then more great food enters my life. 

Day 4 - Up again and make the final 7 hour drive.  Road food.

remove the burger bun

A weekend like this can leave you not only tired but broke - it can get pricey. On the road, you’re navigating a minefield of fast food, packaged and processed garbage, and pressure to eat and drink things you may not want to (let's face it, want to, that is!). There is food-like crap all around you on the road. So “Plan for your success.” This applies to everything we do whether it’s workouts, mobility, stability, or nutrition. Sometimes there is something to eat and other times you have make do with a bunless crap burger patty and a pile of shredded lettuce. The key to success here is preparation: a little planning ahead of time will save you a lot of pain and hunger down the road.

You could always avoid restaurants altogether and eat only the food you brought from home. But especially on longer trips, most people like to have at least one hot meal. This is a tough one because at home things are more controlled. You can cook, have easy access to a refrigerator, run home if you forget something — you have your routine and can rely on it.  let’s discuss some strategies to avoid the junk and keep on course!

BRING THE BASICS
Fruits, baby carrots, nuts. Pack those up so you at least have a start for your food choices. Remember, we want to load up on high quality meats and veg, but these will at least let you get your feet under you until you…

HIT UP THE GROCERY STORE - Rather than stopping at one of those fast food places stop at a grocery store and get some carrotts, celery, a few apples, several ounces of macadamia nuts and almonds, a couple avocados, meat. Then shove them in a cooler.

BAKE YOUR OWN GOODIES - These cookies are high in protein and apart from the chocolate chips, no sugar.  Taste and look like a treat but it could be a post workout meal theire so darn good for you.

PACK YOUR TUPPERWARE - If you don’t own a good set of tupperware already, go right now and buy some.  On the road, it can be your best friend.

STAY HYDRATED - Everywhere you go, drink that H20!

BE PICKY - Be that annoying person who asks for substitutions of veggies or salad. That's smart not annoying.

FIND THE CLOSEST CROSSFIT BOX - Everywhere you go, there will likely be a CrossFit somewhere closeby.

A weekend like this can leave you not only tired but broke - it can get pricey. On the road, you’re navigating a minefield of fast food, packaged and processed garbage, and pressure to eat and drink things you may not want to (let's face it, want to, that is!). There is food-like crap all around you on the road. So “Plan for your success.” This applies to everything we do whether it’s workouts, mobility, stability, or nutrition. Sometimes there is something to eat and other times you have make do with a bunless crap burger patty and a pile of shredded lettuce. The key to success here is preparation: a little planning ahead of time will save you a lot of pain and hunger down the road. Try not to spend the whole meal beating yourself up for “cheating.” One meal won’t throw you into a feeding frenzy of candy bars and ice cream. The important part is to get back to eating whole foods as soon as possible, and to remember the situation so you can plan for it next time.