Problem:
Business travelers live an unhealthy lifestyle and their bodies pay for it
Studies have shown that people are more likely to trust, listen to and believe attractive people. Therein, you may notice that consulting firms tend to hire attractive people (that’s not a coincidence). But like most business travelers, consultants live an unhealthy lifestyle and their bodies tend to pay for it.
Most of the “How to stay healthy on the road” articles Isuggest a myriad of tasks is required to stay fit while traveling. These articles are usually written by fitness or health experts who rarely travel. They usually take their preexisting fitness plans and reapply them, taking their best-guess at what a business traveler’s life is like.
This is not one of those articles.
Most consultants start their careers as undergraduates with, more often than not, better-than-average bodies. But even the best metabolisms go all to pieces when faced with:- Lack of sleep
- High-stress/high-burn projects with long hours
- Poor diet: Large portions of fatty, carby, salty foods eaten in haste
- Lots of time in stationary positions: planes, office chairs
- Increased daily alcohol use
- Increased daily caffeine use
4 easy things you can do to stay fit1. More sleep (at least 8 hours) 2. “Health-conscious” dinner choices, no food late at night 3. Daily vitamin and fruit if possible 4. 10 minutes of light exercise |
Solutions
Four things that will greatly increase your overall health, reduce fat and look better:
1. Sleep
Sleep plays a huge role in reducing weight and improving overall health. Lack of sleep directly correlates to increased weight gain, decreased muscle mass and decreased energy. If you do nothing else, getting more sleep is a simple, effective technique to getting in better shape.
Really!
2. Consistent, Healthier Eating Habits
And how to find healthier food on the road without being obsessive about it
I know – it’s tough to eat healthy. You’ve got back-to-back meetings all day and not an hour to take off for lunch. This means fatty, carby meals and frequent visits to the vending machines.
Some advice:
| You should carry one of these around wherever you go. |
- Try to eat frequent, small meals. Eating big, infrequent meals is a good way to get fat. Eat a light lunch – even better, the same lunch each day, and something little throughout the day. Snacks can include fruit (if possible), nuts, or the healthiest thing you can find in the vending machine.
- Drink water throughout the day and instead of soda. Water makes your body work more effeciently. This translates to weight loss and an overall healthy feeling. Carry a Nalgene bottle around or similar. Quit soda all-together.
- No food three hours before you go to bed.This is all about digestion. Your body will not burn fat and rebuild muscle if you go to sleep on a full stomach. That means you’ll gain weight a lot easier.
3. Vitamins and Fruit
If you’re not already doing so, take a daily vitamin. It’s easy, fast, and will give you great results.
If you can, try to eat more fruits and vegetables. These contain vital nutrients and fiber necessary for a balanced diet.
This is where I stray from most “experts” because they assume it is easier to find fresh fruits and vegetables on the road than is true. You usually won’t have time or access to a grocery store.Places to find fruit on the road:
- The hotel. Most hotels you’ll be staying at have fruit in the concierge lounge or the lobby. This is the best and easiest way to find fruit
- The client cafeteria. While sometimes difficult to find, most client cafe’s have spare apples and bananas laying around
- Bigger gas stations (sometimes) I’m not going to lie – this is rare. But if all else fails this becomes more and more likely. Watch out for the gray bananas… seriously.
4. 10 Minutes of Exercise
This isn’t as bad as it sounds, however consistency is key.
You can accomplish this in your hotel room if hard pressed. If i’m on a tough project I usually do two sets of sit-ups, push-ups and stretching in my room each morning. That’s it.
This will usually be enough to keep you relatively fit.
The more ambitious may want to run on the hotel treadmill for 10 minutes.
