Since I graduated and started a new career as a engineer/consultant, I went through a huge lifestyle change that has made me grow and learn so much as a person. I currently travel every week Monday through Thursday to Boston from Indianapolis. Not only has this been an adjustment socially,
my fitness journey has changed dramatically.
I decided to compete in a bodybuilding show on April 2nd in the physique division. I have loved this journey so far and wanted to share what I have learned in the past 8 months through trial and error. (I have plenty of stories about error, but that's for another post haha) Even if you are not in competition prep,
traveling and eating healthy IS REALLY HARD but if you have goals you want to achieve, it is possible! If the word is underlined it's a link to where you can get what I use! I hope you find my tips useful and can adapt them to your life whether that be a weekend getaway or weekly commuting like me.
Side note: I do not make my own meal plans, I am an engineer NOT a professional personal trainer and nutritionist. I have a fantastic trainer Ben Barkes who does my lifting and food regimen. This blog post is simply some tips and tricks for traveling while keeping a healthy lifestyle.
Plan. Plan. Plan.
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This is a little peak at my spreadsheet.
I can use the app on my phone or do it on the computer! |
I keep a google sheet of all my meals and update it every Sunday when I meal prep. Even if I may have options to get food other ways, I always bring my pre-made food just in case. You never want to be in a position where you can't get what you need.
If you don't have to be as strict, keep snacks around. I recommend protein bars, rice cakes, nuts. I learned the hard way that cold rice is really gross so on days that I am traveling and can't microwave I opt for rice cakes! (Buttered popcorn is my go-to but if you have a little more flexibility...White Cheddar and Caramel are AMAZING).
Mary-Poppins
I get a lot of jokes about the amount of things I can have at by bag at any one moment. Organization is key so if you travel, I would recommend meal management bags like the one above which is a
Six pack bag. Keeps meals organized and I can carry all my work things in it too. FUN FACT: YOU CAN BRING FOOD THROUGH SECURITY but I would avoid ice packs, they have to be completely frozen and if they aren't they'll get tossed. Some people also prefer back packs or duffels there are all kinds of products out there and I will tell you they are worth every penny. Even if you don't invest in a bag, I would invest in some good tupperware (see my section below) so you can always bring just one meal in a normal tote if need be!
Fun-Size Everything
I feel like I have travel-sized my entire kitchen. My essential travel-size things are as follows:
Sample serving BCAAS
You can put whatever brand you want but this one comes with a scooper and I love BPI Sports so I just re-fill it when it gets low. If you don't know what BCAAs are, they help maintain lean muscle when you are trying to lose weight. Google it. Most importantly, they are a great way to flavor water!
Favorite BPI flavors: Cherry Lime, Blue Raspberry, Green Fusion
In travel-size shampoo bottles, yes its weird and no they didn't have shampoo in them beforehand lol If you have to be really strict, I recommend Walden Farms Dressing.
Favorite Walden Farms: Chipotle Ranch, Sesame Ginger, Zesty Italian or Balsamic Vinaigrette.
(They are ZERO EVERYTHING dressings)
If you don't have to be as strict, Newman's Own Dressings are great.
Favorite Newman's Own: Sesame Ginger and Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette.
I put hot sauce/honey mustard/whatever in these. Be careful if you fill them too full the pressure will make them leak.
Refillable Water Bottle
People have different stances on this, I don't travel with a nice water bottle because I forget shit everywhere. I also only carry around 1 liter at a time because a gallon is heavy and obnoxious while traveling. 6 liters is about 1.5 gallons so I just refill it throughout the day. I just buy a water after security and use it until I lose it.
Funnel
Perfect for putting BCAAS in your water bottle or if you don't have a shaker, protein too! I got mine at bodybuilding.com, I'd go for a smaller size because it will take up less space.
Protein in Tupperware
Now I usually pack this in my checked bag but these sizes fit perfectly in my six pack bag compartments too!
Sugar-Free Gum
A gimme but really Orbit Sweet Mint is my favorite, it's a good trick to resisting those airplane cookies. CAREFUL THOUGH, Sugar alcohols in gum can definitely make you bloat and I have experienced this first hand. I read the labels and try not to have more than 3 pieces a day!
THESE ARE AMAZING. They are great for measuring salad dressing and then your carbs if you are at a restaurant. I will talk more about that later.
Shaker
Protein Shakers are a given but I would recommend getting the smaller size like the one above, full-size shakers can get very cumbersome.
Disposable Utensils
(you all don't need a picture of this, its not too groundbreaking haha)
I usually grab these from a food stand before I hop on the plane and clean them off and re-use them. You never want to be somewhere and need to get a meal in but have no utensils!
This is cool because it comes as one unit and you can pop off your day's worth of supplements. This is nice because I don't have to pack all my bottles of supplements and my vitamins are easy to find and manage. Do I kind of feel like a grandma with one of these? Yes. Do I care? NOPE.
Tupperware vs Baggie method
Some people hate carrying around tupperware, I personally don't mind it and mentally eating from a baggie is really gross to me and then using a ton of ziplocs every week is super wasteful. Both methods get the job done though! Depending on how much food you need to bring you may need to play around with sizes but a lot of meal management bags come with their own, which is nice.
Here are the ones I use. I like them because I color code them to my high/med/low days of carb cycling so I don't have to re-measure my food once I prepped it.
Eating Out at Restaurants - Leave Shame at the Door
I don't look very happy in this picture haha (That's my hungry face) but here's me at a restaurant whipping out my measuring cup to measure rice.
I have goals, I will do what it takes to achieve them. End of story. People may laugh at you, give you crap but at the end of the day you have to do what's best for you!
It is a part of my job to socialize and get to know my clients for work but when I am home I also don't want to spend all my time hermiting in my apartment alone. My two biggest pieces of advice for people in prep for going out to eat is
call ahead/look up the menu to plan what you'll have and have a back up plan if they will not accommodate your needs. I have been in a position where I planned on getting a salad, rice and chicken only to find that the restaurant didn't have ANY chicken available not marinated in olive oil and they had stopped serving rice as a side. Sigh. Here are some options for what I do when socializing:
-Pre-measure and cook my own protein
-Bring my own condiments and salad dressings
-BE POLITE TO THE WAIT STAFF. It is all about attitude. I try to get the waitress/waiter right next to me so I don't have to yell my order across the table. Again, no shame in taking time for your order. You are paying for the food so get what you want/need but a good disposition goes a longggg way.
-Ask for plain salad no dressing and add veggies (I then plop my pre-measured protein on top, Voila! worry-free salad)
-Ask for plain steamed or baked veggies/carb if they can guarantee its not going to be cooked in oil
-Ask for plain steamed/baked protein source and bring food scale (I really don't like doing this personally but it's really how much you trust the protein is cooked correctly)
I want to re-iterate I will not live like this 365 days/year...this is just during the time leading up to my bodybuilding competition and a few weeks post show to reverse-diet. Please let me know if you have any questions!
