5 Tips for Staying Healthy on the Road

Since starting my Arbonne business almost two years ago, I have gotten SO many amazing travel opportunities (Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Seattle, Arizona, DC, Miami, Tennessee, NYC, Charlotte, just to name a few).

Charlotte enjoying the Virgin Islands, Arbonne Trip 2015

In fact, I just returned from a great week in Las Vegas for our Global Training Conference (SUCH a great week, but more on that later!).  Through our Clean Eating Challenge program, many of you have told me that sticking to your health and fitness goals while traveling, for work or otherwise, is a big struggle.  Here are a few tips that I use to make sure I stay on plan while I am traveling:

1. Preparation is KEY

Just like when you are eating clean at home, sticking to your priorities on the road will take some good preparation. If you usually spend Sunday afternoon meal prepping, do that exact thing for your trip!   First of all, plan ahead.  Do you need to order anything special?  Ready to drink shakes? Single protein packets?  A blender bottle?  Order those at least a week ahead of time.

Then, think about how you will handle meals, and get your nutrition needs packed up.  For breakfast, maybe pack your blender bottle, individual packets of protein, and any other supplements.  For lunches, consider whether you will be in the car all day (need nutrition bars and individual packets of almond butter, or ready-to-drink shakes to avoid the drive through), or having business lunches (plan what you will choose right now-”I will have a piece of fish and a vegetable”) for lunch everyday.  Put sturdy snacks in your luggage.  Powdered greens are a great safeguard against a no-vegetable trip. This seems obvious, but most of us don't even consider planning our nutrition on a trip.

Next, look at your schedule and plan your workouts.  Commit to how many workouts you will get in while you are gone.  These days, that is much easier than it used to be.    I am so grateful that Arbonne so highly values health that they offer group workout options for us, but if that is not your situation, plan them for yourself!  (In fact, maybe a friend or colleague would appreciate the invitation to join you!  Encourage each other!)

Arbonne charitable workout for Hope for Haiti #gtc2016

Group yoga to benefit Arbonne Charitable Foundation #gtc2016

Running or walking is always a simple option.  It has the added benefits of needing only a pair of shoes, and also allowing you to explore the area!

One of the ways I have been introduced to awesome new workouts is to take every opportunity for new classes.  Are you traveling to a big city?  It is a great chance to try that awesome class that everybody raves about!  Are you in a scenic area?  Ask friends for recommendations for a hiking spot or walking trail.  Are you visiting someone who is passionate about a certain workout?  Let them introduce you to their fav!  That is how I tried a barre class, and it is a regular part of my routine now.

Hiking on trip in AZ

If you know that you will have a crazy trip with little downtime or no good options, consider signing up for streaming workouts.  This is what I do when I am home on the farm.  My personal favorite is Physique57 streaming because they offer a free 1 week trial.  Other great options include Tracey Anderson streaming, or Barre 3 streaming.  All of those choices offer no-equipment workouts that you could easily do in a hotel room.

So how do you fit all this into your traveling schedule?

2. Prioritize

Write down your goals, and commit to sticking to them.

One important way to make sure that happens is to spend the money: pay for the exercise class, the daily gym pass, whatever it takes.  Buy the blender bottle, the single serve protein, the stacking containers, the PB 2.  Why?  Because you need to make staying healthy as easy as possible.  Making small investments in necessary preparation is an essential part of that.  

If at all possible, make it a priority to go to the market when you first arrive and grab clean food that can be kept in your room fridge: hardboiled eggs, precut veggies and hummus, non-dairy milks, water.

If you track your food using a diet and fitness calculator, consider where you want to spend your calories/macros.  Don't stray from that plan except for a truly once in a lifetime treat.  (Airport food ain’t that).   Planning ahead will help enormously here.

For example, here is the difference in Starbucks v Arbonne's Fizz Sticks nutrition:

If you are committed to staying on plan, do you really want to spend THIRTY TWO grams of sugar on one coffee?

Another important way to prioritize is to discipline yourself for what you want the most!  

Leave the party early so you can get up early and squeeze in that workout.  If all else fails, walk laps at the airport.  Ask your business contact or friend to meet you for an active meeting instead of a drink.  I have done this with great success several times lately, and gotten to have some great experiences as a result.

Barre 3 Studio, Georgetown

3. Essential Take Alongs

So what to pack?

For me, these are essential take alongs, and I can fit most of it into one gallon size ziplock.

• Protein packets
• Ready to Drink shakes (for car travel, or ship ahead)
• Fiber (35 g of fiber per day has been proven to help you eat 245 less calories per day without noticing)
• Fizz Sticks
• Greens
• Digestion Plus
• Sleep Spray
• Blender bottle
• Stacking cups
• Nutrition bars
• Complete Hydration

4. Stay Flexible

Let's say you slept through your planned workout this morning. You're giving up on today, right?! NO. Figure out a way to squeeze something in! Walk laps in the airport. Do a 7 minute HIIT workout (there are apps for this!). What if your boss just loves fast food, beer, and general shenanigans? (Well, don't we all?!) Make the best choice you can-check the nutrition info, order a club soda and lime, plead jet lag and get back to the hotel-whatever it takes. Don't let your perfect plan be the enemy of a good alternative choice. Staying on track is absolutely about a "no matter what" attitude than it is about sticking to any one small part of your plan.

5. Tips & Trips

• Packets of single serve protein are perfect for when you are only using a carry on bag. Make sure you have your blender cup and stacker ready to go in your bag for your travel day.
• Ready-to-drink shakes are the gold standard for car trips and checked luggage. SO easy.
• If you will be in one place for more than a few days, consider sending nutrition ahead to the hotel. Most hotels will hold boxes for you at the front desk. That will save you some weight in your luggage.
• Stay on your probiotic, for two huge reasons. 1) Many people suffer from tummy trouble while traveling, and your probiotic is essntial to protecting your digestion, and 2) Do you know that a large percentage of your immunity resides in your gut health? By being consistent with your probiotic, you can save yourself all that crud many of us pick up while traveling.
• Bring your own water bottle. Keep it filled. Enough said.
• Commit to keep using your trackers, especially if you normally do at home-My Fitness Pal will give you nutrition information on most restaurants. Even if you are planning on indulging, keep yourself accountable by tracking everything!
• Write down your goals and keep them with you. WHY do you want to stick to your plan? What is your end goal? Keep these with you to remind yourself when you are tired from travel and feel like diving into a mediocre pizza.
• Try to get a friend to commit with you. If you can chat throughout the day, it will help keep you accountable. Even better if you two are traveling together. It is so much easier and more fun to make healthy decisions together. Encourage each other when one is feeling weak!
• Make the effort. This is key. Work hard ahead of time so that your decisions are easier later. For example, pack food for airport on travel days, don't plan eat fast food and hope you will find something healthy.  Start yourself off on the right foot.
• A quick example of what I ate while I was gone last week:
• Breakfasts: protein shakes made in the room, with fiber, Digestion Plus, and PB2. Prepared and packed in my tote: Fizz Sticks made with Greens
• Lunches: Always protein and a veggie combination of some kind at a restaurant. Made sure to get in a healthy fat (avocado is a good bet)
• Dinner: (admittedly, at 11pm most nights): Again, protein and veggie combo. I even got a beautiful salad from room service one night. And champagne. Because vacation.
• Snacks: bags of almonds, another protein shake, or nutrition bars in my tote. We also keep veggies and hummus, and some meat and cheese in our hotel fridge. Cut myself off coffee before 2 pm, stuck to fizz sticks so that my sleep wasn't disturbed.

May you be encouraged in your efforts to stay healthy while traveling! Tell me, what are your traveling healthy tips? I challenge you to make one healthy swap this week, whether you are on the road or not.