Staying on Track While Traveling

I recently had to fly to Chicago for work; just me, solo. I anticipated a quiet couple of days where I would only have to worry about myself…no kids to chaperone, no husband to coordinate schedules with, no house to pick up, no dishes to do, and a full night’s sleep in complete silence. Just me, myself, and my work. Sounds pretty amazing, right?

Ok, it actually is pretty amazing to get a break from many of life’s responsibilities (shhh, don’t tell Matt Welters, who is usually stuck at home managing everything by himself).

But the one thing I always struggle with when I travel is staying on track with my fitness goals. Whether it’s for work, vacation, or visiting family and friends for the holidays, travel can throw off the routine and make it even harder to persist.

I had a feeling that I might not be alone, so I took a little poll. I learned that the toughest part for many of our #fusefam is managing their nutrition and dealing with “bad” influences.

“While we travel we tend to go out to eat and drink, so it’s extremely hard to keep track and eat healthy. Also, hitting the gym seems less of a priority when you travel.” ~Jamielynn

“Traveling sucks because you’re tired and you want comfort.” ~Megan

And even if we do a good job of managing our efforts, there are so many temptations that it just gets difficult to maintain for the whole trip.

“I do all right watching my macros and calories for the first three or four days. Then by day five I’m like screw it I think I will eat half the large deep dish pizza. After that it’s a free fall into the abyss.” ~Chris

“I’m tethered to him so if he falls into the abyss, I’m usually going there too.” ~Sally

So what can you do to make it easier? First of all, decide what your goals actually are BEFORE you hit the road. Do you want to maintain the same level of workouts and nutrition management that you do at home? After all, you are on a break and maybe you should just enjoy yourself – no shame in that!

“Every time I travel it’s usually for a press trip so I tend to be moderate but the experiences are once in a lifetime so .” ~Bert

But if you want to maintain some level of your everyday life as it relates to exercise and nutrition, here are some tips from some of our more seasoned #fusefam travelers (Sue, Julie, and Megan).

PRE-TRIP:

Always plan ahead and make sure to pack the following items first. If you don’t, your suitcase

magically fills up with a few extra things, and you lose many of the tools you need to help you succeed.

Your sneakers and workout clothes. I know it’s obvious, but do this before everything else.
Your actual workout plans. If you can, ask a trainer ahead of time if you can snap a pic of the workout plan for the days you’ll be gone. Even better, schedule a Results-Coaching session with a trainer and ask them to help you with a plan.
Snacks that are easy to grab and go and that contain some protein and healthy fats. These will also help you stay fuller longer: almonds, protein bars, turkey jerky, snack bites.
Snacks that give a little boost of sugar to help curb temptations later in the day: sweet and salty bars, dried cranberries or other fruit, Kind bars that have just enough chocolate or honey to do the trick.
Advocare Meal Replacement Shakes that can easily be mixed with water anywhere you go (full disclosure, we sell Advocare products…because we love them).

Don’t forget to include some of these items in your carry on, because travel days can be unpredictable and you often have to wait longer than you think to get food.

DURING TRIP:

Our “consultants” also have some ideas to help you stay on track while you’re on your trip.

Remember that coffee places generally have parfaits, string cheese, or Megan’s personal favorite, Starbucks egg bites!
Ask when checking in at the hotel, “where’s the gym and what hours is it open?” Now you have no excuse for not knowing where it is, and better yet, comment back to the person that you’ve “gotta get your workout in” because verbalizing it massively increases your chances of actually doing it.
When the alarm goes off in the morning, do the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown and put your feet on the floor, get up, and do it.
If you are not staying at a hotel, find a local Snap Fitness where you can use your card or potentially sign up for a trial week.
If you don’t have the right equipment for your workout, improvise! No speed ladder? Use the tiles on the floor instead. No boxes to jump onto? Jump over a stability ball instead. Get the point?
If you can’t do anything else, at least go for a walk, run, or “yog” (as Matt would say) to get your blood flowing. Believe us, you’ll feel better for it.
And if all else fails, you can usually do a simple workout for 20-30 minutes in your room. See if you can get in 3 sets of the following:

50-100 jumping jacks
20 body weight squats
20 push-ups
15-20 lunches (per leg)
60 second planks
15 chair dip triceps

And you know what? If you just want to have a relaxing vacation and not worry about any of this…then do that! But plan ahead for it and then don’t feel guilty about it. Make sure that YOU are in charge of it and that you’re not just reacting to challenging vacation circumstances.

Happy Travels and Happy Holidays!

#holidaytravel #mindset #stayingontrack #holidaytravels #workout