staying healthy on the road

We all know it, and still it is a tough thing to do. As sitting in a plane or a taxi does not count towards exercise (nope, does not) and eating most of the time is degraded to efficient calorie intake, there is room for improvement with most consultants. Semi-quoting a friend who has been in the industry a few more years: “I’ve seen colleagues all around me getting fat.”

So what can you do?

A good start are the seven points from Wayne Parker, who gives advice on fatherhood - but his tips for sure also apply to women and singles alike. Some comments on that:

• Drinking lots of water:
  good, but make sure you are still able to survive the three-hour workshop with the customer on one break without getting nervous.
• Packing your own snacks:
  works well if you have a supermarket on the way from the airport / train station to the client site. Buy a few apples and bananas (anything fruity except avocado works). You’ll like it, it is way better than chocolate from the vending machine down the hall, and you earn bonus points when you share.
• Sticking to the schedule:
  well, I wish. My schedule at home does not begin before sun has risen.
• Avoiding alcohol:
  do. Nothing against a glass of wine or a beer occasionally - but getting wasted during the week is a no-no. And be very careful in front of your customer. I know that it might be expected of you to share a beer at a reception. Make sure you do not get drunk, that might result in career-limiting moves, unintentional or not. Order alcohol-free beer, or just drink slowly and have water in between.
• Walk:
  Do. Use stairs. If you have a five minute break, go outside, call someone you like, take them on a walk around the block.
• Workout:
  That one is tough, I know, but do as told. Being fit helps you tremendously. Personally, I can’t workout in the morning at all. I think it is great that I get out of bed every morning, everything else is a stretch - but when I get back to the hotel, even late at night, most of the time I can get myself to jump on the crosstrainer, put on good music, a podcast or TV and walk the day away. YMMV. If you do not have a gym in the hotel and it is not the weather to run outside, you can even workout in the hotel room.
• Eating sensibly:
  Even tougher. Have breakfast, but stay away from everything fried or baked. Try staying away from snacks - pack some fruit (see above) for energy holes in between meals. Even if you only have fast food around, there are better and worse options. Subway for example has some low-fat subs (take the small one. No cookie. Good boy.), and there is a huge difference between a cheeseburger with a salad and the BigMac-Menu with big fries and a soda.

I know what you are thinking. “Easier said than done”. Right. But if you just start on one thing - for example, exchanging sugary snacks by fruit - you already do yourself a big favor.

Of course, over the next time we will get into more detail on the various topics mentioned here, and how you can make them work for you on the road.
… because staying alive is a core competency!