This week will be brutal: an evening meeting on Monday, and traveling to a conference from Wednesday to Saturday.
How do you keep track of everything on the road?
Quite simply, I won’t. I’ll track my exercise, hydration, fruits and veggies, and I may make a note of whether I think that my calorie counts were low, medium or high. There’s just no way that I’m going to try to dissect the ingredients of a banquet meal at a conference. Calories are less important to me than balance, so I’m just going to strive to exercise daily and maximize my consumption of real foods.
How do you exercise on the road?
Depending on the hotel’s amenities, location and weather, I’ll either run/walk outside, use the pool or weight room, or even order some extra towels to create a makeshift in-room yoga mat for stretching. This is usually a very good idea after sitting in a conference room all day long, looking at nothing but PowerPoint slides.
How do you find fresh foods?
These days, most hotels have a coffee bar in the lobby, and they usually offer bananas and apples in addition to pastries. Of course, they tend to cost a small fortune. I also like to ask the hotel if there are any markets or convenience stores nearby. They’re good places to get large bottles of water and something fresh to eat.
The trick to this whole 40 Days commitment is that it’s not a diet and there aren’t any strict requirements. It’s about me paying attention to my body and treating it right. Some days it’s easy, some not so easy. But I’m doing my best and rolling with whatever challenges come along.
ohhhh, good Q&A, Alisa. I always find a market or a pharmacy (for water–do you get dehydrated when traveling?) when I arrive in a conference city and stock up on a few pieces of fruit, maybe a protein bar or beef jerky. I also make a practice of standing up for at least one talk per day–in the back–even have been caught stretching or putting my legs up on the wall in the back when a talk is particularly talky and I won’t miss much by not seeing 30 or so bullet-ridden slides. Way to take good care of yourself and I’m on your side!
I’m always dehydrated at these things. The worst was when I was starting my career and worked for a company that did a 5-day trade show in Vegas each year. I think I spent every moment of every trip completely dehydrated, because there’s just no good way to replenish in the dry Vegas air.
A great snack to mention is the Larabar. If you can find them (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods), they’re made with nothing but dried fruit and nuts. 100% real food, which comes in handy after one too many banquet meals.