Being on the road brings a unique set of challenges that make it difficult to eat well and exercise.

You Lose the Home Field Advantage

Just like sports teams playing in a hostile environment, you may find yourself in a situation where very few (if any) event organizers, local businesses, or even colleagues are concerned with your positive progress on your diet and health journey. This brings you face-to-face with the truth that we often try to avoid – the only person responsible for your good health, is you.

When you’re in your home environment, you can surround yourself with the triggers and circumstances that make it easy to stay on course. And in that environment, bad habits are easier to keep in check because you can control the level of temptation that is present. But in an environment you don’t control, you have to go in prepared in order to keep those bad habits you’ve lost from taking over all week. Here are a few things you can do leading up to and during your next trip.

Be Realistic

Don’t go into any trip thinking anything less than 100% adherence is a failure. You’ll not only put undo anxiety on yourself, but also make it harder to bounce back from a moment you may have that drink with friends, or a bag of chips in the airport when your flight is delayed, and nothing else is open. Don’t plan for bad meals, but bounce back right after you have one.

Google

Look for all the restaurants and food options several days before you arrive. Read the menus and plan your days and meals around going to the places you know will have good options.

Go Shopping

As soon as you land, go to a local grocery store or market and get your hotel room stocked with healthy options. Even if it means paying a ride share service to get there, it will be worth it.

Don’t Show Up Hungry

Get familiar with your itinerary and be sure not to show up to conference sessions, work group outings, or mixers on an empty stomach. If you show up hungry, it’s much harder to avoid filling up on foods that are not a part of your nutrition plan. You can also pack a few snacks from your grocery store run, just in case there are no healthy options there.

Traveling is fun, and you should expect to have a good time. Being able to separate good times and bad dietary habits is important. They don’t need to be synonymous with each other, and with proper preparation, you can eat well, work hard, and party hard all in the same trip.