Phase II: How to Eat Healthy & Workout During a Work Trip

Phase two ended on Saturday, September 10th, 2016. I didn’t see as amazing results as the first phase, but I still saw results each week. The first week I lost the most weight and inches of all three weeks in phase two (2 pounds and 1.75 inches.) The second week it slowed down to one pound and 1.25 inches. The third week my weight stayed the same while I actually gained 1.25 inches back, which could be an error in how I measured myself or it could be because I was traveling that week for work. Either way, I learned a couple great lessons about staying motivated to work out and to eat healthy while traveling.

I’ve always found work trips to be challenging when I’m trying to focus on eating healthy and keep up an exercise routine. For this trip, I traveled to the east coast and stayed in a hotel for five days and four nights. I mentally prepared myself prior to the trip in order to stay as close to my eating and exercise routine as possible. I created an abbreviated meal plan so that I knew which days were high or low carb days, and I packed snacks that would help me stick to my goal during the day. Thankfully the conference I was at allowed for dietary requests, like gluten free and dairy free, so my lunches were always packed with veggies/salad, protein and an option for a clean carb like an apple or gluten free crackers/chips. For breakfast I packed no bake oats, and for snacks I had protein shakes (I love Shakeology), homemade protein muffins, and/or protein balls. All of these recipes came from the book Extreme Transformation (more info here.) I purchases a carton of almond milk at the local bodega next door and kept it in the ice bucket, which I switched out with fresh ice every morning and night. It would be super helpful if you have a mini fridge in your hotel room, but I did not. I also purchased bananas to go with my no bake oats most mornings. By the end of the week, I was pretty sick of no bake oats and instead opted for a reduced fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich at Starbucks. At night I found a local healthy chipotle style restaurant called Rebol. Another night I ordered grilled salmon, veggies and quinoa for room service with the dressing on the side. My second night there I went to dinner with co-workers and focused on portions, but allowed myself to “eat off the (healthy) menu” and enjoy a glass of red wine.

As for the gym workouts, I had the option of going to a gym at the hotel, but I prefer having someone tell me what exercises to do, so I don’t have to worry about that part of it. I packed a couple work out DVD’s. I had a few different 21 Day Fix DVDs by Beachbody, which I watched two separate workouts while on my trip. I also brought T25 by Beachbody and StudioMIXX DVDs. I actually didn’t watch either of these, but it was good to have options just in case. Resistance bands work great in place of weights, and frisbees work as gliders when doing mountain climbers for cardio. Plus, both are super easy to pack. I purchased two 6-packs of water for my room and they came in handy for my first workout as a replacement for weights too. Don’t forget to bring a computer that takes DVDs, since most hotels no longer have DVD players for you to use. If you don’t have a laptop with this feature, you can download work outs from Barre3. I didn’t find time to work out everyday or for as long as I usually do, but two 30-minute workouts are better than nothing! Plus, I walked 40 minutes total each day to get to the conference.

Here is the recipe for the Strawberry & Banana Quinoa Muffins that I made from Extreme Transformation. I ran out of strawberries and substituted blueberries for half. I portioned them out and froze them in order to take the muffins in my carry-on with an ice pack. Did you know that you can travel with an ice pack in your carry-on? It’s true! The ice pack needs to be fully frozen. By the time I got to Cleveland, the muffins were thawed and ready to eat as a snack.

If you travel for work, share the tips and tricks you’ve learned to maintain a healthy lifestyle while on the road in the comments below!

Quick Stats

Phase II: 3 pounds lost (10 total pounds lost since day 1) and 1.75 inches lost (11.25 total inches lost since day 1)

Overall goal: 10 pounds to lose by November 23, 2016!

Be you, bravely.

The Foxy Kat

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