5 Steps to a Successful Road Trip
We spent the last 2 days driving from Wisconsin to South Carolina to hang out with Chris and his family. A couple days in the car is never optimal for your health. Like anything, a little planning goes a long way. We knew this trip was coming so here’s how we still stacked plenty of wins.
#1 – High Protein Breakfast
We didn’t leave until the mid morning so breakfast was fully within control. We took advantage to pile in the protein. The goal was to feel full, keep the metabolism high and keep blood sugar stable since there won’t be a ton of activity for 2 days.
#2 – High protein snacks
-Beef jerky
-turkey jerky
-protein shakes
All low calorie, high protein and easy to travel with. You could eat an entire family size bag of jerky and get over 100 grams of protein with the calories of a single small meal.
#3 – Movement
With a one year old, pushing through in 1 day wasn’t going to happen. So we leveraged the pit stops to be able to move. We stopped at a mall in Lexington and walked around for an hour before getting back on the road.
Sometimes you don’t have an hour, but you can find space to get some activity in.
-squats or lunges while the gas tank fills
-take a quick 5 minute walk/jog after hitting the bathroom
-stretch out the low back and hips before getting right back in the car
Getting some blood flow and a little activity helped with feeling fresh and alert throughout the trip.
#4 – Staple Travel Meals + Hotel breakfast
Not every meal on the road is going to be perfect. I don’t stress about it, but we still do the best we can. Here are a couple travel options that have routinely worked for keeping protein high while limiting the calories.
The goal was to hit a high protein breakfast on day 2 at the hotel. Unfortunately the hotel had no hot food as originally advertised. This meant the only food available was bread, bagels, and cereal.
I stuck with just coffee. When the first 4 hours of your day are going to be spent sitting, food is optional in the morning. And starting the day with processed carbs and no protein would leave me hungrier than skipping the meal altogether.
#5 – Hydration
Underrated especially during air travel. Needing to stop to use the bathroom is a buzzkill but we were making frequent stops anyway. Drinking plenty of fluids helps to suppress appetite and urges to snack out of boredom. And since we did most of our driving in the evening while our daughter was asleep, some caffeine is always a plus.
-coffee- appetite suppressant and stimulation during drive
-water – obvious reasons
-sparkling water- carbonation to help with satiety and get a bit of a sweet fix
-Diet Dr. Pepper – Tastes great, zero calories and the caffeine always helps.
Summary:
Road trips don’t have to derail your progress. Plan ahead to leverage high protein, low calorie snacks and move when you can. Use coffee as an appetite suppressant. Do a little research to find high protein, low calorie fast food options you enjoy.
Follow this plan and your travel days can end up being lower calorie and more successful than any other day in the office.
