By Maria Valdez Haubrich
Did one of your New Year’s resolutions involve being healthier and fitter this year? That’s great, but frequent business travel can undermine even the most determined health enthusiast. If you want this year to be the year you really get in shape, here are five tips for keeping your health and fitness regimen going—no matter where you go.
Stay hydrated. Often our bodies fool us into thinking we’re hungry when it’s really just dehydration. Carry bottled water with you and limit caffeinated coffee, tea and sodas. Drink liquids with every meal and watch alcohol intake. It may be part of entertaining for business, but go for lower-calorie alcoholic beverages like wine, or pair hard liquor with low-calorie mixers like club soda.
Get enough sleep. Speaking of sleep, it’s often the first casualty of business travel. Bring the accessories you need to get a restful night’s sleep, whether that’s earplugs, an eyeshade or white noise on your smartphone’s playlist. Try to catnap on the plane if you have a long flight—pillows and travel blankets can help here.
Take advantage of hotel offerings. More and more hotels are offering not just dreary fitness centers, but exercise gear (like DVDs, on-demand workouts on the hotel TV, or even yoga mats and exercise bands) so you can stay fit in your room instead of trekking down to the gym. If you’re a runner or fitness walker, ask the concierge to map out a safe and fun route. Find out what the hotel has to offer before you book, and you’ll have no excuse to slack on the couch.
Speak up. If you’re watching your weight, the good news is more restaurants are willing to work with you. Higher-end eateries will typically prepare foods to your specification without extra butter, cream or sauce—just ask. Chain restaurants in many states now have to post calorie counts, making it simple to see what you’re getting and avoid unhealthy dishes.
Make a plan. This is the most important tip of all. Whether it’s eating, exercising or sleeping well, the key to success is knowing what obstacles you’re likely to face and planning for how to get around them. If you will be going out to a high-calorie steakhouse, plan ahead for what you’ll eat. If you’ll be in marathon meetings, plan to work out early in the morning. You get the idea. In fitness as in business, failing to plan is planning to fail.
Image by Flickr user Matt McNier (Creative Commons)
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Tags: business travel, small business
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