Strategies To Eat Healthy During Business Trips

Business trips can be exciting as one gets to travel to new destinations with a full expense hotel stay and food. For some it is a welcome chance to get out of the monotonous work at office. For those professionals who work closer to home maintaining healthy eating habits as well as a physical activity routine can be easy to. However, for those constantly on the move, both the healthy eating as well as a routine exercise program become difficult to maintain. Business trips can be a lot of fun until the realization dawns that one has actually gained weight since the start of the travel which may affect health. Corporate wellness programs undertaken by companies today include solutions for the professional on the move.

With consistent travel, one needs to make sure that good health is a priority. If one feels healthy and fit the productivity is better. Travelling for business can involve stress. Long hours on the flight or on the road, intense business meetings, disturbed sleep cycles, working on upcoming presentations and feasting on the food and alcohol at the same time can have a huge impact on the overall health of the employee. Many a times one returns from the trip feeling bloated, unhealthy and tired.

Employee wellbeing or employee wellness should be of utmost importance to the employer for increased productivity. One of the purposes of the employee wellness programs conducted by corporate wellness providers is to educate the employees to make healthy food choices on the go.

A few tips for those who regularly travel on business trips:

1. Carry / Pack healthy snacks: Plan before you leave for the business trip. Some healthy snacks that can be packed are dried fruits, nuts, trail mix, etc. These snacks will prevent one from grabbing a burger / pizza / sandwich loaded with butter and cheese or picking up fried snacks off the vending machine.
2. Choose healthy food options at the restaurant: Eating out at a restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean one has to order for the butter naans, rotis, kulchas, creamy greasy gravies, fried starters, burgers, pizza’s etc. If one has to have one or both of the major meals at a restaurant as part of a meeting or because of travel, one can always choose wisely:

• Hotels have a buffet breakfast option where you can choose the foods. Choose a sugarless cereal with milk, eggs with whole wheat bread, etc instead of other fried and high in sugar options
• At lunch or dinner prefer a clear vegetable soup, roti without butter, simple dal and a vegetable. Whole wheat bread sandwiches (without the heavy dressings) with grilled chicken / fish, whole wheat pasta / noodles etc. are some other food options.
• Ask for the sauces or dressings to be served separate

1. Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water through-out the day to stay hydrated. Many a times thirst is mistaken for hunger. You might think you always know the difference, but it’s not that easy. Drinking water can fill one up and fix those minor feelings of hunger. If one eats food and realizes after a couple of bites that he / she is not that hungry, it’s a sign that it is thirst instead of hunger. Buttermilk, coconut water, fresh fruit juice without sugar can also help to fill in the small hunger gaps and help stay hydrated.
2. Read nutritional labels: Read nutritional labels of the food that you buy out from the shelf. Check the sugar, sodium, saturated fat that is mentioned on the food label. Anything above 5% of the DRI (i.e. daily recommended intake) is not healthy.
3. Eat more of fruits and vegetables: Carry or buy fruits whenever you travel as keep you satisfied longer in between meals. This keeps one away from the unhealthy snacking options like chips, cookies, biscuits, etc. Incorporating vegetables by way of soups and salads will also ensure that one eats less food during the major meals.
4. Restrict alcohol intake: Business travel can come with arranged get-togethers. Alcoholic drinks become a part of all the meetings that take place. Limit your alcohol intake as provides nothing but empty calories.
5. Exercise on the trip: Just as eating healthy is important but challenging during travel, getting some form of physical activity also becomes a challenge. Try and carry the exercise gear during travel. This will increase the chances of one taking out time for a workout. If you are not a lover of gyms, a walk or a jog is just good enough.

So, it is possible to keep good health when away from home. All that is required is some extra efforts to get the right food and to exercise. Wellness corporate solutions are an important part of any organization today which aims at providing practical and easy solutions to maintain the health of the employees and education of the employees is a part of these programs.

Arati Shah is an astute nutritionist having expertise in all types nutrition, she is one of the top 10 dietitians in Mumbai who can also guide one through corporate wellness programs with same efficacy