How To Eat Better During Your Frequent Business Travels

Do you travel a lot and struggle to stick to your health, food and fitness goals? Then this column is for you. Frequent travel disturbs more than just your eating habits.

While we have normalised travelling thousands of miles in a day - eating, working and sleeping through flights, this does affect our health in several ways.

The most obvious one is jet lag. Crossing multiple time zones can disrupt your body's internal circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep-wake cycles and many other systems in our body. This can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and digestive disturbances. It takes a few days for your body to adjust to the new time zone.

Air travel, especially on long flights, can contribute to dehydration due to low humidity levels in aeroplane cabins. You may end up consuming less water when outside of a familiar environment or lack of access to drinking water when on the go, contributing to dehydration.

Travelling exposes you to new environments and potentially different pathogens, as was evident during Covid-19. Being in close proximity to other travellers and touching surfaces in public areas can increase your risk of exposure to germs and viruses. Practices like wearing a mask on flights or crowded closed spaces, washing hands frequently and avoiding touching your face minimise the risk of infections.

The above disturbances depend on factors like the duration of travel, mode of transportation, amenities at your destination and your general immunity. Taking care of your health, staying hydrated, getting adequate rest, and adopting healthy travel practices can help mitigate some of these effects.

Now let's come to the next most common concern. How do I eat healthily during my travels?

Tips For Eating Better During Business Travel

There are two kinds of situations here. Business travel could be to the same few places or new places all the time.

Let us examine the first scenario. Travelling to the same places regularly means you develop a routine over time. It helps to return to a familiar hotel, and foods, with chefs who may know your dietary choices and routines. You may also know the places around to go for a morning walk/run or the gym in the hotel where you can stick to your fitness routine. In this case, your fitness and food habits do not get thrown for a toss completely and you are able to follow your routine to a large extent.

When you travel to new cities all the time at work, your fitness regimen and food habits have a chance of getting disrupted. It takes time to adjust back to your old schedule when you are back home and then it is time to travel again. I hear this a lot from my jet-setting neighbours and friends who are constantly on the move, not just domestically but internationally.

Here are some healthy eating tips that you can follow when on business travels.

Breakfast

Most hotels you stay at offer a breakfast buffet, which I must admit is tempting. Especially in Indian hotels, you'll find a wide range of Indian and international breakfast dishes, even desserts.

Going for breakfast with a game plan in mind will prevent you from straying from your dietary resolutions. You can never go wrong with eating vegetables, proteins and some high-fibre fruits for breakfast. Eggs are a perfect choice - either hard-boiled or made to order - combining protein and healthy fats that will fuel you with satiety for the day.

If you don't eat eggs then look for some plain unsweetened Greek yogurt. Mix it with nuts and seeds from the cereal counter. Add some boiled chickpeas or sprouts from the salad section and you have made yourself a decent protein-rich egg-free breakfast. Make sure you have some non-starchy vegetables if you can find them on the buffet and a fruit like apple or pear to boost your dietary fibre intake without a steep spike in your blood glucose levels.

Now that you have eaten all the good foods, you will most likely be full with no appetite to graze further, but if you do want to try something local from the buffet, go ahead and serve yourself a small portion. This strategy of front-loading the most nutritious foods ensures that you eat healthy and don't leave much of an appetite for high-carb processed foods. At the same time, you are not depriving yourself of the dishes you love.

Also Read: To Eat, Or Not To Eat, Breakfast That Is The Question - Answered

Snacks

You can also pack a couple of fruits, greek yoghurt or a handful of nuts for your day from the buffet (most hotels allow that) if you are going to be on the road all day. A healthy savoury trail mix is a good thing to carry along when you travel for a healthy snacking option.

Water

Carry a refillable bottle of water along with you so you are not tempted to drink colas.

Teatime

During meetings/conferences, stay farthest from the plate of cookies if that is something you end up consuming mindlessly. I know people who have no attraction to biscuits or cookies whatsoever. There is no harm in drinking tea or coffee to keep yourself going during these long-drawn sessions as long as you avoid sugary beverages.

Dinner

There's a trick to wading through team dinners or business dinners successfully. Find out the place you'll be dining at and check out their menu online beforehand to decide what you'll be eating, whatever sticks to your dietary goals. That way you won't be at the mercy of the person who is ordering for the table. You can always graze from the food for the table so as to not appear impolite.

Dessert

The mind tends to associate travel with holidays and a relaxed attitude towards our diet. If you travel frequently these one-off indulgences become a habit. It is best avoided making a habit of eating a dessert after every meal. Many people find abstinence easier than exercising portion control or moderation when it comes to desserts. If you feel too deprived over this, keep a bar of dark chocolate in your room so that you can have it post-dinner. Eating a piece of fruit mindfully can also be as fulfilling as a dessert.

Maintaining health, food, and fitness goals during frequent travel can be challenging but not impossible. Planning ahead, making mindful choices during meals, and incorporating healthy snacks can help you stay on track. Small consistent adjustments to your routine can lead to significant improvements in your overall well-being, even while jet-setting around the world. Bon voyage and stay healthy!