Badasses, there is a pattern to our Friday Confessionals and general lamentations of food decisions we later regret. Often, the food is eaten while traveling -- be it from kids' soccer matches to dance lessons, or from one business stop to another. We do it while driving and while flying. We do it while waiting for our flights or while waiting in the car for the kids' practice to end. Dunkin Donuts, ice cream cones, the rest of their half-eaten french fries -- we munch it all.
So what does this Badass Army do when a bad habit forms? We break it by planning better and finding better alternatives!!! Airports and even rest stops and fast food drive-throughs offer better choices than ever - so we don't have that excuse anymore! Nope. We need to just suck it up and start making the right choices. Otherwise we're negating all the hard work we do on those runs, bicycle rides and gym workouts.
I found myself faced with lots of good and bad choices when I flew to and from London a couple of weeks ago. It was a nearly 12-hour journey by air from Tallahassee to the home of Queen Elizabeth, including a 9-hour flight from my Dallas connector to Heathrow airport. That is a long time to sit and be bored, which often leads to boredom-induced eating. The long flight also meant the airline would serve a meal onboard (dinner on the way there, lunch and a snack on the way home).
Airline food is heavy on salt, bad carbs and fat, light on veggies and fruits. Little wonder that the airline stewards and stewardesses were lamenting to me, and asking advice, on how to shed the weight they've gained while working these flights. (Yes, I directed them here to Badass Fitness!)
For my flight, I planned ahead and made a goody bag that would have made the Badass Foodie proud: A grilled chicken breast, almonds, a banana, 2 hard-boiled eggs, protein bars, and raisins. I ate a smoothie of almond milk, protein powder and berries before I left for the airport.
When the stewardess put the "dinner" on my tray, it was as expected: White flour pasta with a few pieces of chicken on top in some sort of salty sauce, a "salad" of iceberg lettuce and radishes, a roll, crackers with a cube of cheddar cheese, and a banana cake. So here's what I did: I ate the salad with very little of the ranch dressing, tried a few bites of the chicken and decided "ewww." Then I busted out my chicken breast and banana and almonds, and had my meal from home. And I drank lots of water. The result: I didn't feel bloated and lethargic when we got to London.
On the way back, I had time in Heathrow and noticed a lot of good airport choices: Starbucks has sandwiches and salads and fruit and cheese plates that are a far cry from burgers and fries. The one in London even had hummus and carrots and a tuna nicoise salad. THAT is the right choice over the fried chicken sandwiches sold next door, or even the mayo-heavy chicken salad on white bread sold at many airport spots.
I got the carrots and hummus, and at a British place called EAT I got this great sprouted salad with soybeans, cranberries, tomatoes, almonds and other good stuff. EAT also had a LIGHT tuna sandwich on wheat, "less than 5 percent fat" the label bragged. And they had a veggie and mozzarella sandwich, even a low-fat turkey and cranberry on whole wheat bread.
But on the walk to EAT, I passed all sorts of temptations. And in a certain moment, I might well have chosen the danish at Starbucks instead of the skinny latte. Which is OK sometimes. But most of the time, we need to be making the better choices.
Here's my list of go-to snacks to bring with you in your carry-on, in the car, and on the road:
- Almonds
- Raisins
- Baby carrots or carrot sticks
- Low-sugar protein or energy bars
- Fruit -- bananas, pears and apples travel well
- Low-sugar whole grain cereal like Honey Nut Cheerios (I like snacking on dry cereal, though not everyone does)
- Portable one-serving protein shakes
- Low-fat cheese sticks
WE have control of what we put into our Badasses, even while travel schedules conspire to control us. Your Badass is only as strong and lean as what you use to fuel it. So even at the airport and at the turnpike stop, remember that. You'll be glad you did the next time you step on a scale or slink into those jeans!
Coming tomorrow: Spring is almost here! Why not sculpt your Badass by training for a 5K or 10K? I'll help you get ready for race day...
