Improve Your Health By Feeding Yourself Good Nutrition and Eat Healthy As a Trucker

It’s National Nutritional Month, so let’s get our nutrition on!

Eating Healthy While Traveling Doesn’t Need To Be Overwhelming

You are a long-distance trucker, meaning you spend almost all your time on the road. You may be tempted to eat fast food or other junk food because it is convenient, but this is unhealthy for you or your body. Eating healthy while traveling will help keep you strong and energized throughout your trip and allow you to maintain good health for years. But for many drivers, it’s confusing, overwhelming, and often feels complicated, so it’s just easier to eat the junk.

Trucker Diet

Eating healthily is one of the most important things you can do for your health as a trucker. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth trying to stay fit and feel good about yourself. Here are some tips for eating healthy while traveling:

• Eat smart during the day. Don’t skip meals or go hungry; even if you’re running, late-you’ll feel crappy afterward.
• Consider eating breakfast. You need good fuel, just like your truck does. If you run on coffee and soda for hours in the morning, consider eating breakfast. Eat healthy fats or clean protein as your morning meal to help fuel your brain and keep you clear, focused, and full-length.
• When it comes to lunchtime, ask yourself, are you hungry? When we are doing a little movement throughout the day, we aren’t burning the most calories we can, which means we need less. You don’t need a big lunch, but a small healthy snack or a few healthy snacks prepackaged ahead of time to not overeat out of boredom. Mixed nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate chunks into small snack-size bags. Fresh fruit (remember, fruit is not the enemy) or crunchy vegetables to help satisfy that need for potato chip crunching.
• And for dinner, focus on veggies and lean protein. If you have a late run and don’t go to sleep right after a big meal, the energy your body needs to help you rest and repair while you sleep will be used to digest your food instead, leaving out tired and your body stressed.

Eat healthy on the road.

You can eat healthy while traveling by limiting fast food restaurants and mindless snacking. 

Truck stops have many different types of food available in their restaurants, including healthy options like salads, raw veggies, and lean meats. Watch out for hidden saturated fats in dressings and extra calories you don’t need from buns, fries, and side dishes. The power is in the ordering; if you don’t see an option on the menu or in the truck stop, ask if they can make a particular order; often, they are accommodating…if you ask.

Eat smart during the day.

• Focus on meals that give you nutrition. Are you getting veggies, fresh fruit, and lean meats into your diet?
• Drink lots of water throughout the day to stay hydrated, especially if you’re working in hot weather or doing heavy labor in your truck! Eating healthy while traveling includes staying hydrated. Each sip counts!
• Keep healthy snacks on hand for when hunger strikes between meals (like nuts, fruit, and veggies), but don’t forget to chew thoroughly so that you don’t end up with indigestion later on!

Maintain your muscle mass.

Maintaining muscle mass is one of the best things you can do for your body. It helps prevent bone loss and increases energy levels, essential for truckers who spend hours behind the wheel.

If you’re frequently traveling, it might seem impossible to maintain your strength and fitness levels–but there are ways to do so even in an unfamiliar environment. For example:

• Look into using exercise equipment at hotels or health clubs near where you’ll stop for the night (if possible).
• Walk the parking lot, even around the truck stop building, or march in place in your truck while you watch a show or talk on a phone.
• Travel with resistance bands and use water bottles, or travel with hand weight and insert exercises like bicep curls, overhead presses, and tricep extensions to help keep your body in shape.

Stay hydrated.

Water is the best drink. Drink a water bottle right away when you wake up and 30-60 minutes before a meal or your stop to help you feel fuller. Drink eight water bottles daily or grab one of our Trucker Camo© Healthy & Hydrated 64 oz travel water bottles because drinking water can feel overwhelming, start small and stay consistent. Focus on one bottle of water and drink it every day until it becomes automatic, then add a second, then a third…

https://youtu.be/yZftqqbUMRY 

Keep healthy snacks at hand.

• Keep healthy snacks in your truck.
• Keep healthy snacks in your hotel room.
• Keep healthy snacks in your car.
• Keep healthy snacks in your suitcase, backpack, or bag (or whatever you carry).

Prepackage those snacks into portion-size bags so you don’t overeat, and having snacks on hand before you get hungry saves you from mindlessly eating way more calories than you should. Some of my drivers have food baskets by their driver’s seats; all things are healthy and nutritional dense that they can consume whenever they want during their drive time. Don’t overfill this basket, but rather equip yourself with yummy healthy options you can grab and not feel guilty.

There are ways to have healthier meals while traveling.

• Eat healthily. When you’re on the road, it can be difficult to find time to cook or even eat a balanced meal. If you want to stay healthy, make sure that your meals include some protein, carbohydrates and vegetables or fruits. For example, Greek yogurt is a good source of protein; overnight oats with nuts and dried fruit provides complex carbohydrates; carrots or celery sticks dipped in hummus give you vegetables and fiber; an apple with peanut butter (sugar-free or natural) contains both carbs (from the apple) and protein (from peanut butter).
• Eat smart. You may feel like eating junk food when you get hungry while traveling, but this will only lead to weight gain, which can cause health problems later on down the road! Instead, try snacking on healthier options such as nuts instead of chips or choosing whole wheat crackers over white bread crackers–and instead of saying you can never eat these, try to limit those items! Also, try drinking water instead soda/fruit juices which contain high amounts of sugar content thus contributing towards weight gain due increase blood sugar levels, causing insulin production spikes leading diabetes type II disease development eventually over some time if continued excessive consumption occurs regularly without a proper exercise regimen being taken part in order.

Eating Healthy While Traveling Can Happen

You can make the most of your time on the road with some planning. The key is to have healthy snacks and meals at hand so you’re ready for hunger when hunger strikes. Following these tips and maintaining a good diet can keep your body strong while driving long distances!