Business trips aren't the easiest time to eat healthy.
From fast food restaurants to the vending machines whispering your name at two in the morning, healthy eating and business trips are words that seem antonymous: grabbing a burger and fries is so much easier and quicker than aimlessly searching organic food stores for wheat grass and brown rice.
Yet, it doesn't have to be like this.
Eating healthy on the road may not be as convenient as filling your stomach with fats and sweets, but that doesn't mean it's entirely inconvenient.
All it takes is a little planning on your part, and the health will come to you.
Stock the Refrigerator Most hotel rooms have refrigerators, as tiny as they may be.
Taking an hour, going to the super market and buying healthy food items to keep on hand is a great way to stay away from unhealthy food.
Stocking your fridge with lunchmeat, low fat mayo, yogurt, and skim milk will allow you to eat healthy conveniently.
If your hotel room does not have a refrigerator, stocking the closet full of items that don't require refrigeration, such as wheat crackers, bread, peanut butter, jelly, granola, bagels, and fruit, is also a great way of bringing health to you in a convenient manner.
Order Grilled or Baked Your taste buds may thank you for ordering fried or fatty, but your cholesterol and blood pressure will thank you for ordering grilled or baked.
And, it turns out, it's the cholesterol and blood pressure you really want to impress.
Whether ordering room service or ordering at an all-night diner, request dishes that aren't saturated in a vat of ill health: hire baked chicken and grilled salmon; fire the fried chicken and breaded pork shops.
Ask for Substitutions It may seem more convenient, and more appetizing, to simply order fries along with your burger.
After all, French fries and hamburgers are the ideal duo of culinary creations.
But, part of eating healthy is making sacrifices: those French fries must be sacrificed for something less fattening.
Try substituting them for cottage cheese, fruit, or a side salad.
Even if substitutions aren't advertised on the menu, chances are the restaurant will accommodate you: saying you're a lawyer who is highly allergic to potatoes might help.
Drink Water When you're on a business trip, it may seem rather easy to drink more than you normally would.
From a bottle of beer to sweetened tea, from a soda to a cup of hot chocolate, these kinds of calories can add up, in an unhealthy manner.
Cutting them out, or at least cutting back on them, can help keep you balanced.
The best way to do this is to simply order water.
Not only is it calorie free, but it will help to fill you up.
If you're not much of a water fan- come on, it's Nature's juice - then order light wines, unsweetened teas, and diet sodas.
Find a Healthy Restaurant Most cities these days have a variety of healthy restaurants to chose from.
Since a war has been declared on trans fats and carbohydrates, organic sandwich shops and salad bars have popped up everywhere.
Yes, even in Wisconsin.
Dining in these kinds of places while on the road can make eating healthy tasty and convenient.
Before you leave for your business trip, spend some time researching the city you are traveling to and find out where these healthy restaurants are located.
With the exception of the holidays, "On the Road" is the hardest time of year to eat healthy.
In a world of convenience, we tend to go towards the things that are easiest to find, even if those things have 1500 calories and 100 grams of fat.
Yet, eating healthy doesn't have to be inconvenient: it just simply takes some planning.
In the end, your body, your mind, and your waistline will all thank you for it.