Thursday, March 18, 2010

On the Road Again

This past weekend was my first trip out of town in quite some time (other than going to Moms and honestly I have to do the same going there), and especially since all my 'changes' since last October...but anyway, this past weekend, I road-tripped to Dallas for the RnR.  Now this seemed easy since it was overnight and its a relatively short drive (except AFTER a half marathon...then its not so short)...What added to a bit of uncertainness was driving with someone I barely knew, especially her eating habits other than what I observe at work...

So my plan was to not stress out about anything, as I have my trusty phone app with all the information I need to get me through this and then some.  Saturday morning I figured a big green monster was in order for the start of the trip; should keep me fed and happy...and it did.  For about 2 hours :) 

Thankfully I had LaraBars; best bar out there for jam packed nutrition and NO ADDITIVES OR ICKY STUFF!  Plus I had put some PB on some bagel thins for snacks either in the car and especially for breakfast pre-race.  Now knowing full well that there would be the occasion to stop for something...I had planned that in as well.

The first rule in my book is basically this:  if they dont sell breakfast 24/7 then I am not eating there for the most part.  Unless I am off the vegetarian thing for Lent, then I would go for either JITB grilled chicken strips (excellent choice nutritionally) or the Fish Sandwich at McDonalds (other fish sandwiches at FF joints are ALL over 550 cal and fat out the yingyang! McD's is 350) another good choice for calories and fat...go figure.. however, I now know that Sonic has breakfast all day so both on Saturday on the way up and late Sunday on the way back, I was able to get a breakfast sandwich, leave off the cheese and sausage please, and I'm good.  And when given the choice between tater tots, fries or onion rings, ALWAYS PICK THE FRENCH FRIES...

As far as dinner for example, its easy to work something in that you can eat thats better than others.  In my case we went to Italian, and since I dont like to eat those carbs like that in pasta, I went for a VERY thin crust and veggies and sauce only.  No cheese.  Fabulous.  Heres what I find interesting...people who are 'vegetarian' for the most part, still eat processed (white/bleached) pasta...or make excuses to eat things that are still bad for you, and honestly will make you heavy(ier), and sometimes gain...I just try and stay away from it, unless I enjoy some Annies M&C, whole grain sometimes pasta w/ sauce or just EVOO...and when I do eat it, its smothered in steamed vegetables...and very little of the pasta...

Just remember, usually what SEEMS like the good choice isnt the majority of the time...stay away from salads unless you go naked with dresssing; stay away from ANYTHING in a 'bowl' unless its Wendy's chili, and NEVER EVER EVER BUY YOUR FOOD WHERE YOU BUY YOUR GAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Good God ... the stuff on the shelves is bad enough, but those gas stations with 'restaurants' inside?  Groooooooooooooosss...

Chances are if I had been going alone, I would have boiled some eggs, and packed some veggies and put in a small cooler and be done with it.  But since I had a passenger I allowed for unexpecteds in their WOE.  Turns out that what you see at work is NOT always the case...wow.  We'll just leave it at that. 

Now if I had been going for say, more than 3 days, still do-able, just more you're on your own and your choices sort of thing...but if you are staying longer, and I've done this, make sure you have a fridge in your room and go to the grocer ...

And I would say driving is better, so as to avoid airports.  I havent had to encounter that, but I suspect PB sammichs would be in my carry on along with bananas, apples, etc...that will be another post after a trip on a plane to some far far away place ;o)

At the end of the day, I went, I conquered in both racing and in food choices, and when I weighed on Tuesday, I was LESS than I was before I went.  So theres that :o)  Secondly I didnt feel like crap, and honestly I never do anymore because of the change in WOE. 

The only time I feel like crap is when I run too much or lift too much and I am sore as all get out!!  But thats OK!

Question:  Does anyone else plan when going out of town, do you pack some things, or just throw caution to the wind and treat it like its a vacay from your healthy eating?

7 comments:

Mel said...

I plan just about as much as I can. It drives Dan bonkers sometime. When we drove to FL this year, I packed a medium rubbermaid of snacks for both of us for the car and for the week.

This weekend I had a bag with 4 containers of premeasured old fashioned oats with cinnamon and walnuts for breakfasts or emergency meals. A few bars in case of emergencies and some little pkgs of nuts. Then a cooler of water. I default to Starbucks for a snack if I need something to hold me and I don't have anything.

Airplanes are different but easy. I traveled alot for the 3 years Dan and I were apart and several trips since then. I bring instant oats, tea bags, instant ff cocoa, nuts, fruit, bars, etc. You can always get hot water on the plane or in concourse. Empty water bottle is good, so you can fill once you get past security. As far as eating out in the airport, my go-to's are coffee shops always have non-fat lattes which are filling to me and fruit. And Wendy's, every airport on earth pretty much has one (except I am a rare bird and don't like their chili).

Mel said...

I also keep a baggie of "shelf stable" snacks in the car for when I need something and don't have anything with me. Usually some type of nuts or bars.

I don't really do bars, but man, they work great in a pinch!

JunieB said...

THANK YOU MEL! all good ideas that i have to remember! yes, you CAN get hot water anywhere!! even in a hotel room with the coffee maker! YAY!! NEVER thought of that!

and yes to Starbucks for their little protein plate...been there done that too!! since i dont drink coffee anymore, i have like $40 in gift cards still from there...2 years old thank you, but they still work, like you said, in a pinch.

you're a pro at this!!!! woohoo!!!

clay said...

Usually I am a snack packer! Nothing wrong with bringing a cooler :)

saroy said...

When we drove to Florida and back last month, I found that it's extremely hard to eat healthy while on the road. EVERYTHING is fast food. We did a decent job by going to Subway and that kind of place when we could, but I still ate way more fast food than I wanted to.

Junie B said...

if i was driving that far, i would DEFINITELY be packing an ice chest in the car; along with a loaf of bread and peanut butter...

Gaslight ;-) said...

For long trips, especially ones with hiking involved on the other end, I make a batch of homemade granola bars, good for snacking or breakfast. That and some dried fruit & nuts (fresh would be better but responds poorly to squishing).
I also take some packets of an all-natural instant oatmeal of some ilk.
For lunch we'll stop at Subway or the local grocery store to buy sandwich stuff-sometimes baked chicken, veggies and wheat tortillas.
For an out-of-town race, I've opted for Whole Foods for dinner the night before a couple of times.