The trouble begins at the breakfast buffet. A dizzying array of food, that can become available to the hotel guest as early as 6.30 am. This is where we separate the active guest from the conference guest. The conference guest goes from hotel room, to breakfast, to 9 am conference to mid-morning tea and biscuits, to lunch, to post-lunch resumption in the conference room, to mid afternoon tea and biscuits to dinner.
I’ve been on a mission that mixed being in the field and being in the conference room in the Bahamas these past two weeks and returned to T&T yesterday. We were on the road a lot, so we had some moving around activity. I’ll tell you how I got on.
We eat differently from when we’re at home.
Most people don’t eat that much with that regularity in their own homes. I practise intermittent fasting, in which I have my first meal around 11 am, and try not to eat later than 7.30 or 8 pm.
Other people have tighter intermittent fasting timelines. Where we’re similar is that we don’t do the “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” thing. For us, breakfast can be at noon. The question to ask, therefore, is did we skip breakfast, or are we having it later?
There’s a whole other conversation about the timing of intermittent fasts. Studies show that while the narrowed band of food consumption is a good thing, there are greater health benefits to starting it earlier. The problem with that is that few of us would want to stop eating for the day at 4/5 pm.
Breakfast and all that followed
Where I stayed most of the time, breakfast was from 7 am to 11 am. Out in the field, that hotel’s breakfast choice was smaller, and its overall options not as healthy. Home base hotel had a good mix, and you could have healthy options if you wished. I’d start with oats, walnuts and cranberries on oat milk.
I’m not a fan of omelettes and fruit juices—hotel staples—so I’d have two or three boiled eggs, salmon, fresh fruit, salad, wholewheat or brown bread bagel… and steamed bacon. This last one is not the healthy option, but I can’t resist bacon. The wash down was plain black coffee and water. I’d take away an orange or an apple to have later. Other colleagues tried the Bahamian grits. Even souse was available on one or two days of our stay.
If you had a good breakfast, you can have a light lunch. Sometimes, mine consisted solely of fresh fruit (oranges, apples, pears), coffee, tea, and a couple of cookies… oat cookies, mainly. Not going to lie. Some of us would casual-snack on Doritos and a selection of nuts, mainly almond and cashew.
The burger rule
A sensible dinner in calorie and fitness terms would be a soup, salad and a choice of meat such as salmon. However, the problem is that on our travels, we often don’t want sensible. We want to explore the culinary delights of the town, city or country we’re in. Where I was, it meant fish: conch, snapper, mahi mahi and most often fried.
I have two rules when I travel. A burger on arrival, in that the burger is the first thing I order in the first establishment I find myself at. And at some point, I’m going to try out a good sushi joint. Socialising later would mean trying the local beer. I’m not as resilient as I used to be, so my maximum is two. Besides, it’s a working trip, and I want to be asleep by 10.30 pm.
See what’s happening there?
I have a much-expanded eating window, a much-increased intake, and sleep not that long after dinner. And I haven’t even talked about exercise yet.
Business versus holiday travel
When on holiday abroad, it’s harder to stay fit than when you’re on business travel. The point of a holiday is to unwind… no meetings, no schedules, no school runs, later wake-up times and bedtimes. Moreover, it means more cocktails, more drinks, and if you’re in a foreign country whose cuisine you haven’t tried, more exotic food. Many people gain weight on holiday. Should we give in to that inevitability, or can we do something about it?
First thing, locate the hotel gym. It’s usually in a small space tucked away in a corner; but the minimum you’ll have would be treadmills, StairMaster machines and sometimes stationary bikes. If it’s safe to do so, go road running. I like places like Dominica for that, as there are plenty of uphill inclines. Be careful with traffic. Choose small roads to run on and face oncoming traffic in your direction of run. I find it unnerving to have cars coming from behind me and whizzing by close to me.
If your luggage space is tight, do your airport travel in your running shoes. Even if you’re on business travel, a pair of all black running shoes (black soles and tops) do not look out of place with business travel wear, not even a suit.
At some airports you’re going to walk long distances from gate to gate, and soft, cushioned footwear would make your feet feel like they’re being blessed. For holiday travel, you can dial things down.
Resistance bands and skipping ropes don’t take up much luggage space and add barely any weight. Check out the distances from place to place, and if it’s safe to do so, walk rather than take a taxi.
My last piece of advice is this: do your calorific sinning early.
As I write this I’m checking out in a few hours for an early afternoon flight.
I’m going to try key lime pie, for early lunch, for the first time.
