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Forbes asked Cariloha to participate in one of its recent articles. Find out what Cariloha had to say about staying fit when you’re a busy entrepreneur who’s always on the go.
How Entrepreneurs Could Stay Healthy On The Road
Reports indicate that 70% of travelers gain weight on the road. This is pretty bad news for entrepreneurs who regularly engage in business travel to keep their businesses afloat. From client dinners out on the town to long hours spent sitting in meeting rooms, business travel doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with your efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle. Fortunately, there are several ways you can streamline your business travel habits so your time working offsite doesn’t compromise your ability to eat well and exercise.
These are six smart things you can do to stay healthy as an entrepreneur and still keep a busy travel schedule connecting with clients, vendors, and business partners around the globe.
1. Set yourself up for success
Many of us pack our tennis shoes and workout clothing in our bags thinking this is the first step to ensuring a healthy trip on the road. We vow to work out when we catch a break in between meetings or after we’re completely done with the day’s work. The problem is, many entrepreneurs spend what little free time they get during a business trip putting out virtual fires that started at the home office throughout the day. This is why the first step to ensuring a healthy business trip should be to organize operations at your headquarters.
Take a moment to create a system for communication and effective internal problem solving at your office before you leave. Make sure your employees know who to contact with questions and where to go to find any materials they might need while you’re away. Frontier Business offers up a solid guide if you’re not sure where or how to start preparing your office for your time away.
2. Plan for a comfortable plane ride
Another way you can set yourself up for success is to start your plan for a healthy trip with the flight. Pack your own nutritious snacks and purchase a water at the gate to ensure you’ll have food and hydration throughout the duration of your flight. If you’re traveling pretty far, try doing some plane exercises to keep your blood flowing every hour or so. Engaging in a little yoga will help you feel more refreshed, calm your nerves, improve circulation, and keep your body limber as you travel long distances.
3. Hold yourself accountable
Traveling solo means you only have yourself to hold you accountable for waking up when your alarm goes off at six AM to hit the gym. Although it can be tough to shake the urge to press snooze, it’s certainly possible to muster up the motivation to get up and get moving on your own. “Since having a private trainer join me for a routine business trip to one of our stores in the islands isn’t practical, I’m a stickler about following my own fitness rules,” said Aaron Hobson, Cariloha Executive VP of Marketing. “When I’m eating out with business associates and store owners for every meal of the day, the calories add up quickly, which is why I discipline myself to follow these three guidelines: eat light/eat less, walk whenever possible, 10-15 minutes of cardio pre-shower. Living a fit, healthy and comfortable lifestyle has always been top of mind and a driving force behind the creation of our bamboo fitness apparel and our bamboo bedding and bath good lines. Over the past 20 years of doing retail business in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska, I’ve managed to stay at my same ideal body weight and blood pressure.”
4. Be strategic about dining out
A significant problem with staying healthy on the road is the need to eat out for most of your meals. Whether you’re dining out with clients or simply trying to find a decent spot for dinner, sticking to your nutritional goals can be tricky when you’re relying on a restaurant to provide healthy options. Although it will take a little extra research and forethought on your part, planning out where to eat based on the menu and food choices offered will go a long way towards making sure you still look and feel your best when you return home.
In an interview with U.S. News, Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center suggests that business travelers avoid the menu at restaurants altogether and opt for a build-your-own salad instead. “When we go out to restaurants, we want to eat what we won’t eat at home,” which often leads to poor dietary choices, says Politi. “If you don’t look at the menu, you won’t be tempted.”
Read the entire Forbes article here.