Staying Fit On The Road

It's no secret that most truck drivers are stereotyped as grossly obese, lazy males who stuff their face with junk food as they mosey down the freeway.  The image for females isn't much better when most of us are classified as wannabe males who fall under pretty much the same categories.

Much like The People of Wal-Mart, these images capture everyone's attention, but don't really represent the majority of us.  Personally, due to the physical nature of the job, I have lost approximately 30 lbs since beginning driver training in August 2012. However, not everyone is as fortunate, and I think a lot of the choices we make on a daily basis affect our physical fitness on the road.

What I Avoid:

• Gluten - since I have to eat gluten-free, this removes a lot of the really "bad for you if eaten regularly" types of foods, such as Cinnabons, pizza, Little Debbie anything, etc.
• Sugar - although I don't eliminate sugar entirely (look in my coffee cup or soda and you'll find plenty of sugar), I do try to keep the glycemic levels down in most of my foods.  The sugar high and subsequent low without the presence of protein can result in a great deal of fatigue after just two hours of driving.  When your livelihood depends upon 10-11 hours of driving a day, 2 hour fatigue is just not acceptable.
• Excess carbs.  Again, not to the extreme of The Atkins Diet, but focusing more on protein as the main stomach filler and select carbs (such as potatoes) for starch.

What I Focus On:

• Protein - with the physical requirements of this job, I want my muscles to have every opportunity to grow and develop as needed to be able to perform properly. Protein helps this to happen.  I keep protein bars in the truck at all times (my favorites are Market Pantry Nutrition Bars - Fudge Graham flavor [Target's generic brand] - a whopping 14g of protein in every bar) and often purchase hard boiled eggs and cheese at the truck stops.  
• Mindfully eating out - when I go to McDonald's, I get a burger without the bun (best flavor is the double cheeseburger, which comes with onions and other goodies), and either a coffee or a soda.  I've had to start avoiding french fries on the road because the gluten cross-contamination has been too prevalent.  One cannot survive on the road if their food is causing them to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes.  At Subway I get the roasted chicken breast (2 in a salad plate with no lettuce, which always freaks them out) and add black olives and mayo.  At Arby's I get the Classic Roast Beef, no bun, and add extra meat for $1.  Up until recently I thought there was nothing I could eat at Taco Bell, but it looks like they have a new salad they've created to try to compete with Chipotle's - this is on my list to research and test soon.  At Denny's and other diner-style restaurants, I tend to gravitate towards the omelettes or the burgers, depending on whether I'm craving red meat or not.  I also take a multi-vitamin in case I'm missing anything in my ostensible lack of vegetables.  I do eat fruit occasionally, when it is available.
• Multi-purpose carbs - while sugar is technically a carb, it doesn't really do much except jack up your blood sugar and give you instant, short-term energy.  For this reason, when I look at carbs in my diet I try to find carbs that are also nutritive starches.  Potatoes are excellent in potassium and other nutrients, while also providing starch and carbs.  As a result, they are my go-to carb source, which is provided via baked potatoes, potato chips, and sometimes hash browns.