THE SMOKING FRY

In the past four years I have driven more miles than probably anyone else I know. I went to a college that was over 400 miles away from my house and traveled to and from quite often. I also am dating a girl that lives over 500 miles from my house. So needless to say, in the past few years I have put on close to 40,000 miles on my car. Also, this driven miles don't account for the time I have spent in airports traveling to and from Raleigh and Greenville. I am actually flying to Raleigh tomorrow as well! So, I know I am not a traveling businessman but I think I have a pretty decent experience of eating while traveling and on the go.

There are a few very important things to remember about nutrition that you need to focus on whether you are away from home or cooking in your own kitchen. Choosemyplate.gov is actually a pretty good government run website that helps show what to eat and how to track and maintain your diet. The most important thing about the choose-your-plate website is the simple graph of what your plate should look like each meal. It shows that our plate should have 1/2 fruits and veggies, 1/4 whole grains, and 1/4 lean protein. This simple graph is what you should shoot for with each meal. Whether you are at home or on the go, the important things to focus on are fruits and veggies, whole wheat, lean meats, and drinking water.

So now that we know roughly the types of things we should be focusing on, how can we get these things while on the go? The first thing to realize is that you are not going to be able to get these perfect meals each time. Unless you have unlimited time or money this perfect plate will not be easy to get. There are however some great options for getting the majority of the plate.

BEVERAGES

The first very important thing to remember when traveling, or in daily life, is to not drink your calories. Drinking a can of Coke (12oz) will give you around 140 calories. Now, if you go to a restaurant or  fast food place, how often do you only drink 12oz of Coke? Most fast-food restaurants now have a "small" size that comes in at around 16-20oz depending on the fast-food joint. So needless to say, you will be getting closer to 200 calories just from your beverage. So focus on drinking water. I know this isn't always the most delicious option but by cutting out getting a Coke you will cut back on completely pointless calories that give you no nutritional value.

Now some people say that they need the caffeine while driving. I understand that and have been there. There are some better options than getting a 20oz Coke. Once again, I recommend never drinking pop but if you must than shoot for diet beverages instead. They have no calories and still provide you the caffeine. Once again, I recommend never drinking soft drinks. My choice instead would be for coffee or tea. These provide the necessary caffeine while only adding 2-3 calories per 12 ounces. If you add cream and sugar you can make it closer to 20 calories but coffee and tea are MUCH better options than drinking coke.

8 ounces (1 cup) of various beverages

• Coffee, black- 2 calories
• Tea, green- 1 calorie
• Coca-Cola, diet- 3 calories/ 0g of sugar
• Coca-Cola, regular- 95 calories/ 27g of sugar
• Mountain Dew, regular- 110 calories/ 31g of sugar
• Sunkist Original, regular- 127 calories/ 35g of sugar
• Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino Bottle- 290 calories/ 45g of sugar/ 4.5g of fat
• Water- 0 calories

FOOD

So now that we are going to drinking water or coffee to keep us hydrated and awake let's look at different food choices that we can make. So once again by looking at the Myplate image above, we should be focusing on lean meats, whole grains, fruits, and veggies. When eating out during vacation or traveling you can always eat healthy. It might not be as easy to eat healthy out than when you are home but it is still possible. The first step is to dine at healthier restaurants. If you are out and choose to go to CookOut, Five Guys, Taco Bell, or KFC, you are already behind the eight ball when it comes to making good choices. Choosing better, healthier restaurants is the key to eating better.

If you go out to Subway, Panera, Jason's Deli, even Chipotle or any other place like that you have a much better chance to eat healthier. At places like this there is a much wider range of options in order for you to get your lean meats, whole grains, fruits, and veggies. Subway in my opinion might be the best fast-food option to eat healthy at. They have whole grain bread, grilled chicken or turkey, spinach, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and more. Choosing options that have these items are much better in terms of eating healthy. Panera is also a favorite of mine and they have a lot of options for you to make good choices with. Chipotle may not be the healthiest option but their desire to use hormone free meat and organic produce make it a good option as well. But with all of these options, especially going out to restaurants like Applebees, Friday's, or any chain place, you need to be careful of portion size.

You know your burger is greasy when you rub it on the wall and that happens...

I CAN eat an entire burrito and chips from Chipotle but that does not mean I should! One easy way to reduce the amount of calories that you eat while you are out or on the road is to reduce the size of meal you order. At most chain places like an Applebees, they actually are giving you two portion sizes. A serving size for grilled chicken is only about the size of a deck of cards. I can't imagine ever getting a piece of chicken that small on a normal entree. So one easy key is to take half of the food you get and put it aside. You can even ask for a box early and put it in there. If the food is out of sight you will eat slower and your body will feel more full even without stuffing down the other half of your meal. Most of the time we over-eat at places like that purely because the food is in front of us. So remember portion control and you have a great chance of eating healthier.

Lastly, and the most obvious way to reduce bad calories while traveling is to avoid fast-food joints as much as possible. Eating at McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and similar places are never a good option. They only have a few choices that will not make you feel terrible. Now, if you are forced to go to fast food places then there are ways to avoid ruining your entire diet. Choosing salads are a great option. Places like Wendy's and Chick-fil-a now have very tasty and mostly healthy salads. Also, shoot for the grilled chicken and stay away from the burgers and fried chicken. So, ending up at McDonald's is not the end of the world when trying to eat healthy BUT if possible, choose places with more healthy options such as Subway or Panera.

• Big Mac, McDonald's- 550 calories, 29g of fat (45% of daily)
• Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Wendy's- 510 calories, 20g of fat
• Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-a- 440 calories, 18g of fat
• Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Subway- 360 calories, 4.5g of fat (these numbers include lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, green peppers, and wheat bread)
• Smokehouse Turkey, Panera- 360 calories, 13g of fat
• Burrito, Chipotle (Tortilla, chicken, fajitas, brown rice, cheese, green chili salsa, corn salsa, lettuce)- 800 calories, 26.5g of fat
• Asian Salad, Chick-fil-a- 330 calories, 13g of fat

SIDES/SNACKS

So we have seen what our beverage and entree choices are and what are better options. It is important to once again remember that portion control is huge. Looking above, you see that a Chipotle burrito can have around 800 calories and even more depending on your choices, but if you cut that meal in half and eat it for a later meal you are only getting closer to 400 calories. Choosing to eat slightly smaller meals interspersed with snacks throughout the day is a great way to limit the massive amounts of calories eaten in one sitting. So when choosing snacks once again look back at the Myplate ideal. If we are getting our lean meats, veggies, and whole grains in our meal what does that leave us with? Fruits. 

Fruit is always a fantastic snack. An apple has tons of healthy sugars (aka carbohydrates) that give us the energy we need to keep going throughout the day. Really, any type of fruit or vegetable is a great choice. Carrots with hummus is one of my go-to snack choices. Another great option for a snack are nuts. Almonds, brazilian, cashews, walnuts, etc are all chock full of protein and calories to keep us feeling full longer. Nuts also give us healthy fats that our body needs. These options all contain vital vitamins and minerals that our body needs.

Clip from Supersize Me about McDonald's French Fries

On the flip side of those options we have snacks like Doritos, french fries, or cookies. These choices are full of empty carbs that provide no nutritional value to our meals. They usually just add unhealthy oils, fats, and useless carbohydrates to our body. Once again, if you end up at McDonald's you can choose to get a salad or grilled chicken sandwich and you can also choose to get the apple slices or the fruit parfait. These simple easy choices can really negate large calorie and fat gains.

• Medium Fry, Wendy's- 410 calories, 20g of fat
• Nacho Cheese Doritos (1 bag)- 144 calories, 9g of fat
• 1 Chocolate Chip Cookie, Pillsbury- 150 calories, 8g of fat
• Golden Delicious Apple- 82 calories, 0g of fat
• 24 almonds- 164 calories, 14g of fat (remember healthy fats)
• 1 Mini box of Raisins, Sun-Maid- 45 calories, 0g of fat

SUMMARY

So I have put together a very short list of options that you can choose while on the go. My tip for eating while out is to think simple by choosing unprocessed foods such as fruits and veggies. Stay away from fried and greasy and choose grilled. Choose simple options that fall into the Myplate diagram and focus on getting your fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains. Also, remember to limit the portion size by cutting meals in half or choosing the smaller size of items. Eating while on-the-go is not easy but by making a few simple changes you can cut out a LOT of unnecessary calories. 

The last thing I want to say is that if you splurge and go to Taco Bell every once in a while, you are okay! You don't need to constantly deprive yourself from foods that you enjoy but you just need to remember moderation. You shouldn't be at McDonald's every day but if you are out on vacation and have eaten well then it is okay to get the barbecue burger with fries. Choosing simple and natural foods will provide you with more energy, more vitamins and minerals, and will make you feel better. So to sum up my tips for eating healthier on the go is to not drink your calories (i.e. pop/soda), choose healthier restaurants, moderation is key, and focus on the Myplate guidelines. These little tips will help you change your bad habits pretty quick!

WORKOUT OF THE WEEK:

5 Minute Warmup

HIIT Cycle (30s each with 15s of jogging in place between each one. NO REST)

Jog in Place
High Kness
Mountain Climbers (Example)
Pushups
Star Jumps (Example)
Squat Jacks (Example)
Side Hip Raises Left (Example)
Side Hip Raises Right
Burpees (Example)

Strength Training: (Do while holding dumbbells or any other weight. Same time as HIIT above)

Squats
Deadlift with legs locked (Example)
Lunge in place Forward
Lunge in place Backwards
Curtsy Lunge (Example)
Sumo Squat (Example)
Burpees

(AFTER THE STRENGTH PORTION, REPEAT BOTH THE HIIT CYCLE AND THE STRENGTH THEN MOVE ONTO ABS.)

Abs: (30s each)

Crunches
Bicycles Forward
Bicycle Backward
Jacknife Crunches (Example)
Donkey Kicks (Example)
Firehydrants (Example)
6 Inches and Hold
Back Bows (Example)
Jumping Jacks

Cooldown

How I feel after every workout!

NEXT WEEK: THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING AND ALCOHOL ON THE BODY