Meet Joe Spatarella, chief marketing officer of Online Banking Solutions! This is no ordinary meet up though. Over the next several months Joe and I go at health and fitness head on!
I’ve been training Joe in the gym over at the Serenata Beach Club in Ponte Vedra, Florida for over 6 months now, and although he is all committed while at the gym when he is training with me, it’s another story when he hits the road traveling for business!
Without mincing words ( sorry Joe!) let me just say that he’s a far cry from being the perfect client. Funny thing is, all the success he has in business somehow does not trickle into his healthful eating and exercise world! Why is that? Well don’t get me started on that question just yet! But if you stay with Joe and I over the next few month, you will surely get a head start on how to do things right if you are a traveling business person, or even if you are not one. Stick around. It’s going to be fun!
Let’s begin with a day in the life of Joe Spartarella: Joe this is where you plug in.
Hi! So my week began with a simple enough plan: round trip to Philadelphia for a 3 hour meeting. This Monday outing turned into The 22-hour “day trip”.
Up at 4am: grabbed coffee (cream & sugar) and a Cliff bar as there wasn’t time for much more. Flight from JAX to Atlanta, meet up with the CEO and regional sales manager, then fly Atlanta to Philadelphia. After a 45 minute drive, we have 15 minutes for lunch before a 1 pm meeting start.
We find a strip mall with a salad joint. I order a cup of vegetarian vegetable soup (their name, not mine) and a bottle of water. So far, so good.
The meeting ends a bit after 4pm and we head to the airport driving through freezing rain. Drop off the rental car, clear security and we actually have 30 minutes to grab a bite. I’m starving! More than likely because I’m tired. I am always hungry when I haven’t had enough sleep.
We pick a place called Vino something because the food looks healthy, but all I can order is a sandwich and I am trying not to eat any bread. Did I mention I was hungry? The grilled chicken sandwich vanished before my eyes along with a glass of Pinot Noir because, after all, the place was called Vino.
More coffee on the flight to Atlanta to keep me awake. In Atlanta, I’m notified that the flight to JAX is delayed. They finally board us and we sit for an hour. Followed by an announcement that the brakes have a problem. Another hour of waiting while they attempt to repair the brakes with everyone on the plane. It’s now 11:30pm and I’m losing my will to live (just kidding).
Another announcement and we have to depart that plane, move to another gate and wait for another aircraft. All the while Delta provides snacks in the form of myriad unhealthy items to make us feel better. My will is broken and I succumb to a bag of M&M (peanuts). This only makes me feel worse.
We finally take off at 12:15am, more coffee on the plane as I have to drive 45 minutes to Saint Augustine after landing at 1:15 am. I arrive home at 2:15 and get to sleep by 2:45am almost 23 hours later.
I’m sure I made a lot of bad decisions and poor food selections during that trip.
I wonder what I could have done differently???
Any Thoughts Kim?
Hi Joe! Travel and eating healthy can be tough no doubt. It just takes a little forward thinking, practice, and desire to do things right! This should help you the next time you have that 22 hour travel day.
Your Breakfast Mindset: Plan ahead. Scrap traditional breakfast thinking and be bold. After all, this is your health we’re talking about.
Breakfast of Real Champions – Here’s one make ahead the night before breakfast:
-4-6 oz. turkey slices.
-tsp Dijon mustard
-fresh, sundried or roasted tomatoes.
– half medium sized avocado sliced.
-spinach leaves
Lay Turkey slices flat. Add Dijon mustard. Lay tomatoes, avocado slices, and spinach leaves on top. Roll up several of these and devour them when you have a few minutes in the morning ( preferable within one hour of arising). Maybe you’ll find that you can relax and eat these high protein good fat roll ups at the airport with a cup of coffee ( no sugar – more on this later), and a bottle of water.
BodySmart Fit Tip: Find an on the go pattern that works for you. Repeat it. Repeat it. And Repeat it again until you are in the zone.
Your Lunch Mindset: Protein – Good Fat – and Loads of Vegetables. Get out of the calorie counting trap. Sure, we may think “how bad can vegetable soup and a glass of water be for lunch?” Answer: Terrible. The fact of the matter is we have to eat for energy and this is true whether you are aiming to maintain weight and your health, or looking to lose weight. Since your goal Joe is to lose a few pounds, it is especially important to eat. Vegetable soup at most restaurants does not cut it. Look for good solid proteins like chicken, fish, tuna, and eggs. If you have a sandwich opt for whole grain ( more on this later regarding weight loss and the whole grain myth) and load the sandwich with every possible vegetable you can get your hands on.
BodySmart Fit Tip: This is no time to be shy about asking for what you need! Load up on vegetables and consume at least 16 oz of water.
Dinner Mindset : Protein – Good Fats – and Loads of Vegetables Again!
Given your 30 minute window of time, opt for the biggest salad you can possibly find with a huge amount of dark greens, plenty of non starchy vegetables such as cucumbers, onions, garlic, bean sprouts, radishes, cabbage, green beans, celery, carrots, and a good high quality protein! Ask for olive oil and vinegar and forget all the no calorie, no fat, no sugar, no whatever packets of dressing they have. More on this later. And it’s ok, add some salt and pepper and sit down and enjoy that glass of pinot noir with your dinner. Just make sure it’s a good one!
BodySmart Fit Tip: Eat like you mean it and you will see that those m and m’s that the stewards offered to you while trying to appease you during your wait on the plane will be no competition for your iron will.