These are important points. Rather than hiding in your hotel room and living off room service, take the time to eat out on your own, enjoy the solitude and opportunity for mindful eating.
The summer can be a lonely time for some with family and friends disappearing off on summer jaunts and leaving behind those that may be committed to business or away travelling for work. Equally some people have jobs like teachers or airline staff and shift workers that allow them time off in the week/holidays when everyone else is working.
While people are happy to sit in a cinema, go to the gym or even travel the world on their own, solo dining can still be a daunting thought and strike fear into the heart when we contemplate eating alone in anything more sophisticated than a Pret a Manger without a companion.
Instead of shying away from the challenge, look on this time as an ideal opportunity to maybe treat yourself to menus and restaurants that you have been keen to try but perhaps have not been able to tempt others…
I spend my life helping business travelers stay healthy on the road and much of that involves coming up with ways to make a hotel stay more congruent with our communal goals. From making sure there’s a fridge in the room, to stuffing healthy snacks into every possible orifice in hand and checked luggage, to pre-qualifying menu items from the hotel’s restaurants, to investigating work out options (Is the hotel gym an afterthought? Is there a yoga or Pilates studio nearby? Is it safe to jog there on one’s own?), I do it all. It’s my life.
So imagine when I heard that InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced that they are introducing a new brand especially for health conscious travelers. A hotel brand that has done my work for me and where I can confidently direct clients. English girl happy dance was in order as I learned of the inception of EVEN Hotels.
We are talking hotels with state-of-the-art workout rooms that aren’t dark, dank, and squirreled away at the end of a corridor; substantiated health claims on menus, by which I mean people who know what they are doing have checked the ingredients and health claims rather than sticking a star on a menu item like pinning the tail on the donkey; ease of business transactions and connectivity to keep unnecessary stress at bay; and every little comfort and thoughtful touch to make sure you get a good night’s sleep.
I can’t give it all away, but I have the best way for you to find out all the details. I first learned of EVEN Hotels a few months ago and I’ve been following their progress with interest. So much interest that I had the good fortune to connect with the brand team and have the pleasure of interviewing Adam Glickman, Head of EVEN Hotels, for the upcoming Healthy Travel Summit. Please join us to learn everything there is to know and more. The Summit starts the week of September 9th, and registration is free. Click here to register.
WHY: Because when my health was suffering as a result of bad habits gleaned from constant travel, I could have really used help like this. The combined interviews will be the most comprehensive guide ever to overall health and wellness for the business traveler.
WHO: Adam Glickman, Head of EVEN Hotels; Averil Leimon, Director of White Water Strategies, one of the UK’s top ten coaches (Independent on Sunday), and author of Positive Psychology for Dummies; Nikos Loukas, founder of InflightFeed.com and consultant to the airline catering industry; Christopher Babayode, the Go To person for healthy jet lag solutions for frequent fliers, founder of www.NoJetStress.com, a hybrid nutrition, fitness and wellness program that helps frequent fliers overcome jet lag without medication; Stewart Stone, founder of NowLanding.com, the social network for frequent business travelers; Katherine Patch Sleipnes, business development director of FlyInStyle.co, the app that helps you maximize your time in airports; and Jayne McAllister, I’m here to talk about overcoming challenges with diet and exercise on the road.
THANK YOU! SEE YOU AT THE HEALTHY TRAVEL SUMMIT: INTERNATIONAL EXPERT INTERVIEW SERIES. REGISTER HERE.
I constantly survey business travelers on the topic of their health and wellness challenges when on the road. The biggest concern is always, “I can’t control my weight when I have to eat out so much.” (It’s followed very closely by lack of sleep, in case you’re wondering…). “Just tell me what to eat,” is the plea uttered by the vast majority of new clients.
Well, I’ve listened and I’m hard at work on the launch of Dine Out/Lose Weight™ but it won’t be finished until October. That doesn’t help you now, does it? And we all want instant gratification… So, here are a few tips to get you started. They are the tip of the iceberg but should keep you going until I can reveal all my secrets in October!
In a previous post, I talked about zoning out with menus. That’s when your eyes glaze over and reason evaporates. You are suddenly incapable of making decent menu choices, even though you walked into the restaurant planning on having consommé and broiled chicken with a green salad. Well, click your heels three times and come back to reality. Here’s how we’re going to address the menu…
Step One
Start by mentally eliminating all unsuitable items from the menu. I say mentally because it might not be appropriate to whip out your biro and start putting lines through dishes on someone’s elaborately designed menu. These dishes will have key words like cream, fried, cheese or all three.
Step Two
Look at the remaining dishes and see how you might be able to manipulate them into something healthy. Look for vegetables, other than white potatoes. They are going to be the star of your plate, but they might be hiding as a side dish. Sautéed spinach, broccoli, asparagus or green beans seem to be the most common options.
Step Three
Find some protein to accompany said vegetables otherwise you won’t feel full. This will include fish, seafood, lean meats and poultry, tofu and beans. They should be prepared without elaborate sauces.
Step Four
See if you can get extra vegetables and have them instead of potatoes, white rice or other starches. If you’re a carb lover, then pick the good guys such as brown rice, quinoa and barley, just limit your portion to half a cup.
Step Five
Make sure the dish comes with a green salad, otherwise order one. Make sure it’s dressed with an olive oil based dressing. Anything creamy is on the out so adios to ranch and blue cheese. Sorry, but you’re here to lose weight. If dressing is on the side, you can pour about half of it on your salad. This will vary by restaurant. Some establishments bring you half a bucket of dressing while others will give you a thimble-full.
Step Six
Drink water until you order and ignore the bread basket. Don’t feel deprived, you’re going to eat as much of the healthy stuff as you like, until you feel full. Instead of reaching satiety by overindulging on evil, sugary carbs, you’ll get there with the help of the protein and good fats you’re consuming, such as olive oil in your salad dressing.
Step Seven
Once you’ve ordered, now you can include a glass of wine, which you will enjoy with your food. Drinking on an empty stomach leads to less rationale around food choices and the alcohol enters your bloodstream way too fast. You may find yourself dancing on the table for your clients, or tearfully telling them about the demise of the pet spider you had as a child. (Okay, guilty. His name was Incy Wincy. Not very original but I loved him).
Step Eight
Pick your poison. If you REALLY want dessert, you can have three small tastes to savor. Or, you can have a glass of red wine or champagne instead. But not both.
Try on these steps and see how they work for you. There’s much more to this but you have been officially pointed in the right direction. Let me know how you do and please feel free to post questions.
