Staying fit & maintaining a healthy diet on the road

The average American always has an excuse as to why they don’t eat healthy or why they can’t workout at any given moment. ‘There’s not enough time’ is probably the oldest excuse in the book. Show me a person who says they don’t have enough time and I’ll bet we can find hours of wasted time on social media, watching TV, or doing something unproductive that truly is a waste of their time.

There are 168 hours each week. If we measure that and know we’re going to be spending 10-12 hours per day working, we can estimate that 60-70 hours are dedicated to work. We’re left with approximately 100 hours left in the week for other activities. Healthy sleep habits should provide us 6-8 hours per night so that’s another 42-56 removed. We’re left with 44-58 hours in the week where we’re not working and not sleeping. That’s approximately 7 hours per day that we can spend with family, working out, eating healthy, and bettering ourselves rather than wasting it away.

Now that we’ve established that we have plenty of time to eat healthy and have a proper exercise routine, it makes it a lot easier to swallow knowing that we have plenty of time to fit in good nutrition and good exercise.

Now let’s determine how we’re going to achieve this. Being on the road is our biggest challenge so we need to utilize tools to set ourselves up for success.

Let’s start with eating healthy. Plan your trips around stopping at a Walmart for overnight parking and buying healthy options so you’re not hungry on the road and craving pizza or salty snacks at the truck stop. Buy some bananas, apples, and keep some lunch meat in your cooler for sandwiches during your drive. Also, protein bars are another good way to keep you full during those long hours.

As for working out, there are tons of apps and other resources to keep you motivated out on the road. Many drivers will give the excuse that they don’t have access to a gym while out on the road but remember, that humans have been exercising for hundreds of years without the use of a gym. There are apps that tell you running routes nearby and others that recommend body weight exercises that give you great cardio and muscle building as well. Some favorites include RunKeeper, Strava, Map My Run, and Freeletics. These are all free and give you some great workout options.

Another great option is the Beachbody On Demand work outs. These might require additional training items like weights or bands but provide quick 30-minute work outs that you can do anywhere. Being on the road, the best option is to carry around a few different types of workout bands that provide resistance in order to simulate weightlifting and allow you to train every muscle group which the videos go through.

If you’re worried about working out in public at a truck stop or rest stop, then this isn’t for you. Just remember that those looking at you and watching you, might be ridiculing or laughing on the inside but secretly are jealous that you’re willing to put in the extra work and they don’t have the capability or mental toughness to endure what you’re willing to push through. A good tip for working out at the truck stop is also to make sure you have a workout mat and maybe some gloves in case your stop is not as sanitary as you would like.

OperFi founders traveled the country in an RV during the first year of operation and maintained a strict workout regime while being on the road full time, so if you have any questions about the apps or ideas presented above, feel free to give us a call and learn more about staying fit while staying on the go. Sometimes, workouts and early morning runs are happening in Walmart parking lots so we understand what it’s like to have weird looks pointed your way. Give us a call and let us know some of your interesting workout stories on the road.

Reach out to your OperFi rep to see if you can get approved for the most exclusive trucking factoring relationship on the market. OperFi is changing the way Trucking Entrepreneurs interact with their factoring companies. Transportation Factoring and Freight Factoring shouldn’t force you to be another number. Give us a call and experience the OperFi difference and see why our carriers plan their business growth with OperFi service.

Contact OperFi today to get a free consult and learn how to lower your insurance costs and earn more profits for your trucking company. OperFi is changing the way Trucking Entrepreneurs interact with their factoring companies. Transportation factoring and Freight Factoring shouldn’t force you to be another number. Give us a call and experience the OperFi difference and see why our carriers plan their business with OperFi service.