One of the best parts of being a business traveler is the food experience.
Who doesn’t like not having a meal from home that you really didn’t want?
Or not having to cook or clean up.
Then there’s the ability to chose the type of food you want:
Steak
Seafood
Italian
Mexican
Thai
…and the list goes on.
But wait, there’s more!
Then you get to choose what you want to order off the menu.
Oh the choices.
Oh the temptations!
And the best part of all? You’re not paying for it!
Or at least not yet, right?!
The nights you’re with a customer or client or team dinner, there are no limits.
Chose that appetizer or wine you’ve always wanted to try but never could afford.
Order that top-shelf liquor – heck, make it a double!
But on the company card, of course.
Bring it on!
Yet there is a cost. A heavy cost. And too many road warriors literally carry that cost with them all over their body from flight to board room to hotel. The travel triangle.
The weight is literally weighing them down and the scale only goes up.
However, each decision can be easier if you view eating out on the road with the following lenses:
Food is Fuel
Fuel is Energy
This mindset is critical because it’s not based on the here and now “oh that looks or smells good” but how I will feel later and often times when we need the energy.
The energy to….
- Finish that proposal
- Review the presentation
- Get to bed at a decent time
I not only made the wrong decisions for years, but I also had the weight to prove it.
You’ve heard of the Freshman 15.
Then there’s the Travel 20.
And being the over-achiever I was on the road, I doubled it and earned what I call “the Entitled 40”
The reality is I could justify my choices and behaviors all day long and night for that matter.
And who was going to argue with me?
The business traveler who struggling with the same issues? They’re my biggest supporters!
The point is you need to come to a point in your Road Life where you begin to think about your Health along with your Work.
We focus too much on the work aspect of the road in general as our health and our home life suffer just as much if not more.
This is why Elite Road Warrior has three focus areas:
You do have choices.
And your choices have consequences.
I used to be the guy who said, wow, that looks good. Oh, that looks good, I’ll try that too.
Another drink, please?
Look at that dessert! I’ll just try a bite…. until it’s gone.
Leader of the pack!
So, I get the battle of eating out on the road ALL-THE-TIME.
I’ve since lost the Entitled 40 as in pounds and have kept it off.
I’ve stopped “getting by” on the road and chosen to “get better” and that means every time you eat out on the road.
There is hope and you can learn to leverage the road to get better. And I’m here to be your guide.
All five key decisions are in full effect the most at dinner when we’re much more relaxed potentially after a long travel day or a stressful day on the road but can apply to even lunch.
So, what are the five key decisions you must make at every restaurant on the road?
Five Key Decisions You Must Make at Every Restaurant on the Road
These five decisions are naturally in order. They shouldn’t surprise you but somehow we act surprised when the server comes by and asks us these five questions.
Every.
Single.
Time.
And the nicer the restaurant, the more choices you’ll have right before your very eyes often times even presented to you on a literal silver platter.
Decision One – What I Will Drink
At dinner time, “the entitled me” always seems to show up ready to go no matter how last night went if you know what I mean.
And depending on if ‘I’m alone for dinner with my laptop lover or entertaining guests or being entertained, I enjoy the “wine part of the wine and dine”.
This is where the slippery slope begins and we have to “know thyself.”
For me, the more I drink, the sloppier I become on my nutrition, especially after a long day.
Here are some suggestions:
- Always and I mean always order a glass of water if one is not already provided for you then here’s the key: drink as much as you can to start. Why?
Most of us are more dehydrated than we even think so getting some water into your system is always a smart decision
Water fills us up and hopefully detours us from over-eating - Join the Free WMP – water match program so whatever drink you do order, make sure you match it 1:1 with water. This will keep you hydrated the rest of the night and especially save you from waking up overly-parched and feeling like you’ve swallowed cotton balls that seem to multiply throughout the night
- Think about what you’re really drinking and how much you plan to or should drink. Are you going to stay with one type of drink or hop all over the place? For me, when I start hopping, I start paying for it and I don’t mean the tab. Through the years, I’ve become a vodka tonic guy and it’s served me well but only paired with the free water match program.
Decision Two – Will I Order or Eat an Appetizer
This decision doesn’t come far behind the 1st decision of What I Will Drink.
I never order an appetizer when I’m by myself but somehow overly tempted with other people.
It’s like each person is waiting for the other one to say “no thanks” or “sure, what looks good to you?”
The appetizer can be the “gotcha” to the meal. When I give in especially something unhealthy, I get lazy about everything after that point.
Here are some suggestions:
- Always pre-decide – This means don’t base your decision on what looks and/or smells good. If you do, you’re going down like a Mike Tyson punch.
If you choose, eat the cleaner and greener appetizer. - If you’re a moderator, which means you can take just one bite and stop, stick to the plan
- If you’re an abstainer, which means if you start, hide the women and children, it’s going to get ugly quick and the appetizer will disappear, Know Thyself, and don’t start.
- Order a dark green salad – this is my go-to-choice for a few reasons:
I avoid the tempting and fattening appetizer
It allows me to get in healthy clean greens – just be smart with the toppings and dressings
Remember, Clean and Green is the 2nd element of FUEL after Continually Hydrate. So, use this time to get the good stuff meaning the clean and green stuff in early.
Decision Three – What Is My Main Course
Ah, the featured presentation.
This is why we’re here eating out, well, at least as far as food is concerned.
And depending on the restaurant, this may not be top-secret. If you’re at a chophouse, duh. If you’re at a seafood place, you get the point.
There are two main choices here:
The main course needs to be Clean – look for the cleanest meat possible whether beef, chicken, eggs. If it’s really clean, it will list “grass-fed or organic” which means this is your easiest choice. If not, your 2nd main choice becomes all the more important
What goes ON the main course – we can make a great clean decision with the main course then go five-step backward by all the heavy sauces, etc.
You may fight back and say, “but is what gives it all the flavor! And there is truth to it. But it doesn’t mean going ALL or Nothing.
Here are some suggestions:
- Always do your research – every restaurant now has an online menu so do some intel. Why? Avoid impulse choosing.
- Put the sauce on the side – sometimes when it’s doused all over the place, you’re forced to eat ALL of it. But if you can just try it, maybe it’s not as good as advertised. Sometimes just a dip here and there is all you need and a better choice in the long run.
- Add First Then Reverse – first and foremost, get the healthy in. Start there if this is not natural yet and feels like too big of an ask. Add the good stuff in first then begin reversing by taking the bad stuff off. For example, the sauces all over the meat or salad.
Decision Four – What Are My Side Dishes
This may seem like a default decision meaning your side dish is a direct decision from your choice of the main dish.
But not always.
You can go rogue and choose a side other than what the menu suggests or compels you to choose.
And most restaurants will allow you to easily make the change and sometimes with a very small uncharge. Not a big deal and worth the cost to eat clean and green.
Here are some suggestions:
- Always have at least one vegetable and preferably with not a ton of processing – steamed broccoli/asparagus / green beans, sautéed spinach, cauliflower, etc.
- Choose a sweet potato over a baked potato or fries
- Choose double veggies – another way to sneak in more “Green” of the clean and green.
- Take a healthy side to go – I do this very often since almost every hotel I stay at has at least a mini-fridge and a microwave.
Decision Five – If I Will Have Dessert
You know they always ask and if you’re not prepared, you go back to the awkward moment like the appetizer but more at stake after a few drinks.
I tell this story in the Elite Road Warrior book how at a dinner of 12, a one-pound brownie with a gallon of ice cream covered in whipped cream came out and after hundreds and hundreds of dollar were put on the table as a bet of who could eat it, I took on the challenge (mind you, this was during my Entitled 40 days…).
Impressively and sadly, I finished it then couldn’t digest it, lie down, or sleep for 48 hours. Brutal. Stupid (at least I donated the money).
All that to say, I’ve been the freak in the freak show so I understand the power of decision five: If I will have dessert.
Here are some suggestions:
- Learn to say no upfront so others know where you stand
- Know if you’re a moderator or abstainer – I know the “wannabe moderators” who there “just a bite” is the gift that keeps on giving or should I say taking. I’ve eaten with you people.
- Choose a fruit bowl – this is my go-to when I want something sweet but not go down heavy with the dessert. I love anything berries and you can’t go wrong.
- Carry dark chocolate with you – my wife and me are huge Trader Joe dark chocolate lovers. I carry a bar in my Carry a Controlled Substance work lunch box (episode 037 of the Elite Road Warrior Podcast) – far healthier choice and less ugly in the long run
Let’s Land This Plane
Our energy habit focus is FUEL which is the 2nd of the physical energy habits.
Here’s a quick review of the five decisions you must make at every restaurant on the road:
Decision One – What I Will Drink
Decision Two – Will I Order or Eat an Appetizer
Decision Three – What Is My Main Course
Decision Four – What Are My Side Dishes
Decision Five – If I Will Have Dessert
If you follow these five decisions you must make at every restaurant on the road in the healthiest form, you will win with nutrition with business travel.
And you will have the energy to prove it along with fewer pounds to carry.
I get you because I am you!
Prefer Audio…?
If you’re interested in the audio version of the five decisions you just make at every restaurant, check out the Elite Road Warrior Podcast episode #043.
