by Andra B. Greene
For my entire legal career, I have tried to reduce the stress that accompanies the profession by staying physically fit and eating healthfully. To accomplish this, I have incorporated many habits into my daily life, like exercise, yoga, and paying attention to what I eat. That is generally easy to do at home where I can control what I do and what I eat. However, I’m not always at home. Far from it. I have always traveled frequently for business. Since I became a mediator two years ago, I find myself on the road now at least twice a month, sometimes more, often for almost a week at a time. Maintaining my health and fitness routines away from home is important to me. It can be a challenge. Through trial and error, I have developed some hacks that enable me to stay fit regardless of where I happen to be.
As we start the new year with the best of intentions, I want to share my top ten tips for well-being on the road–five for incorporating physical activity and five for eating well but healthfully while traveling. Some of my ideas may seem obvious, but it never hurts to remember them. Given that I invariably travel for business with only carry-on luggage (my packing hacks could easily make for another article), my tips do not require you to bring much or go to great lengths.
Staying Fit My colleagues often complain to me that they cannot fit in exercise when they travel. I disagree. It can be done if you choose to do it. You just need to be intentional about it. The tips below will help you stay on track.
1. Bring your athletic shoes. This is easy. Wear them on the plane. They are much more comfortable to travel in than high heels. And athletic shoes tend to be our heaviest and bulkiest shoes, so this helps in conserving suitcase space. If you have athletic shoes with you, you can find places to walk anywhere. I frequently go to New York City and stay near Central Park. Unless it is snowing or raining, I can always take a walk in Central Park before I start my workday. At times, I ask colleagues to join me so we can walk and get work done at the same time. If possible, I also walk from my hotel to the office where I need to be. I stash my dressier shoes in my briefcase and change into them when I arrive. Walking is an excellent way to clear your head as well. Just make sure you know where you are going and stay safe.
2. Book a hotel with a gym or that has access to a nearby health club or yoga studio. Almost every hotel has some form of gym or exercise room. That is a key criterion for me in choosing where to stay. Often, before I start my workday, I bring my notes or briefs and read them while working out on the treadmill. If yoga or other classes like Pilates are important to you, see if your hotel offers them or can set you up with a facility that does. As a frequent traveler to New York, I found a yoga studio close to the hotels where I stay. The studio offers classes that fit into my schedule. As an added bonus, the studio also has an infrared sauna available, something I like to do several times a week to reduce inflammation and stress.
3. Don’t like the gym? Do workouts in your hotel room. Bring a travel yoga mat and resistance bands. They are lightweight, don’t take up too much room and you can get a workout in whenever convenient. There are many fitness apps and YouTube videos that will provide you with workouts if you don’t know any. You can also do weight-bearing exercises, like planks, squats, sit-ups, and pushups that don’t require any equipment at all. Just put something down on the floor since you never know how thoroughly the hotel is cleaned! Your workouts don’t have to be long. Fifteen minutes once or twice a day can do the trick.
4. Get up and move during the workday. Sitting is the new smoking. Don’t just sit, move around, even if it means walking the floor of an office building periodically. As a mediator, I typically go from one separate caucus session to another. When parties are separately talking and don’t need me, I will walk around the office floor (or take stairs where possible). During a long mediation, I typically log several thousand steps simply going back and forth from one room to another. Shuttle diplomacy has its benefits.
5. Get enough sleep. As you can see, most of my workout tips assume the workout will occur in the morning. It does not have to happen then, but for me that is the most reliable. That means I need to sleep well at night to be able to get up in the morning in a mood to workout. To do that, I limit the amount of caffeine and alcohol I consume late at night. I also follow my sleep rituals on the road, like drinking chamomile tea before I go to bed and bringing an eye mask to keep the room dark.
Eating Well It can be a challenge to eat healthfully while traveling. Our schedules can be off, we eat late and large quantities of food, we eat foods we normally don’t eat, and the like. The temptations of overeating and stress-eating abound. Here are my best tips for eating healthfully on the road without driving yourself crazy.
1. Stay hydrated throughout your trip. It is always important to stay hydrated. I believe this is especially true when traveling, particularly when you fly. Airplanes can dry you out and that increases jet lag, too. Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger. I drink almost a gallon of water a day, and I carry a collapsible water bottle with me when I travel. That way I always remember to drink water. When flying, I avoid cocktails and caffeinated drinks since planes are so dehydrating.
2. Travel with healthy snacks. I bring snacks with me when I travel. I avoid airplane food; it tastes terrible and is typically loaded with sodium and other additives. I try to eat before I get on the plane, either at home, at an airport lounge, or my hotel. I bring my own snacks on the plane, like nuts, dried fruit, and a high-protein bar. I take similar snacks with me to mediations. This prevents me from making poor choices. There are invariably a variety of nutritionally poor but tempting foods (like potato chips and candy bars) that will wreak havoc with your blood sugar if you overindulge. Having snacks handy lessons the temptation.
3. Control what you can. Most hotel rooms have refrigerators. When I arrive at my hotel, I purchase some items like yogurt and fruit at a local store to keep in the refrigerator to eat for breakfast or a pre-dinner snack. If I have had something high protein, I can resist the inevitable plate of sweet rolls and donuts at a breakfast meeting. If you are going out for a late dinner, eat something high protein before you go. This will regulate your blood sugar and keep you from overeating late at night. On the subject of eating out late, when you are out to dinner and others are indulging, if you choose not to, don’t explain why. If asked, I simply say I am not particularly hungry.
4. Check out the menu before you go. When I am going out to an unfamiliar restaurant, I like to look up the menu before I arrive. That way, I can think about what I want to eat in advance. For me, protein and vegetables tend to be my go-to choices. Also, if the restaurant is exceptional or is known for something special, I can adjust what else I eat during the day accordingly so I can partake at the meal. I love good food and want to enjoy it. As my grandmother used to say, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
5. Avoid mindless or stress eating. Mediations, like other activities in which lawyers engage, are stressful and there can be long periods of waiting. This is true for both the parties and the mediator. Mediations typically are replete with lots of food. Much of it consists of what I consider to be “junk food.” It can be tempting to eat it just for the sake of something to do or a distraction. When that happens, remove yourself from the food. Walk around the office. Do something other than eat just because you don’t know what else to do. Again, this is where those healthy snacks you’ve prepared come in handy.
Here's to a new year full of productive travels! Bon Voyage.
Andra B. Greene is a mediator, arbitrator, and independent panelist with Phillips ADR Enterprises. She can be reached at AGreene@phillipsadr.com.
Out of Office is an occasional column in which authors share ways to make life meaningful and fulfilling during and outside of the practice of law.