Any other road warriors out there?

First off - I am now a month out - dropped just over 30 lbs, and feel better than I have in a DECADE.  My back pain?  Gone.  My inability to walk for more than ten minutes?  Gone.  My high blood pressure?  Gone.  I feel like I am 22.  This is already one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

Secondly, I am a salesperson, for the NAFTA region & Brazil.  That means I fly out of an airport at least 3 weeks out of every month.  If you have seen that movie "Up In the Air" with George Clooney - that's my life. 

I live in hotels for the most part, and have the highest staus available with four hotel chains, two airlines, an five rental car companies.  Needless to say, if ya'll need some discount codes for hotel stays or rental cars - I am your girl.

But now I am also a DS'er.  I haven't hit the fair skys yet, but I am in two weeks - and I am on the road from then until Christmas. 

So what do you eat when you are on the road?  I know I can get a subway salad - and that has been my default on the few 'non-flight' road trips I have taken so far for business.  But I have a feeling that's going to get super old, super fast.

Please let me know your thoughts and suggestions.  :)  A big thanks for all the help and guidance I have gotten here, I am so glad that this board and this surgery exists.

- Holly

Hi Holly,

I too am a "road warrior" and Up in the Air made me cry.

I am pre-op but have been giving a LOT of thought to this question. I plan to bring my shake powder and shaker cup (you can always get ice and milk/cream) so I can supplement with a shake if necessary. I have been trying to live my post-DS diet while I'm still pre-op and in the last few weeks of flying (I was in hotels and airports all week), I've found it not that difficult.

There are chicken caesar salads at every airport and in most restaurants. Room service always has some fish or other choices as well. Here's what I had this week.

Breakfasts:
Egg McMuffin - took off the top muffin and sort of ate around the other one. Probably consumed 1/4 of it.

Hard Boiled Egg and some bacon

Atkins Bar - it was "continental breakfast" at the hotel which is basically carb-o-rama

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit - Took off the top again, did eat full bottom of the biscuit.

Lunches:

Chicken Caesar Salad X3

Had to skip lunch one day because of flight delays and connections. Had some almonds I brought with me on the plane

Dinners:

Buffalo Wings and a side salad

Rib-eye steak and asparagus

Grilled salmon, steamed broccoli and quinoa (it looked so good, had to have some!)

Hamburger, no bun

Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza (okay so TRYING to do post op diet. Trying is the operative word) but I didn't eat the crust ends and ordered extra thin crust.

All of that was either from room service, drive through or airports with the exception of the Atkins bar and the nuts, which I brought.

It's really pretty easy!

This is very good to hear - you are doing way better than I did pre-op.  I gained 6 lbs! Thanks for the tips - I was doing Atkins on the road for a while so I suppose this is the same thing - I just eat tiny little amounts.  I generally will order an omlette for breakfast and then eat 1/3rd-1/4th of it (I like to gut the middle since I am a cheese hound).  So it sounds like eggs and salads are the staple. :)  Best of luck with your surgery!

Well it just goes to show how effective the DS is.  I've gained 4 lbs eating this way.  Plus I'm banded so I don't eat large portions of anything.  I eat less than half the salad, small burgers, etc.  My metabolism is messed up - can't wait to have this surgery!

I found the broth of Wendy's chili to be easy on the tummy. Add chunks later.

Chinese take-out soups were great (without noodles).

When you move into being able to have chicken, be careful of reconstituted chicken nuggets. McD's nuggets tear me up. Some additive in them gets me.

KFC double down is good for a couple meals.

Straight peanut butter.

Eggs over easy went down well early on.

Cheese sticks.

Hugs,
Ratkity

Great tips - I have yet to try chili or Chinese take out soups.   I can have chicken now - just not any breading until 7 more weeks.

Thanks!
Holly

I'm an "Up In The Air'er" too...

I assume you have elite status with most of the hotels you use?  The concierge lounge has been a lfie saver.

While in a hotel, this is typical for me:

-Breakfast
Either a protein shake I make in the concierge lounge (or with a bottle of water and the ice machine in a pinch)
Concierge lounge usually has hard boiled eggs and cheeses out for breakfast
Or hotel breakfast buffett- usually will have scrambled eggs.

-Lunch
If a sit down restaurant, usually a salad with some type of protein on it - such as a chicken ceasar salad.  I eat most of the protein and a little of the salad. 
If fast food, my go-to things are Chick Fil A nuggets if I can get them
Airport food - Starbucks has a protein box that has cheese and fruit.  Not ideal but works

I also travel with protein bars in my travel bag in case I'm stuck in an airport or hungry on a plane.

Nuts, keep 'em with you.

-Dinner
Really same options as lunch.  It sounds counter-intuitive, but I lots of times order a pasta entree, if it has protein on it - like shrimp alfredo, something like that.  Usually has enough protein to eat and I leave the pasta.  But any steakhouse, seafood, restauarant will work

If I'm alone I also find an upscale supermarket, like a Whole Foods, and will get something from there - wedges of cheese, deviled eggs, the olive bar, premade tuna salad - there are some good options.  Also I will buy some Greek Yogurt and sta**** in the fridge if there is one in my room.

I guess I'm rambling, but the point is I find it veyr easy to fit into my travel life.  If I'm traveling with coworkers or clients, I can easily eat at the same restaurants if I order wisely.  Low carb is very popular now so no one will think twice.

I have Diamond status with Hyatt and Hilton (I stay at those more than any other chain - with a Clarion sprinkled in only when there is no other choice) and I have access to airport lounges too - so I will probably load up on cheese and ranch and tiny little bits of chicken when I can there - good call.

So Chick-Fil-A nuggets work okay?  These were (unfortunately) one of my favorite pre-op lunches - but now it seems like this is something that might be an option.  At only a month out, not sure if I should try it or not.

I am a big fan of hitting up Whole Foods and taking food back to my room  (I am sure you are the same when you travel alone...dining alone in steak houses seems to be a 'guy traveler' thing).  Thanks for the tips Joanne!

Great tip about Whole Foods - never thought of that! 

You're right about the concierge lounge, they always have hard boiled eggs at breakfast, and cheese trays at dinner. 

Hi Holly, 
I am over 2 years post-op and have been working as a consultant on 100% travel for the last 4 years so I know the life you speak of ... I usually only spend a day or two at most home at one time.  

Carry some protein powder with you.  I put it into snack sized ziplog baggies and carry some in my purse, laptop bag, and carry on.  Champion Nutrition mixes easily with a spoon in coffee (of course if you do coffee from Starbucks, it is super hot and you need to let it cool slightly before adding your protein powder to it).   I drink one in the office if the customer has a coffee station.  Since I mix it with coffee, I can use three of those little creamer cups and it is enough to make it creamy like hot chocolate.  I usually get another cup of decaf in the concierge lounge and drink it before I go to bed.

Carry snacks like pepitas, pistachios, flavored almonds (sometimes I mix brown sugar/cinnamon ones in a bag with the cocoa roast ones when I want something sweet or I carry flavored ones like the wasabi or bbq ones if I want something salty).   I try and bring some beef jerky but I look for those with the least carbs ... you have to read the labels since some have lots of carbs ... but I usually try not to eat jerky on the plane since it can be stinky to some people.  I also use protein bars.  

Airports often carry Muscle Milk protein and you can get it any grocery store, 7-11, GNC.  I will often stop and get cheese sticks for just in case snacks that I just stash in my purse.  I also "steal" the single serving packs of peanut butter from the concierge lounge or the airport lounge.  
Restaurants are usually very willing to accomodate you if you have special requests.  Fast food places do get confused when I ask for the bun to be left off.  That happened this week at Subway....  I always get the big philly cheesesteak in a bowl with the chipotle sauce there.  

I stay away from anything "questionable" foods the entire day before flying, especially if it's a longer, cross-country flight.  I've always done that but now that I am further out and have more room for carbs, they affect me worse now than before so I'll give you a word of warning about anything questionable ... hidden carbs in things like soup ... I still remember the Chinese soup I ate in Oakland, CA one night.... it was the first time I suffered severe bloating and gas ... all night.

Marriotts have better breakfasts in the concierge lounge so I always try and pick them over Hilton.  Hiltons don't serve bacon.  One day for breakfast this week, I ate cheese cubes, bacon, and lox with cream cheese and capers and onion ... just minus the bagel.  But they always serve scrambled eggs. 

For lunch, I'll do a lot of salad bars and load up on proteins from them ... grilled chicken (although not my favorite), hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, cheese chunks, cottage cheese.  Stuff that I can just pick at.  I'll get burgers with cheese without the bun.  Subs or burritos without the bun or tortilla.  Sometimes lunch is smaller and I supplement it with a protein drink.  Lunch on the road does get old - I won't lie.  But don't give up... keep pushing that protein.  Around 6 months out I went through a phase where any food was unappetizing to me (I think because I was stuck working in the same area for so long so I was tired of my options but wasn't able to grocery shop or anything) and I didn't want to eat for lunch or dinner.  I lived on protein bars, RTD protein shakes, and sometime Lactaid (I didn't drink mil****il 6 months out and stopped drinking milk after I moved out of this weird phase).   My weight slowed at that point.  I wish that I would have pushed the protein and gotten past this quicker.  If you have a car and aren't stuck, find different things.  Go to the Whole Foods or a nicer grocery store and get something different - you can find things like hot/cold food bars with cooked meats or shrimp ****tail.  Use things Urban Spoon or Yelp to find the local specialties.  

Then for dinner it is easier - steak, crab legs, sashimi, fish - all great options.  I've been going through a crazy phase where I crave sashimi (I don't eat rice ... just never been a fan).  I used to hate the texture of sushi as a pre-op but now I love it and it's good protein.  Having some tonight since I am in town early.  

My home base is Detroit so maybe I'll catch you at DTW sometime.  

Good luck!  Drop me a line if you ever need to vent about things.