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Healthy Travel: Conference Food

 

Hello from Las Vegas! The weather this week has been amazing, based on what I see out the windows. Unfortunately, like most large conventions and meetings, we are inside the hotel all week except for a few breaks. But, we have been treated to a few views during meals which are a welcome treat!

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This week, in addition to keeping up my workout routine, I’m trying to be conscious of my food choices. It is easy to indulge in more alcohol, sweets, and heavy foods at meetings since most meals are buffet style. Luckily, I came equipped with a game plan this week.

  • No sweets since Lent is still going strong. (I still haven’t broken that goal!!)
  • Drinking water with breakfast, lunch, and dinner
  • Eating a healthy breakfast and lunch
  • Trying to eat more fruit, vegetables, and nuts for snacks versus processed foods

So far, my plan has worked well, especially since P&G has provided some amazing food options. Our breakfast especially has provided me with a plethora of healthy choices, which has therefore forced me to focus on portion control!

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My breakfasts have been around 350-500 calories this week, depending on options. I’ve also ensured that I bulk up with fiber and protein so I’m not hungry. I’ve avoided the hot bar section and the pastries since those luckily fall under the sweets category in my book.

Lunches and dinners have been a bit harder, but I’ve done my best to follow the “peace sign” rule and the 80/20 rule. I divide my plate like a peace sign, ensuring that greens or vegetables make up the largest portion. Then I try and put healthy carbs and protein in the other portion. In addition, I’m avoiding heavy sauces and the fish dishes since I don’t normally care for fish on a buffet like these.

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Question: What are your tips for staying healthy at meetings and conferences?

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ashleyd /

Healthy Travel: Running in Las Vegas

This week, my posts will revolve around Las Vegas and staying healthy while traveling. A week in the city of sin can alter a healthy lifestyle very quickly if you’re not careful. Therefore, one of my goals for the week is to stick with my workout routine. I’ll have to alter it slightly since there aren’t spin bikes in the hotel gym, but I will still be doing my resistance/weight training and running.

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This morning when I saw this amazing view out my window I knew there was no question of whether to run outside or inside. Since the temperature was only 53 degrees I chose to run in my Lululemon crop pants and my new Nike Run NYC technical shirt.

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Within minutes I was out the door, using my Garmin to keep track of my distance. I chose a simple route,  running up the strip and back, so I didn’t have to worry about safety or getting lost. I captured pictures for y’all during my run so you could experience the Las Vegas strip, in the bright morning sun.

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I really enjoyed my route except for a few things which I forgot about running in Las Vegas:

  • During my 3.2 mile run there were 5 stoplights, 1 of which I made. Therefore I had to reroute a number of times.
  • You have to run up the escalators or stairs at every crosswalk which tired my legs out quicker than normal.
  • Even though the Weather Channel says its only 53 degrees out there it felt like 83!
  • It is really, really dry and my body still hasn’t adjusted.
  • The altitude here is 2,000 feet which is a big difference from running at sea level.

My plan is to run outside at least a few more times this week and hopefully I’ll see improvements each time as I continue to hydrate and fuel for the week’s activities.

Question: Do you exercise when you travel for business and/or pleasure?

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A Las Vegas Afternoon

Greetings from sunny and warm Las Vegas!

My early wake up call was well worth it as I’ve had the entire afternoon to relax poolside.

Newark Airport was empty this morning when I arrived which meant that I flew through check-in and security within 10 minutes.

It was still dark when I boarded flight #1 to Cincinnati.

I slept the entire flight which was made even easier since the flight was only half full. I had the luxury of sprawling out across my row.

When we landed in Cincinnati at 8am I was starving! There weren’t many breakfast options in our terminal which made finding a healthy option a bit more difficult than usual. The Starbucks didn’t serve hot breakfasts and the McDonalds line was wrapped around the corner. Luckily, I remembered that Subway now serves breakfast.

The egg white, ham, and cheese melt on a whole wheat english muffin was filling and delicious! At 4 grams of fat you can’t beat this for an airport option. I paired this with a Dannon Light & Fit yogurt and a bottle of water.

This breakfast kept me going the entire flight to Las Vegas. This flight, while packed, was wonderful due to the plane’s newness. There were power outlets and televisions at every seat and I enjoyed plenty of leg room in my exit row seat. Thanks to the internet,  I had a great time keeping tabs on all my friends running and walking the More Half Marathon via Twitter!

Time flew quickly due to my many distractions and before I knew it we were landing in Las Vegas!

The airport itself was a madhouse packed with hungover vacationers, gamblers, and lots of smoking. I quickly stopped at the Starbucks for a banana and water.

Luckily, within fifteen minutes I had retrieved my luggage and was in the shorter than normal taxi line. Last year when I came to Vegas for our national meeting the taxi line took over an hour!

The dessert terrain and bright blue sky greeted me as soon as we hit the interstate towards the Strip.

Our hotel is definitely an upgrade as well versus last year’s location! The staff has been very helpful so far and each of our rooms are suites! Theodora was amazed when I sent her pictures of the amazing room we’ll share this weekend!

After jumping up and down with excitement, I calmed down enough to unpack everything neatly into the drawers and closet. If I stay in a hotel more than one night, I always unpack immediately so I feel at home.

My next stop was poolside, in hopes of enjoying my book, relaxing, and getting some color. The pool area is perfect as it has a balance of relaxing areas and then also a huge wave pool and lazy river near the DJ. Today I stayed near the cabanas, away from the noise so I could focus on my book and enjoy my own tunes. I also shelled out $17 for Banana Boat Deep Tanning Sunscreen since I forgot to pack one of my many bottles at home. Oops, at least I protected my skin while I was out in the sun!

I ordered a grilled chicken caeser salad around 4pm EST/1pm Pacitic time as my stomach was making sounds and the time change started to hit me. I was surprised that this huge salad was only $9 and happily enjoyed it with dressing on the side.

After three hours of sun, I was ready to chill in my room before this evening’s festivities begin. Tonight I’m enjoying a casual dinner with a few of my other co-workers who came in early for our national meeting.

See you later!

Question: Have you been to Las Vegas before? If so, any recommendations of shows, clubs, or restaurants?

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