Exercise and healthy eating for the OTR truck driver

What a great thread lil daddy!

I am seriously thinking of getting into trucking and one of my major concerns was eating properly on the road. Biggest concern was how?
Didn't realize you can have a fridge and microwave in a truck! Also, you are so right on about breakfast, multiple meals per day, and exercise first thing in the day. I have let myself go up and down in weight between 25-40lbs over the last couple of years depending on how I eat and how much or little exercise I get.

I start out with a brisk walk for 35-40 minutes as soon as I get up and dressed. I get back to the house and do pushups, dumbells, crunches, squats, and will mix in stretch bands for my rotator cuffs real soon. My doctor was impressed that I understood cardio and weight/resistance training. All of this is something I know I can perform on the road.

My biggest concern as a newbie is that I may have to stay out on the road 2 weeks at a time and not sure how I can prepare meals on the fly or even where to buy good food when you have 18 wheels to park?

 

I'd like to help u, but as far as breakfast goes, I would usually just get an apple and a banana or something and eat it while driving. These r healthy but u might want hot, cooked food, so u could probably find that in a buffet at the bigger truck stops (Flying J, Petro, TA, and others). Ur company will tell u they don't want u using the truck for personal reasons, but as far as that goes, my company didn't even care. They would see our trucks up the block from the terminal parked @ Wal Mart and never cared. I guess the DOT makes them say that or something, but I've never been hassled going into Wal Mart or any grocery store and getting food. U just got to find a lot big enough for ur truck. Ur company mostly doesn't want u going around showing off ur truck just doing stuff u could easily do in ur car, but they understand a person's got to eat. All the past tense in this refers to I used to drive 2 yrs. ago, am trying to get back in it.

 

lil daddy, I know where you are coming from on most everything you are saying. I was injured back in 93’ and because I was not eating very healthy though getting a ton of exercise from doing autobody repair and being exposed to harmful chemicals I had a hard time recovering and actually got really sick for a while. I learned in a hurry about eating right and taking better care of myself. I have followed a very close regimen as you have mentioned throughout your many posts. In recent years though I have struggled with keeping on top of diet and exercise but still try. What has been hard is being around other family members who either won’t or don’t care to live the real healthy lifestyle. They are slowly coming around. I know when I hit the road again I will be determined to balance things out and do some exercise along the way. I know it is a must or I could revert back to the past. I know that eating fresh fruit and veggies while driving makes me feel a whole a lot better than eating chips and candies laced with msg or white cane sugar. I stay away from most store bought junk food but will eat an occasional homemade treat. I do frequent health food stores and places like Trader Joes for things like raw nuts and dried fruits etc. There are plenty of good snacks out there that won’t hurt you other than maybe carbs for those concerned with that. I try to drink plenty of water and herb teas. I do cheat and drink a coffee now and then because I really enjoy it and I stay away from the bad imitation creamers and such. Some folks need to slowly transform from a poor diet to a better diet. Most of what you are saying I do agree. Something that I stress besides what you have mentioned is that people need to cut out the hydrogenated oils of any type, this is like injecting pure poison into your body.

 

lil daddy - this topic really hits home to me after years of fighting high blood pressure and cholesteral...

What are the healthiest types of nuts to eat?

How about regular tea - any health benefits?

Keep this discussion goin'!!!!!

 

In one of the previous posts u talked about how processed sugars were real bad, and natural sugars r good. It seemed to me like u were saying the HFC was the worst kind of processed sugar, and if this is the case will it always say that on the labels. I want to avoid that kind, and when it just says sugar on the labels, does that mean a different kind than HFC's?

 

This is very good dialog here and these suggestions and ideas will more likely than not help anyone especially a trucker stay healthier and fit for longevity on the road if he or she chooses and of course life after trucking.

Most all nuts are good for you, especially raw. You will find that eating raw nuts are very tasty and don't need any flavorings. The only nut that I stay away from due to being problematic to the pancreas is peanuts (causing blood sugar issues).

KJ