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Tips to Stay Healthy as a Truck Driver

When you’re living a sedentary lifestyle driving for 11 hours a day and eating whatever is convenient, it’s no surprise if you aren’t as in shape as you once were before starting your career as a truck driver. If you aren’t already a truck driver and are considering becoming one, don’t let your health stop you. It’s actually possible to stay healthy and fit if you take precautions and live responsibly.

Avoid Fast Food

Big Macs are a delicious and cheap option, unless you consider the life and fitness it’s stealing from you. With that perspective, Big Macs are very costly. Next time you stop at home between drives, pack some healthy sandwiches and snacks like carrots or nuts. Only make good food available, and you won’t be able to give into an Oreo or Dorito craving at a truck stop.

Also, rather than stop at a restaurant on impulse, do your research to find restaurants that provide healthy options. Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean eating salad. It means choosing grilled rather than fried or wheat rather than white bread. Just a few tweaks to your order can make an impactful difference.

Restaurants That Provide Healthy Options:

•   Chipotle: delicious burrito bowls that are filling and full of protein

•   Taco Bell: cheaper alternative to Chipotle burrito bowls

•   Chick-fil-a: grilled nuggets, sandwiches, and superfood that are filling and nutritious

•   Sonic: grilled chicken sandwich

Drink Water

A lot of people don’t realize how much sugar is in a bottle of soda or one pump of syrup in coffee. The suggested max amount of sugar is 37 grams for men and 25 for women. Just one bottle of soda can have 64 grams of sugar, which means no one should drink them and think they can be okay. Assuming you drink one soda with each meal (more likely you’ll drink more than that), you will consume over 100 grams of sugar in one day. That’s not even counting sugar that is in your food like bread and dipping sauces. The easiest way to cut out sugar is to cut out the drinks. Only drink water and your body will thank you.

Exercise at Least 15 Minutes a Day

You’re probably wondering how you can exercise without being able to visit the gym every day. Luckily, you don’t need fancy machines to stay in shape. Jumping rope is a great way to get your heart rate pumping faster and start that metabolism moving. If you think you’re too old for a jump rope, try doing some pushups every time you stop for gas. It’ll tone your arms while also intimidating other drivers from messing with you.

Keep a Food Journal

When you’re on the road for hours, it’s easy to lose track of what you’ve eaten. By dinner time, you may have forgotten about the two cheeseburgers and a milkshake you ate for lunch—plus the bag of chips and the two packs of doughnuts for a snack. By keeping track of what you eat, you’ll be able to see how much bad stuff you’re eating and be less likely to continue overeating. A journal should be a wake-up call to your eating habits

Snack Regularly

Yes, snacking is allowed. As long as you choose the right kinds of snacks. Eating every two and a half to three hours will keep your metabolism moving as well as keep you from feeling starved at lunch or dinner time.

Snacks to consider:

•   Nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts)

•   Hummus and Pita Chips

•   Fruit (apples, grapes, pineapples, oranges)

•   Vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, broccoli)

•   String Cheese

•   Pretzels

Don’t let being a truck driver become an excuse for being unfit. Try some of these lifestyle choices and see just how easy it can be to choose healthy and feel great about yourself.