Nutrition for Athletes While Traveling
As a coach and competitive triathlete, I can attest that traveling as an athlete is tough on the body. "Nutrition for Athletes While Traveling: Fueling Your Performance on the Road" is a crucial aspect that often gets overlooked amidst the various stresses incurred during athletic journeys. These stresses include adjusting to time zones, enduring long flights or road trips in a seated position, maintaining optimal hydration, sticking to a tight training schedule, navigating unfamiliar environments, adapting to new sleeping patterns or arrangements, and coping with different food cultures.
Reflecting on my experiences while competing in Spain, I discovered that the best way to eat abroad is to keep it simple. After enduring a few grueling days, I realized that if I stuck to the fruits and vegetables my body was accustomed to, rather than indulging in readily available processed or refined restaurant foods, my body responded far better to the rigorous training and duress I was putting it through.
Now, you might have the foodie in you urging you to explore and try all those great restaurants you've read about.
However, during intense physical training, it's essential to maintain a conscious diet, and this includes your time spent traveling. How many friends and family members have you heard complain about the weight they gained while traveling? How often do you hear horror stories about people getting food poisoning during their big trip to Mexico? Now, think about how many people you've heard about who prepared their own food while traveling and got sick. Not many, right?
You know your body better than anybody else, and you understand how it reacts to certain foods. Your body is accustomed to specific foods and food groups that it can easily digest. So why, when traveling, would you throw your body a curveball and expect it to adapt to an abrupt change in diet? It doesn't make sense, does it?
When I travel, especially for races, I make sure to bring some key aspects of my nutrition with me. This includes my trusty nutrition bars (Prima), protein powder (North Coast Naturals), and electrolyte mix (Cocos Pure). Everything else, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, can be easily acquired at a typical grocery store. When selecting my lodgings, there's one non-negotiable criterion: access to a kitchen.
Whether it's a hostel, vacation rental home, AirBnB, or a suite with a kitchenette in a hotel, I ensure that I have the means to properly prepare my meals.
As I write this, I'm currently in the kitchen of the AirBnB residence I selected for my stay in Chicago, IL for the ITU World Championships. Here, I have access to a full kitchen with a stove, oven, fridge, freezer, blender, and more. Just a 10-minute bike ride from here, I can reach a WholeFoods, and another 5 minutes down the road, there's a Trader Joe's. Additionally, there's a Farmers market only 5 minutes away on Saturdays. These are the kind of amenities I prioritize when choosing my accommodations because I know my body and what it needs to endure intense physical duress.
So, the next time you travel and intend to maintain your level of health and fitness, remember to incorporate the #Fuel2Rule mentality. Life doesn't take a break when you're on vacation! Consistent, conscious decisions are what keep our minds and bodies operating at an optimal level.
Nick Patenaude authored this blog post a few years ago, drawing from his experiences as a coach and competitive triathlete. His insights into nutrition and travel remain valuable for athletes to this day.