Travel Light:How to Turn Your Next Business Trip Into a Spa Trip

Here’s a fresh idea that can change your whole approach to travel. Many of my clients swear by this strategy. Think of your trip – whether for business or pleasure, for two days or a week – as a spa trip. You’ll be away from the usual distractions of your home and family life and it’s your opportunity to focus on…. You! Begin with your flight. A few of my clients use air travel as a ‘cleanse’. They request only hot water and lemon to drink and they fast (unless the flight is quite long). They arrive at their destinations refreshed and light. In fact, an interesting recent study from Harvard researchers published in Science reveals that skipping food in the air may help beat jet lag. It seems the body has a ‘feeding’ clock in the brain and skipping food prompts you to stay awake until you can eat. So what could be better: more alert and more slim! I have lots of details on how to turn an ordinary trip into a Spa Trip. See pages 160 – 165 of The Wall Street Diet.

Travel Light: Eating Well While Enroute

It’s not hard to eat well en route no matter what the sky demons throw at you. Consider the time of day that you’ll be traveling as well as the duration of your flight.

Breakfast. If you’re grabbing an early morning flight, you need to be prepared for a terminal breakfast. I have lots of very specific tips in the The Wall Street Diet on how to find an excellent breakfast at the airport (see pages150-151) even if nothing but Hudson News is open. Here’s my famous “One-Stop Breakfast”: Dash into Starbucks or any coffee shop for a venti skim latte. Yes, it really is half of a healthy breakfast. It’s a shot of espresso along with roughly 9 ounces of milk that will cost you about 200 calories. The second stop is a piece of fruit. Grab a banana or any other fruit. There. You’re done! And you won’t be sitting at the gate or on the tarmac, starving!

Lunch and dinner are really nutrition twins when it comes to travel. The two top choices are a sandwich (choose a turkey on whole wheat with mustard and lettuce) or a chicken Caesar salad with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. You can find these at most any airport. Starbucks, which is everywhere, make a good stop because they list the calories on their packaged sandwiches. (In The Wall Street Diet you’ll find detailed airport-by-airport “cheat sheets” on where to eat at most major airports in the world. See pages 261-303.)

Snacks. Don’t forget snacks. They’re lifesavers for when you’re stalled on the tarmac or delayed in the terminal. I have a full list of recommended snacks in The Wall Street Diet. (See pages 153-155.) Excellent snacks include cut up veggies or a piece of fruit or Crispy Delite fruit or Nature Valley Fruit Crisps. An energy bar such as Luna toasted nuts and cranberry, Balance honey yogurt or Kashi TLC granola bar make good choices. Good protein choices include Justin’s nut butter and 2 Fiber Rich crackers or 2 mini Babybel Light or Laughing Cow Light and 2 Fiber Rich crackers.