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Monday, June 11, 2007
Vacation vs. Business Travel
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I will be in Denver this week for a business trip for which my husband is joining me, so we are making a vacation out of it as well. I’m planning in advance how to handle this situation so it doesn’t become a bump on the road I’ve been traveling.
I looked at the hotel website and determined there is a fitness center on the property. Unfortunately, on days when I am in meetings from 7:30 a.m. through dinner - and this has happened to me on other business trips I’ve taken during this Fitness Challenge - there is no feasible way for me to get any real exercise. However, on our vacation days, I will work in some cardio sessions. Second, I tend to get more exercise in general on vacation. My husband and I will be hiking and doing a lot of city walking. Unfortunately, on those days full of meetings, my heart-rate rarely gets above sleeping level! (Yes, they can be boring…)
Third, I plan in advance for eating situations. For example, I take protein bars my trainer recommended and have one of those for breakfast. Otherwise I’m stuck eating the requisite “Continental Breakfast” of croissants and muffins that, frankly, I’ve never liked. Some hotels do serve oatmeal and Egg Beaters, but when you’re looking at $14 for breakfast, I’d just as soon have a protein bar from home.
When my husband and I can pick restaurants, we keep it fairly healthy with seafood, salads and the like. However, the food served at the meetings is pretty terrible. I find myself scraping off sauce, flabby chicken skin and too much heavy salad dressing, and pushing aside very heavy desserts. This is where those protein bars can come in handy again. However, I still have to “be sociable” and at least pretend like I’m eating.
It’s fun to go out of town on vacation, and I can usually find ways to get in a lot of exercise and healthy food. But when I’m out of town on business, that’s a different story. Sitting all day in meetings, eating plated lunches, and faced with snack breaks consisting of cookies the size of my head can all prove daunting to my efforts. Does anyone have any other suggestions for me?
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“I’m Feeling Woozy and Seeing Fuzzy”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not long ago, I had a client call me to tell me she was experiencing episodes of “feeling woozy and seeing fuzzy” after her workouts. She stated that she had already spoke with her doctor. Her doctor told her that it was because of the weight training putting pressure on her eyes. (Say what!)
Well, I am not one to disagree with a doctor (actually I am), but something didn’t sound right. I then asked her if I could ask her some questions to in regards to her symptoms. She agreed.
To preface, let me give an idea of her workouts. As with the case with most of my clients, she does 45 minutes of weight training and 30-45 of cardiovascular exercise within a given heart rate zone. Admittedly, I trained her pretty hard, as she is young (lower 30’s), fairly fit, and is in great health.
I asked her, “do you feel the symptoms immediately after your workouts?” She said, “No, the worse time I felt it was about 2 hours later while doing yard work.” I then asked, “Did you eat anything during that time?” She then said, “No, no, I didn’t.” I then smiled. Turned to find out she didn’t eat anything on the other days either.
Once again, I reminded her that I am not a doctor, but I think I have a simple remedy. She asked with enthusiasm, “What?” I replied quickly, “Eat!” Come to find out, this seemed to remedied her symptoms. She was elated.
I tell you this story for two reasons. First is this, when you work with a fitness professional, follow his or her advice. It is a part our program to have you eat a mix of protein and carbohydrates within 60 minutes of your session to prevent hypoglycemia and replenish expended glycogen. Second, is to be careful of the advice of others, even professionals. After her doctor gave her the bad news, she was reluctant to lift weights. Now, she’s happily back at it.
Next week, I’m going to talk more about the post workout snack/meal and why it’s so important. Have you ever experienced a situation like this? If so, please share.
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