Balanced Diet For Truck Drivers
One of the hardest parts of being a truck driver is finding the right balance of diet and nutrition. Let’s face it, the truck stops and vending machines out on the road aren’t exactly providing great home cooked meals and nutritious choices for us road warriors out there. We recently released our fourth eBook in the Big Rig Ebooks Series called “The Truck Driver’s Guide to Health and Fitness.” This eBook focuses on what you can do to help achieve your diet and fitness goals out on the road. I wanted to follow up on the book with an article to help support the food choices that we highlight in the book.
Controlling Your Diet
The best way for you as a truck driver to shed the pounds and get healthier is to control your diet. One way that you can control your diet is to count calories. There are many free smartphone apps out there and I find this the easiest way to keep a food diary and to monitor the different nutritional levels in your diet. The MyFitnessPal app is my app of choice when it comes to monitoring my calories. This app allows you to save years worth of information and has a huge database from other users it also has forums, recipes and a community to help you get motivated and stay motivated on your goal to maintaining a better diet.
Choosing A Diet
You can either choose to follow a standard diet or your can make one up on your own. I prefer to use a more active diet since I enjoy participating in outdoor activities and some occasional weight lifting. I like to break down my foods into a few basic categories, proteins, carbohydrates and fruits and veggies. Proteins are the foundation to help promote muscle building and maintenance and carbohydrates contain the specific calories that help power your body. Many of the fruits and vegetables that you find will actually be free calories, meaning that you burn more calories than what the food provides. I personally have found the greatest success by limiting my portions and carbohydrates. One of the best places to begin your diet is in your personal physicians office. They know your health history and may provide you with some specific tips or a diet for you that would help you succeed. If you do not have time for a visit to the doctor or you just want some quick recommendations check out my suggestions in the next section.
Healthy Foods For Truck Drivers
Some of my favorite proteins for the road are egg whites, steak, chicken, tuna fish and salmon burgers. Some of my favorite carbohydrates are oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, rice cakes and whole grain bread. I also include raw vegetables and fruits as well as some nuts and sometimes a low fat Greek yogurt. I like to prepare my foods at home and separate them into Tupperware for my fridge out on the road. The way that I cook most of my proteins is to use a George Foreman Grill. I also have a rice cooker and make about 8 to 10 cups of brown rice for the week. I find by preparing your food ahead of time it saves you time and money and once it’s made you really have no excuse to have a good diet.
Truck Drivers Can Get Healthy
I really do understand how hard it is as an active truck driver to maintain a good diet out on the road. If you are tired of being sick and tired and are looking for a change then this is a good place to start. You can begin by tweaking your diet here and there and then you can start a well balanced exercise program. This will ensure that you feel better on a daily basis and are around longer for your loved ones. As always let us know what you think by clicking on the comment button or you can get involved with our social media links at the top. We would love to hear your questions regarding the truck drivers diet and nutrition! And be safe out there!
