The Ultimate Road Trip Nutrition Guide

One of the most challenging things to do as someone who is focused on their health and nutrition is to plan ahead for travel.

It’s tedious, lends itself to monotony and ultimately can be more expensive… unless you use these strategies.

This is a timely post because Olivia and I are about to hit the road for a 2-day road trip down to our new home in Charlotte, NC.  We’ve decided to split up the drive, since driving 14 hours in one day with 3 dogs is a bit too much of an ask… plus, we need to make sure we can still take care of our clients.

And, since we both want to stay as close to our nutrition plans as possible, we will need to plan ahead because if we don’t, it’ll compromise our ability to reach our goals.  Now, before I get into this, remember - this does not have to be an all-or-nothing thing.  You can plan some of your meals and leave room for flexibility, or you can be 100% dialled - the choice is yours, but as they say, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Here is what we do:

1. We pack our meals for day 1 the same way we would if we were leaving the house for the day.  5 meals in 5 Tupperware containers, packed into our lunch boxes.  We’ll eat the meals whenever we stop to pee.  We reuse those containers the next day for our meals.

2. We have a big cooler that we pack with frozen protein sources, frozen veggies, fruit, cooked rice and condiments.  This is the food we will pack for day 2.  The protein will thaw during day 1 and be ready to pack in the morning before we leave the hotel.  The frozen food will also serve to refrigerate the non-frozen items and keep them cold during the drive.

3. We pack all our supplements in pill cases.  This allows us to maintain our routine.

4. We only buy beverages on the road.  Lots of water, sugar-free soda, coffee and energy drinks are a necessity.  Plus, when travelling to the US, there are many more options, so there is no sense bringing that all from home, amirite?!

5. We plan to train on day 1.  This allows us to decompress from the drive, move our bodies and try out some new gyms.

6. We prioritize short walks first thing in the morning and whenever we stop.  This helps with digestion and ensures we don’t get too stiff… not to mention the pups need it after being cooped up all day in the backseat of my truck.

It’s as simple as that!

Yes, it’s boring and you don’t get a lot of food variety.  

Yes, we’re eating the same thing 2 days in a row.  

Yes, we’re eating most of our meals cold.

But, you know what would be worse?  Falling short of our goals and ending up feeling terrible for a few days after sitting in a car and eating off-plan.

There are tradeoffs to every decision we make in life and for us and the 6 steps above help us stay on plan.

If you found this helpful.

Stay Strong,

Paul Oneid, MS. MS. CSCS

Founder and Head Coach