The life of truck driver can be extremely time consuming and can hinder the ability to have a good and steady health regimen. Driving over 100,000 miles a year can be tough on the human body. Sitting in one place for long periods of time can hamper the body's ability to efficiently flow blood through various veins and arteries and can cause quick massive weight gain. Below, we have provided some simple ways to keep healthy while on the road:
- SLEEP!! Your body needs rest. No matter how "driven" one is to reach the next mile, sleep is crucial to staying healthy. Your body needs time to regenerate and in turn, you'll find yourself more alert, energetic and overall in a better emotional mood. Among the many other benefits that sleeping provides, the most compelling reason for a driver is alertness. Truckers drive 80,000 lbs. vehicles loaded up with Cargo that nearly matches that weight. If a driver is tired and not alert, obviously dire consequences can occur. GET SOME SLEEP!!
- Plan your meals. Along with sleep, meal planning can assist you in reaching your health goals and also can provide efficiency on your routes. Meal planning is one of the easiest things to do in for health success. Take a few moments, either in the beginning of the day or the beginning of your work week and get a rough idea of what your day or week will look like. Examine your routes and plan. Plan within that route, when or where on the route you would like to stop and eat. Upon doing this, do a little research in the area you've chosen to stop in to see if there are any healthy spots to chow down at.
- Eat every 3 hours. The rule is to eat breakfast within 1 hour of rising. Then eat small balanced meals every 3 hours to boost your body's fat burning potential and also strengthen your body's metabolism speed. Be sure to break from eating 3 hours before you plan on pulling off the road for sleep. The idea behind eating every three hours is that your body will not go into "starvation protection" which means your body will trick itself to not withhold food for long periods of time in your digestive system for fear of starvation. Your body will adapt to being fed every three hours which will increase your metabolism and essentially cause weight loss.
- Exercise at least 15 minutes a day. No matter what, exercise at least 15 minutes a day. You don't need a precise workout plan, just be sure to make each 15 minute workout a vigorous one. The rule of thumb is to maintain a max heart rate of 75 to 85 percent. This will maximize fat burning and also let you get back on the road to your destination.
- Keep healthy snacks on hand. Healthy snacks can greatly satisfy hunger and also keep your metabolism moving in the right direction. Eating healthy snacks throughout the day will limit the need to late night binge when posted at a truck stop for the night.
At the end of the day, it is up to you to reach the health goals that you've set for yourself. Have fun with it and push yourself. People will begin to notice the positive changes you've made for yourself and you could end up inspiring other along the road. Drive Safe. Eat Healthy. Live Well.