wrxpilot

I work for a regional, and honestly haven't had much difficulty in staying fit. I used to do crossfit, then decided I wanted to get strong and have been doing strength training the past few months. Finding a "real" gym with barbells can be challenging sometimes, but I usually manage to find one near the hotel.

As far as diet goes, I mostly need a lot of protein and try to eat as cleanly as possible. I never drink sodas, and very rarely eat desserts. The most challenging meal is breakfast, as most hotels serve a diabetic nightmare of insulin spiking crap. Cheap danishes, muffins, sugary yogurt, bagels, and juice WILL make you crash and generally feel terrible. So I try to at least bring enough stuff to cover breakfast and snacks.

Mostly stating fit on the road requires discipline, which isn't that hard once you have some kind of routine.

HSLD

Great post and you nailed a challenge that all pilots face: maintaining a quality diet on the road.

I do crossfit on the road as the routines are flexible enough to eliminate any excuse I could come up with. All I carry is a jump rope and the rest can be body wt. exercise. If I find a decent gym, that's just a bonus.

Like you said, diet is that hard part when you're at the mercy of the crap food sold at airports and hotels. You mentioned the number one blood sugar killer which is soda. If people would do only one thing for their diets, I'd say quitting soft drinks would pay the biggest dividend in health. I gave up caffeine too and I sleep tons better as a result, but that's just me (the first 2 weeks was tough, but now I don't miss either 4 years downrange).