How is everyone keeping healthy doing what we do? I'm struggling! My 2 biggest problems are there are no healthy choices at drive thrus that you can actually eat and go with and my other problems is getting water. I'm finding myself not drinking enough water because alot of the areas I go to are places you want to get out of quick! I'm afraid if I drink any water before I go I'll be in trouble! Anyone got any tips on what they do to keep healthy? Let's face it alot of the places we go into for interiors we need to be in the best health possible to fight off what ever might be growing in these places.

I use the weekends to help plan for meals during the week. I have a lunch pack and just take my food with me. I have cold food choices as well as hot since we have a microwave at the office. I also drove around my office and other areas to make note of places that have more healthy food. If they seem quick, healthy, and about $5-12, I put them on my list.

Another thing is that I go to Samsclub to buy a case of not-so-bad snacks that won't go bad if they're in my car. I keep half in my home and half in the car. It helps to have granola bars, almonds, animal crackers, and those "fish" crackers in the car sometimes. They aren't the healthiest alternative, but is better than the choices you'll have in drive thru.

If you are driving around and afraid to drink the water in certain places then buy a case of water(Poland Springs, etc) and bring about 3 bothles a day into the car so you have it. Plan your meals and snacks as Dee said. I cook on Sunday for the week and have my packed lunch every day and bring fresh fruit, tangeines, grapes, oranges, I blong to a health food coop and buy loads of raw almonds, dates, figs, etc and bring a couple for snacks. Exercise is great too. Do 45 mins every day if possible, I know I live in NY and I can walk for miles and run in the park, I understand that outside of NY you drive alot which is not that good to be sitting that much but when you get a chance, walk.
My health is the number 1 part of my wealth so I am protective of it and I wish we can all do the same. Any way we can encourage each other would be good.

Got to have my pepperoni pan pizza every Friday night. LOL

I normally take bottled water with me everywhere I go and sip on it throughout the day. Healthy choice TV dinners are inexpensive, have very few calories and are nutritious along with my regular daily vitamin and mineral packets. The occassional hamburger without the fries and coke.

I work out at the gym at least three times a week for muscle tone and stamina. I was going every day, but my trainer told me I should exercise every other day for maximum benefit. It does seem to work better.

My problem with the water isn't the quality of water lol it's the no bathroom! I guess I could start wearing depends lol. But I like the ideas people are giving me. And yes I do some major miles in any given day. Heck I live 40 miles from my office plus most bpo are down in the city so that's another 30-50 miles! It's a long drive but for me living out in the middle of no where is worth the price! I mean as I sit here typing I can look out and see my horses and chickens running around enjoying life. That's the best mental therapy there is in my opinion.

In the trunk of your car you should carry some the following items: Bottled water, face mask, disposable gloves and shoe covers, liquid hand disinfectant, disinfectant wipes, wasp spray, Dog Mace Pepper Spay, a leash, small first aid kit, boots, flashlight, two tall trash bags and elastic (for houses with fleas).

I travel alone, and having once almost fallen through the floor into a basement I now I leave an address list of the properties I will be entering. If the office does not hear from me in a pre-determined time, they will start checking on me. I also try to make it a habit to call my assistant when arriving at a property and when I leave the property

I think the main thing to keep you safe and healthy is to use your head... Meaning if you don't feel good about entering a property alone, take someone with you. Take advantage of and use that intuition each of us get when something is not right.

LOL, You're hysterical Countrygirl.

When are they going to design a minivan with bathroom installed in the back for REO Realtors? (Opens hatch, steps in the back, closes hatch, locks door.) LOL

Kathleen, You carry loads of stuff, some have me laughing but you are right about safety and protection.
Country Girl, Bathrooms are an issue but I look for McDonalds and Starbucks, I make a mental note of where they are for future reference since I do have to use them on the weekends. 40miles from the office-Wow. Being in the city, I guess I am spoilt with the ease of getting around.

I have often thought about buying a mini refrigerator that is degigned for the car/suv. It will keep items hot or cold. It plugs into the cigarette lighter. It is small, a little bigger than 12x12x12. It only costs about $79, and can be found at Costco, Sams, Pep Boys, Auto Zone, etc.

Nice one Jim, can't hurt.

LOL! I knew that's what you meant because I have the same problem! If I'm going to be out driving for a long time, I tend to stop when I see a McDonalds. Even if I'm not dying to go at that moment, it will tide me over until I can get home! LOL! I should try drinking less coffee in the mornings when I know I'm going to be taking pics of 4 or 5 houses!

Healthy? What's that?
I do bring my own lunch most of the time, and water from home (I'm so used to my well water, town and bottled water taste horrible and give me heartburn), but lately at least 3 days a week I put over 200 miles on my vehicle. That's a lot of time in sitting on my a.. By the time I get home I have to cook, clean, get kids to bed, etc, so there's no time except the weekends for exercise. We hike a lot, but I know that's not enough. I told my broker I want to bring an exercise bike into the spare room we have, but I've not received the ok on it yet. I try to avoid drive-thru and cionvenience foods as much as possible, but it's hard in this business!

I work out for 2 hours every other day and do martial arts,cardio,stretching and weight training.

Did you know that to truly work out your heart you need to be at your target heart rate for 30 minutes to an hour continous?

To find your heart target take 220-age=maximal heart rate,then take mhr x .85=your target heart rate.

Cardio heart needs to be worked out 3 to 5 times weekly and has absolutely NOTHING to due with lifting weights and your muscles.

If you don't have access to a gym you can buy a polar hr monitor for 40 bucks that will give you your heart rate while you exercise(running,walking,etc.)

There are really 3 seperate exercises everyone should be doing:

1.stretching=for better range of motion and flexibility and to improve blood circulation throughout the body.

2.weights to strengthen the muscles,ligaments,and tendons built up around your bones and joints.

3.Cardio=to workout the heart muscle and have better breathing.

Fruits are a good idea to eat but if you have acid reflux stick to the non-acidic ones,stay away from oranges,pineapple,grapefruit,etc. and stick to bananas,apples,pears,peaches,etc.

Hey dennis the reason your trainer said to go every other day is i see this happen every time at the gym.Alot of people think more is better,which you can work your abs out every day and your heart.

But you muscles when you lift weights each time are basically tearing and stretching your fibers and then they grow back tighter and thicker to handle the new weight or reps you are lifting,if someone works out everyday it does not give your muscles time to rebuild after ripping them down after a workout,it's especially important to stretch each time after a workout.

You will notice people get bigger but lose there flexibility this is because they are ripping there muscle fibers down and when they don't stretch out and the muscle grows back bigger they lose range of motion and flexibility.

Working out every other day gives your muscles time to heal,regrow,and form the more new and defined definition.If you workout everyday you are constantly tearing down the muscle and not allowing it to regrow.

There are people that work out everyday but they are professional bodybuilders and will isolate a specific muscle each day like inner outer triceps,lats,etc.

On eating healthy don't put off eating and then binge that is the worst possible thing you can do.

Do not eat a huge breakfast either,you will feel like a slug in an hour.in the morning drink water have a granola bar and a piece of fruit or something similar to kick start your metabolism.

When you get hungry eat carrots,fruit,etc.eat multiple times a day when you are hungry it will signal your body that it can burn the fat and give you energy instead of storing it all because it's afraid it won't get nutrients for another 6 to 8 hours.

If you go out ot eat don't stuff yourself split a meal between 2 people or order alacarte,split the dessert.It will save on the money,and keep pounds off.

If you are serious about getting into shape,arnold schwarzeneggars modern bodybuilding encyclopedia is a great book.It goes over different exercises,your genetic makeup and different bodytypes and the advantages to each.


Just remember a pound of fat is about 3,300 calories,it takes healthy exercise and eating lifestyle to get results,if you look for a quick fix or do good one day and bad the next you will never achieve the desired results.

I have to say i don't eat healthy all of the time either but i minimize the bad stuff to once or twice a week.also minimize the portions and share.

good luck to everyone!it's hard to stay healthy!lol

I agree with Super Realtor about a lot of things.

I have taken my lunch a lot the last couple of years. I generally take:
my own purified water in chilled bottles in a coozy inside an insulated lunch bag (I like it cold all day). The cooler is a really good idea, but this works too.
turkey or tuna sandwich
the tiniest mini carrots
grape size tomatoes
a fiber bar or granola bar
tropical fruit cup

I eat a light breakfast of oatmeal or toast and a piece of fruit.

I like Jason's Deli because they have fruit or veggies to go with their sandwiches, not just chips. I also like Quizno's, Luby's, The Mason Jar (a little pricey, but the best Hawaiian chicken & squash casserole in town).

My husband and I split a lot of meals out. Now our stomachs shrunk and we can't eat that much!

I LOVE the Gilad exercise series called Quick Fit. I've been doing exercise videos for 28 years, and I have a lot of them. I used to do 45-60+ minutes a day 4-6 X week, but lately just have not had as much time. He has a schedule on the videos of how they work together to cover Weight Lifting - Arms & Shoulders - 15 minutes
Weight Lifting - Chest & Back - 15 minutes
Muscle Toning - Lower Body (standing)- ~20 minutes
a couple of Aerobics videos - 30+ minutes
He also does the stretches and I add a few of my own at the end. I know 15 minutes a day is not optimal, but when you've been doing weights for a long time, you work up to heavier weights and 15 minutes a day really helps me, a lot more muscle tone than zero minutes!

Lately I just haven't been keeping healthy, but once upon a time I was pretty good at it... Do as I say, not as I do...

I went to a restaurant supply and bought lots of one serving containers that I could THROW AWAY. Then I made a week's worth of lunches on Saturday and all week I could just grab and run. When on the road salad with meat was the meal of choice.

Salads will keep quite nicely a week and decent for two if you pack them in small air-tight containers. Use small whole tomatoes so the tomatoe doesn't make your salad soggy. Anything else wet goes in a little zip baggy inside the salad. I like grated carrots and beats on mine.

Get the little one ounce cups with lids for salad dressing. It's so easy to pur three servings of dressing on a salad. But when I'd throw in two servings just in case I wanted more one usually was enough. Around here Trader Joes sells really good, natural lite dressings. The secret is to portion up the whole bottle the day you buy it.

Nuts are good road food, especially almonds. Good for you too, but not by the pound. Again putting them in portions when you're not hungry helps.

For the meat I liked to buy boneless skinless turky breasts, marinate them BBQ 'em then cut 'em up, wiegh 'em out and put them in little baggies of 4 oz each. When I'd get fish, BBQ'd fish chunks --salmon or halibut or tuna (ahi, not canned)-- go good on a salad too. If you can't see the ocean from where you're at that might not be a choice.

When I'd get sick of salad or on the road sometimes I'd do a bunch of finger veggies instead. Carrot sticks, cucumbers and zuchinni.

For hot lunches I'd do a crock pot full of stew or sausage soup and freeze it in individual servings. If you leave out potatoes (cauliflower works good) you can have a really huge bowl of really meaty soup for not many calories. The crock pot makes like 8 servings.

It's a real pain to do this at first, but pretty soon you get a system AND if you make like 10 lunches or so every week in three or four weeks you have a variety of stuff stocked up in your freezer so you don't have to eat the same thing and if you miss a Saturday you've got stuff already.

Light string cheese sticks are good too.

Anyway, the deal is to have good food, that you like packed up and ready to go.

For keepin it cool I used an insulated lunchbox and a blue ice pack.

The year I did this I lost 80 pounds, which I've since gained back. My eating these days isn't good, but I'm exercising --water aerobics-- three days a week. Time to get back on the wagon.

For mental health, when I've got a bunch of driving I like books on tape (well CD's now).

[Edit] Oh... when doing the turkey (or chicken) breasts it works good to take some of them and freeze them raw in whatever marinade you like. They don't freezer burn in the marinade and the will be tasty and juicy when you thaw 'em out. I freeze mine one at a time (single dude) then thaw em in the micro and throw 'em on the BBQ in the summer or the George Forman in the winter. Instant dinner.

I noticed that weights are being mentioned a lot and I am happy to see it since many women feel that they should not be doing any weight lifting. As a woman weights are so important to general tone, strength and stamina so I think women need to put it into their routine as well as a good core workout like Pilates or Yoga. I use Boxing sometimes and this is an excellent all round workout since you have to skip alot, work the legs, core and upper body, you are spent after a good hour but so fit if you do it twice a week at least.
Yes, I am sometimes a bit of a fitness buff, getting ready to try a marathon.

I also do a lot of the same things...take my lunch in a freezer pack. I pack tuna with light mayo and lots of veggies. Lean Cuisine for days in the office. LOTS OF WATER!! I have an extra fridge in my garage and when I leave in the morning I grab some bottles and go. I DO know where almost every McDonalds is on whatever route I am going on.

I recently joined Curves and try to vent my frustrations with CC and S1 through exercise!!!

I also keep chocolate bars in the trunk for emergencies and try to forget they are there.

I have an emergency rain parka, flashlight, screwdriver, heat shield blanket, pepper spray, and a wool blanket.

I take vitamins every day...do a rendition of yoga...sometimes.

Zephyr...We did have a bike in my last office and during lunch I would hop on for 20 to 30 minutes...what a difference in my attention span and energy level!!! I loved it.

Yesterday...I played with the 8 month old foal in the field. She is a bay with a paint for a momma.... For those that don't know I am talking horses...and that is the one and only place I can truly relax. We play chase and play with our ears and the whole time she is playing she doesn't know I am training her. It is absolute pure joy.

Sounds like a blast playingwith the foal, when they are that young they are so adorable.

Here's another light tip... mix that tuna with your favorite mild salsa. It isn't a diet sacrifice, it's actually tastier than mayo and zip zero zilch nada fat, about 5 calories or so.

It's kinda weird, but you have to eat a whole lot more food that's a whole lot better to lose weight than to gain it.

Thanks for the salsa tip...I lost my dad about a year ago to heart disease and I try to keep a lowfat diet. My biggest downfall is getting stuck in the car and forgetting my lunch and having to do the fast food places. You can just hear your arteries clogging!!!!