You are the most important machine in your cab. It takes a healthy body with a sharp mind to get the safest and best performance your truck can achieve. Whatever your record behind the wheel, even if your floorboard is littered with wrappers and chip bags, it’s never too late to adopt healthy eating and snacking – and replace harmful, convenience-driven habits with feel- better, drive-better lifestyle changes.
Truckers, like so many with physically and mentally demanding careers, can benefit from eating five smaller nutritious meals a day instead of the traditional three big meals in order to more efficiently metabolize food and fuel your body. Healthy eating for truck drivers begins with eating when you’re hungry, not starving, to avoid a deep dive in blood sugar.
Eating five or six smaller healthy meals per day, the right kinds of meals, gives you more control over how content and satiated you feel and keeps your body from storing fat for hibernation. Avoiding sugar spikes in this way also cuts down on your getting drowsy and foggy behind the wheel in the big post-meal slump.
Map Your Meals Ahead.
Nutrient dense food choices, (especially certain superfoods) is super smart planning. Prep the proper portions of meals and snacks in stackable containers or ziplock bags for easy access and the rest is a breeze behind the wheel.
Go for raw veggies: carrots, celery, cucumbers, red, orange & yellow peppers, broccoli, zucchini, cherry tomatoes. Pair them with hummus or yogurt.
Fresh fruit, chopped and sliced – apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries, blueberries – are great seasonally or frozen out of season. Pair them with your fav nut butters.
Dried fruit – dates, figs, craisins, dried apricots – are healthy in small handfuls but be careful, these can also spike your sugar.
Nuts and seeds are the best alternative to chips and crackers for something crunchy.
Choose from almonds, walnuts, pecans, raw cashews, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds – preferably low or no salt (roasted is always delicious!).
Cheese – low-fat string or one-ounce bites is a quick, satisfying grab of protein.
Along with turkey and chicken slices, boiled eggs are easy to handle proteins.
Jerky, a road favorite for generations, is another good option – without nitrates.
Green smoothies and protein shakes prepared ahead and kept chilled are refreshing and filling especially with added nutrition from Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
When in Doubt, Water.
Thirsty? You’re already dehydrated. Drink the best quality water you can get throughout the day. How much? Half your body weight in ounces, ie 170 lb. = 85 ounces.
Avoid or, if you can’t avoid altogether, minimize carbonated, sugary drinks and energy drinks, and go for the water.
Making lifestyle changes happens best at your own pace. Substitute healthier options for the candy bar and the bag of chips one afternoon, one day at a time. Habits take a good 21 days to put in place. Not too far down the road, you will actually prefer digging into your 12-volt cooler to grab some crunchy veggies and fruit. And just think. No wrappers on the floorboard to constantly pick up.
You drive smart. Why not eat smart to improve both the quality and the number of miles in your life?
