On the Road Again — Traveling Strategies for Success After Weight Loss Surgery

On the road again…. The familiar tune is playing in my head.  I’m a seasoned traveler, one who traveled a lot after surgery.  I’ve blogged many times about traveling with my lap band, but it’s been a while.  I’m going to be traveling a lot for business again, and that means I need to dust off my own strategies, and have a plan.  I’m going back to reading my old blogs to get ideas, and build my confidence.  I’ve done this before, many times.  Heck, I commuted cross-country for over a year; I traveled to Europe from CA five weeks after surgery; I know how to do this, yet I’m still nervous.  Time to take my own advice…

I know that for me success starts with having a plan so that I don’t get caught without what I need to work my tool.  For me there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, so I’m going back to reading old blogs about traveling to refresh my memory, and get in the right mindset.  Here’s the list of articles and blogs I referred to:

•  Lap Band Tips – Airline Travel With My Lap Band (planning for a long-flight and what to take)
• I Always Have a Plan to Maintain My Weight Loss, Especially When I Travel, 9/27/2009 (protein drinks on airplanes and being assertive instead of being embarrassed)
• Lapbanded on Vacation – Having Fun at an All Inclusive Without Gaining Weight (it’s all about choices and having a plan; tips from an all-inclusive vacation; this will be a really helpful reminder for this trip; going to print out this blog and take it with me!)
• Traveling With My Lap Band – Some Tips For Continued Success (Sandi’s tips for traveling filled with some great ideas; I’m going to print this one too!)

I called the hotel I’m staying it to make sure they have a gym (I didn’t have a choice about where to stay).  The good news is they have a gym and it’s 24 hour access – I don’t need to ask them to open it early for me.  Time to take out those travel size containers, and Ziploc bags.  There are a few new tips I’m adding to my list for air travel:

• Bring an empty water bottle – preferably one with a large mouth for mixing protein drinks; saves a lot of money on bottled water throughout the trip.  I now fill it at a water fountain right after I get through security,
• Take protein powder and any other powders out of luggage and put them in a bin at the security checkpoint – or TSA may need to go through your luggage.

So armed with Ziploc bags, protein powder, my water bottle, workout clothes, baby carrots, workout music and most importantly a plan, here I go, on the road again.