Nobody Talks About the Busy Dad

My Healthy Habits challenge is simple yet complicated.  I commute 2 hours to and from work each day (I love my job).  I’m out by 7am and home around 8pm.  I work in sales for the greatest magazine on the planet – Cooking Light (shameless plug).  As a sales guy, I am not as structured as most people are.  I don’t truly know how my day will unfold, so it’s tough to plan ahead because I am at my clients’ beck and call. Here’s a snapshot of my day (when I'm not enjoying Disney with my wife and 4-year-old daughter):

Breakfast: I eat breakfast on the go, on the train, or when I get to work. Most days I’m rushing from the second I wake up and forget to eat all together.  Because I am not consistent, I have introduced a vitamin regiment to my daily routine—fish oil, a multi-vitamin, and vitamin D.  I wash half the daily dose down in the morning with carrot or grapefruit juice.

Lunch: As a sales guy, my lunch is with clients at fancy restaurants who serve gut busting meals….Adam & Eve ate the forbidden fruit and they cursed me!  When I’m not with clients, I’m at the gym working out with a trainer, which means a post-workout shake (banana, whey protein, skim milk, flaxseed oil, oatmeal, vanilla extract, and ice) for lunch.

Dinner:  This is the complicated part of my life.  My wife prepares meals for her and our 4-year-old.  My wife is also on a different type of diet, one that requires that she gain and maintain a weight due to health concerns.  That coupled with getting our kid to eat doesn’t leave many options for me.  So, I either prepare my meal at 8pm or eat what everyone else has eaten.  Sidebar: having a meal on the train is not something I enjoy (cold food, eating on my lap, with strangers who give a scowl if the food I’m eating has any odor to it).

Evening:  Sitting in front of the TV after a so-so dinner, I grab some chips or my favorite – slice of wheat bread with peanut butter and chocolate chip sprinkled on top.  When I turn in for the night, I will down the remainder of my vitamins with some water and call it a night.

I’ve started to take the Healthy Habits challenge.  Veggie-up has been difficult.  I drink my carrot juice in the morning and then it’s tough during the day.  Dinner usually includes 1 to 2 veggies, but I could certainly add more.  This past week I bought some carrots and celery that I can snack on at work.  My trainer loves when I eat something at 11 so it gives me fuel for the lunchtime workout, and at 3pm it’s a quick pick me up.  I don’t think I can eat carrots and celery every day, so I need help with other options.

Post your tips for a busy dad below.