Business Travelers Alert: Exercise Your Right to Stay Fit!

The job description: "frequent travel required. Exceptional benefits and bonuses."
Sounds great, doesn't it?

"Business travel" is such a glamorous term. We envision a generous expense account for every meal; free hotel stays, complete with chocolate mints on your pillow; prepaid airline flights.

The downside: all those cheese tidbits and martinis at the must-schmooze-with-clients cocktail hours, followed by the five-course dinner topped off by can't-miss-chocolate-parfaits, add up to an expanding waistline. And the endless hours of sitting through flights, meetings, and more meetings don't exactly help your, ahem, bottom line.

The good news: making time for exercise - even when you're a frequent business traveler - is not an impossible dream.

Here are some tips for getting your "daily dose" of exercise:

• Pack your tennis shoes with your carry-on luggage. Once you get to the hotel, ask for directions to a nearby mall. Walking around inside a mall at a brisk pace is a no-excuses opportunity to exercise regardless of the time or weather.
• Traveling with a colleague with whom you need to meet? Invite him or her on a "walk and talk" meeting rather than to lunch.
• If you can, choose a hotel with an onsite gym - an increasing number of hotels are luring guests with gyms and exercise facilities that include everything from yoga classes to Pilates machines.
• Ask if your room will include a VCR or DVD player. Then pack up a selection of fitness videos or DVDs, and exercise in the comfort of your room.

Now that you're on the right track with your exercise program, how about that diet? Try these tips for improving your "bottom line" even more:

• Skip the alcohol. In addition to the extra calories, you tend to forget about eating right when you've "loosened up" with a few drinks. Sip on tonic water or try vegetable juice spiced up with Worcestershire sauce and a lime wedge.
• Just say no when it comes to the bread basket. Those warm slices of white bread topped with layers of butter may be delicious - but they add extra calories, fat, and little nutrition.
• Always ask how food is prepared, and choose broiled rather than sautéed fish or chicken when possible. Avoid vegetables in buttery sauces, and ask for steamed or raw vegetables instead. Have a choice of potato or rice? Ask for a baked potato topped with salsa rather than butter or sour cream: lots of taste and few calories.
• Got a sweet tooth? Ask for fresh fruit for dessert or offer to split a dessert with others.

NOTE: Before starting or changing your exercise program or diet, check with your health care provider.