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A Truck Driver’s Story
On the Road to Fitness
I am an over-the-road, cross-country truck driver. Forty-nine years old and sitting behind the wheel of an eighteen wheeler for nine to 10 hours a day, and being away from home 10 to 12 days at a time, you can imagine that a horrible cycle of inactivity and poor food choices could make me unfit, unhealthy, and fat. The majority of truck drivers are just that, overweight, inactive, and suffering from myriad ailments.
Not
only are we sitting most of the day, truck stop food is mostly buffet style and
truckers are notorious for eating only once or twice a day because of scheduled
deliveries. Eating proper portions does not enter into the average drivers
mind when he does get to finally sit down and eat a meal. Being away from home
and family, comfort food is on your mind, and lots of it.
Be that as it may,
I have found my way to a very fit lifestyle by using the principles in
Clarence’s books—and my own ingenuity.
I eat four small meals a day and
find a way to exercise almost every day. I drive a Peterbilt with a sleeper
behind the cab. There is plenty of room for two electric coolers and a microwave
oven. I can pull into any rest area, prepare and eat a healthy meal in 30
minutes. Here is what I eat every day (notice I am using Clarence’s uniform
eating plan).
Breakfast (my version of Clarence’s "Old Reliable"
Half cup
cooked grains (I precook grains at home: oat groats, barely, rye, buckwheat and
kamut)
Half cup light vanilla soy milk
One chopped apple
Tablespoon chopped walnuts
Meal 2
One hardboiled egg (split) between two whole wheat tortillas (50 cal each),
along with chopped peppers and onions, mustard, grape tomatoes and bean sprouts
For dessert, I have .5 cup of fat free cottage cheese with .5 cup of chopped
cantaloupe or honeydew and a heaping tbs. of ground flax seed
Meal 3
A whole wheat pita (60 cal) with hummus, black beans (home cooked, no
salt), Pico de Gallo, broccoli slaw, and hot sauce
Dessert: same as meal 2
Meal 4
I alternate between three different dinners:
1. Half-cup egg beaters, onions
and peppers, yellow squash and zucchini, plus three corn tortillas (I have
found a brand that has only 25 calories each)
2. Pizza, consisting of two whole wheat tortillas, pizza sauce, onions
and peppers, squash and zucchini, pineapple chunks, low fat mozzarella cheese,
and a few chopped black olives
3. Stir fry veggie mix, tofu, pineapple chunks, 1-2 tbs. Thai sauce (low
sodium) served on a bed of Quinoa (.5 cup)
Dessert: 3/4 cup of plain fat free yogurt, with a .5 cup mixed berries, and
ground flax seed
[Editor: Note wide variety of
vegetables and fruit, and careful attention to seasoning, both very important to
eating enjoyment]
I am never hungry on this whole-food diet, but it’s quite a scene at home
the day before I leave on my next trip. My wife and I are chopping peppers and
onions, cutting up melon, cooking grain, boiling the eggs. Preparation is half
the battle.
Truck stops can also be a road block to exercise; they are quite often
situated outside of large cities, along highways where walking or running is
prohibited or unsafe.
I carry a couple of adjustable dumbbells, which permits me to do a complete lifting routine. I have also found wonderful and inspiring places along my travels for hiking or running. For example:
The rest area on top of Donner Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains is great place for a high altitude hike--wonderful for your attitude.
I like to run on a stretch of old route 66 in Arizona that runs parallel to Meteor Crater.
I have also climbed rock piles in west Texas and Wyoming, and hiked the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania.
I make my home in a small town where everyone knows everyone. It's a very friendly place to live and raise a family. When I’m home, I love to walk around and checkout the parks or visit Main Street.
As you can see, I get around and try to make the best of every situation. I have even found myself under the trailer on a rainy day doing push ups and prone pull ups.
I started on this road to fitness in 2002 when I felt myself living a little too loosely, as in too little exercise and a lot of poor eating habits. With two of my children entering their teens, I decided it was time to set a good example.
I pulled out some back issues of Muscle and Fitness and reread some of Clarence’s columns from the early nineties. I then found his web site and ordered some of his books, which often contain excerpts from other great books.
One in particular was Dr. Ken Cooper’s classic Aerobics. I started running and found that I enjoyed it. Cooper’s book has a fitness test where you see how far you can run in 12 minutes. I persuaded my son and daughter to try it with me; they both did poorly, while old dad was in the good category. They would have none of that, and kept at it until they passed the test and then some. They both joined the track and cross country teams in high school and have excelled. My daughter Stephanie is now a three sport college athlete and Tyler made the varsity squad as a freshman. With my youngest, Teague, nine, now lifting weights with me--it's one of his favorite activities--Clarence's inspiration has reached two generations in my family so far.
Dad, daughter Stephanie, and son Tyler, alongside Steve’s magnificent new Peterbilt truck, make a happy—and very fit—threesome.
Steve’s stats:
I have been at
this type of lifestyle for five years and counting. I have no problem dealing
with the stress of driving in heavy traffic in strange cities.
I am 5-10, 165 pounds, with a fairly low body fat %.
I make my home in SW Minnesota.
To your health and well being,
Steve Schultz