International & NPF

How to Eat on the Road

By Sara Moulton

Posted on March 16, 2017

It’s no secret that I have lost a significant amount of weight since I ended my college career in the spring of 2014. 70 pounds to be exact. When I entered my freshman year of college in the fall of 2010, I weighed 175 pounds. When I left college four years later I weighed 221.5 pounds. Right after my college season concluded, I embarked on a new journey to Chicago to compete in the National Pro Fastpitch League. I got the chance to compete against the best and most athletic players in the game of softball, and I felt like an outcast because of my weight.

How did I let myself get to 221.5 pounds? It’s hard to wrap my brain around that haunting number because I once saw it at my feet when I stepped onto the scale. That number will forever be branded in my mind and I vow to myself to never see it again.

I have decided to write a series of posts about my college weight gain journey because I feel as though other college softball players may go through the same thing.

Travel season came every spring. We would leave on Thursdays and return late on Sunday nights. We spent the first eight weeks of our season traveling until winter was done and we could return to playing home games in Minnesota.

While on the road, I would pack snacks for the airplane ride and others to last throughout the trip. These snacks included pull-apart liquorice, Hershey Cookies and Cream Drops, gummy worms, and other candy. When we would go out to eat as a team, we were given a limit at each meal. We weren’t allowed to order appetizers, soda, or dessert. I was an extremely picky eater and would order something simple and cheap on the menu at most places. I remember ordering chicken tenders as my main meal most of the time, then I would spend my leftover money on sides. A side order for me would be fries, mac and cheese, or mashed potatoes. A lot of carbs! I hardly ever ate any vegetables and my protein intake went as far as chicken tenders.

For lunch on the road in college and in the Pro league a common spot was Panera Bread. I remember we went to Panera as a team right before our B1G Championship game my senior year of college against Michigan. When we went to Panera, we rarely had a price limit, we were told to be reasonable. I decided to make a list below of what I ate before the big game my senior season when my nerves were controlling my mind and my body. I also included what my Panera order looks like today after learning and losing 70 pounds.

Panera Bread Order 2014

Bread Bowl – 590 Cal

Bowl Broccoli Cheddar Soup – 350 Cal

Mac and Cheese – 490 Cal

Baguette – 150 Cal

Total: 1,580 Calories

Panera Bread Order 2017

Pick two combo:

Cup of Broccoli Cheddar Soup – 230 Cal

½ Green Goddess Cobb with Chicken – 270 Cal

Baguette – 150 Cal

Total: 650 Calories

Olive Garden was also a popular dinner as well as a lunch spot for our team in college when we were on the road. Below is the meal I would find myself eating at Olive Garden every single time. I am a creature of habit and would eat the same thing at almost every restaurant we went to. After looking at the below list, be sure to add in the rest of my meals and sugar snacks for the day, ending with the Olive Garden meal. I was probably close to taking in 4,000 calories total for the day. Just to put into perspective, the average person gains close to a pound for every 3,500 and above calories, they take in daily. I was well over that most days on the road.

Olive Garden Order 2014

2-3 Bowls Chicken and Gnocchi Soup – 250 Cal (each)

4-5 Bread Sticks – 140 Cal (each)

Five Cheese Ziti Pasta – 1,220 Cal

Total: 2,670 Calories

I’m not proud of how I treated my body or my mind over the four years I spent in college. To tell you the truth, I only cared about two things, softball and school. When I got drafted to play in the Professional League by the Chicago Bandits after my college career ended, I had finished school, graduated, and was able to shift my focus to softball and my health.

We had a very similar travel schedule in the Pro league as we did in college. Bus trips and airplane rides took place every single week. Life on the road becomes a norm when you are a college or Professional softball player. I started my rookie season with the Bandits in the summer of 2014 at 221.5 pounds and returned home three months later down 30 pounds. Since I was playing softball at the highest level, I focused on my nutrition that season and lost 15 pounds before adding the workout regime afterward adding another 15 to the deficit. Here is a list of five tips/tricks that I tried to follow while I was busy on the road in the Pros:

1. No Fast Food: This was a tough thing to cut out because I was so used to eating greasy fast food on the road and it was something that was quick and available at almost every stop. However, it’s not as delicious as you think after you learn about what’s really making it taste so good. Cut out anything that has grease, goes through a fryer, and takes only seconds to make.

2. Pack healthy snacks: Instead of packing candy whenever we traveled in the Pro league, I made sure to make a grocery store run before we left for any summer trip. I always traveled with apples, Cliff bars, peanut butter, pretzels, bananas, peanut butter and jelly, tortillas (as a substitute for bread) and oatmeal (for breakfast) on the road. There was always plenty of room in my travel bag for my healthy snacks. When we took bus trips, I brought a cooler full of meal prep meals, but let’s start simple with practicing packing healthy snacks first. I also tried not to eat meals after 8:00 pm on the road. That’s what the snacks, the peanut butter and jelly tortillas (don’t judge it until you try it!) and the oatmeal was for. I felt like when I ate late, the food would sit in my stomach and I would almost always wake up the next day full. It was difficult to get my metabolism going.

3. Make healthy choices out to eat: Do some research before you order something. I have found it helpful to read the entire menu before going back and deciding on something. The average pasta dish at any restaurant is going to contain anywhere from 1,200 to 2,000 calories. One serving of pasta is anywhere from 75-150 calories. Once again stay away from any greasy food, that includes French fries. Practice ordering a protein, a vegetable, and a carb. I will get into that in a later post.

4. Split meals: If you feel the need to eat a bowl of pasta, split it with a friend. Or a helpful trick that I learned is to order a to-go-box with your meal. When your meal comes, box up half of it right away and slide it under your chair on the floor. That way it’s out of sight and you won’t continue to nibble at what’s leftover on your plate once you do get full. I used to struggle with not eating everything on my plate. I almost felt guilty leaving any part of my meal unfinished. If you find yourself struggling with the same thing, don’t put as much on your plate. Make your portion sizes smaller by sharing a meal with someone else or try the box trick!

5. Drink more water than you think: When I was losing weight I drank a ridiculous amount of water and that was the only beverage I consumed. Soda slows us down and dehydrates the body, which isn’t good for softball players who are playing outside for hours in the heat every day. Start your morning off with a glass of water with your breakfast. I probably drank four to six bottles of water a day the summer I started losing weight and I probably consume the same amount if not more today.

 

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