An Interview with Subway’s Commit To Fit Ambassador Carl (Giveaway)

I had the pleasure of meeting Subway Canada‘s newest Commit to Fit™ Ambassador, Carl Savard. It was an inspiration meeting him and listening to the story of how he lost 100 lbs, changed his lifestyle and ran a marathon 16 months, after starting his journey! One of my family’s goals is to try to eat healthy and be active together. We do pretty well at home, but it’s always a challenge on the road, during after school activities, and when travelling. I figured Carl would have some great advice for us, and all families, on how to stay healthy while travelling!

1) Do you think it’s important for people to keep up their exercise routines while travelling? Is it ever ok to skip exercise for a whole trip? 

Your exercise routine should be part of your life just like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. So my answer is definitely a yes. That said, if travelling involves walking way more than normal, as long as you are making positive choices nutrition wise you should be fine. SUBWAY^® has always been an on-the-go option for my family for years because they are almost everywhere and offer so many freshly prepared options.

2) How do you fit in exercise on the road? Do you use hotel gyms?

It depends. Sometimes I’ll use hotel gyms or, if the space is big enough, I train in my room with basic body weight exercises and other times, I will go out and run. What’s so cool about running is that you don’t need equipment other than your shoes and it’s a GREAT way to visit the city you’re in and get the vibe of this new place you are discovering.

3) Are there any specific foods, you have trouble finding on the road, that you usually eat at home?

The toughest thing I would say is that you normally buy what you get at home in big quantity, like bread, you would buy an entire loaf. If you’re in a hotel for three days, you know you won’t eat a full loaf. The main issue I have finding exactly what I want in individual portions. To get around this, I go back to my early weight loss strategy and read labels. This is a great way to try new things and find options that could possibly work for me at home as well. In some cases, eating on the road forces you to go back to basics and read labels.

4) Do you have any tips for staying healthy while on the go?

Staying healthy is a choice. We make hundreds of decisions each day and they are all part of the big picture. You need to focus on what makes you feel great. Indulging in food may make you feel good for 30 minutes, but you’ll probably end up saying things like, “I’ve eaten way too much”, “I feel sleepy” “I feel lethargic”.

Travelling and being away from home can seem to be somewhat liberating, a sort of freedom but our basic needs like eating three times a day, sleeping at least seven hours,  and taking a time to be active  should still top your list of priorities.

5) How much sleep do you recommend people get while travelling?

You should try to stay as close to your regular sleep routine as possible. Everybody has a different physical clock but I try to make sure that I still get at least seven hours of sleep when I’m on the road.

6) Do you ever pack your own snacks when you travel? 

I rarely do. Normally as soon as my bags are in my hotel room, I try to figure out what will be my breakfast the next day. Breakfast is really important to me, starting my day with an empty stomach is like leaving for a long car trip with an empty gas tank. Some hotels do have breakfast but most of them aren’t really healthy options.  Especially if my room has a fridge, I prefer to head out to the closest grocery store and get what I need for the next morning.

7) What is your favourite healthy items on the Subway menu? (Or simply: what is your favourite Subway sandwich)

My go to sandwich at SUBWAY^® is the Oven Roasted Chicken, with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers and honey mustard. Some days I’ll have 9-Grain Wheat, others flat bread or Italian bread. Sometimes I add cheese and sometimes not. Chicken breast is a great protein option. Honey mustard is really tasty and is way lower in calories than mayo. SUBWAY^® Restaurants provide a variety of low-fat options including ‘8 under 6 grams of fat or less’ sandwiches: Ham, Oven Roasted Chicken, Roast Beef, SUBWAY^® Club, Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Turkey Breast, Turkey Breast and Ham and Veggie Delite. These sandwiches are also low in saturated fat, trans fat-free and low in cholesterol.

Here I am with Carl Savard and Lynette from My Wee View. A big thank-you to Lynette for inviting me to lunch and to introducing me to the banana pepper. My tuna on whole wheat subs have so much more flavour now!

And a big thank-you to Subway Canada for offering up a $20 Subway gift card to one winner. Enter through the form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post is not sponsored in any way. I just love Subway!