Say What?

How do you stay healthy on the road? 

Tom McCullough, 59, Shepherdsville, KY  
Professional driving experience: 30 years  
“At our company and in the division I’m in, we fingerprint our own freight. When you load 1,400 cases a night, that’s all the exercise you’re going to need. That’s about 40,000 pounds. I’m heavy now because I stopped handling the freight a couple of years ago, but when I did all of that loading, I was in pretty good shape.”
Gary Baldwin, 49, Clearfield, PA   

Professional driving experience: 24 years  
“When I wasn’t in the truck, I was in better shape. But since I’m back in the truck, sitting, 18 hours a day, well, you see what happens.  Now it seems like the only time I’m not in the truck, I’m eating or sleeping.”

Lorinda Fletcher, 38, Mount Vernon, KY
Professional driving experience: 5 years    
“We have a membership at the YMCA and we run dedicated, so when we get to Virginia, we work out at the Y there. That has helped tremendously. You’re limited to how many times you can visit another Y, but they’re lenient, especially when they find out you’re a truck driver. I’ve changed my diet to healthier snacks like fruits and vegetables and non-processed food.”

Kevin Fletcher, 52, Mount Vernon, KY  
Professional driving experience: 5 years  
“Like my wife says, we have the YMCA membership and we take advantage of that several times a week. I’m not eating as healthy as she is, but I’m doing better because she buys the snacks. I guess you could say I’m being forced to eat healthier.”

David Noe, 71, Star Valley, AZ  
Professional driving experience: 1 year  
“My advice is to get out of your damn truck and walk. I look at some of these truck drivers and they have bellies half as big as they are. They know they’re overweight and they just don’t know to deal with it. I deal with it by walking. Sometimes I’ll get out and walk two-and-a-half miles down the highway, turn around and walk two-and-a-half mile back to the truck. I try to walk two hours a day.”