Say What?

Question: How do you stay healthy on the road?

Tom McMullough, 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 darn 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 how 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 miles back to the truck. I try to walk two hours a day.”