Travelling light

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/04/2022 (1266 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After a rough day of travel delays returning from Nashville on Monday, I’m feeling a little more human.

And despite sampling plenty of the local cuisine (fried chicken!), my weight actually went down nearly a pound on a diet that was not like one you’d think would have that effect.

How? It’s pretty simple. This is what I did:

I purposely booked a hotel about a mile from the conference venue.

I figured I’d be doing a lot of sitting for eight-plus hours, so this forced me to walk to and from the site at least once a day. Uber didn’t make sense because of the traffic congestion. I averaged 10,000-13,000 steps a day. I felt much better getting some sun and movement early in the day, anyway.

I stuck to a pretty consistent schedule. I was in bed at roughly the same time most nights, which meant I didn’t sacrifice sleep or drink heavily, and I was able to get all my workouts in because I felt fresh. Hotel gym aside, these workouts were passable and quick.

I had one “free” meal each night where I chose what I wanted. Otherwise, I tried to make good choices from the catered breakfast and snacks offered and filled the gaps with protein snacks I had packed or purchased.

Here’s a game plan to keep weight gain at bay while away.

Plan ahead

Nowadays there’s this wonderful thing called the internet that lets you look up restaurant menus or check if grocery stores are near where you’re staying so you can always be prepared.

Does your hotel room have a fridge? Then you can quickly top up on a few things to have on hand.

After all, if you’ve got great choices in your hotel room, it’s a lot easier to achieve goals versus ordering room service in a blind hangry rage.

You can also pack protein in your luggage — something that’s sometimes hard to find on the fly.

Keep it NEAT

There’s no reason exercise can’t be a part of your routine, whether you’re on a staycation or travelling afar.

But, if you really can’t fit the gym in, just walk more. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) as its known.

Every time my clients travel to Europe they are surprised how little damage is done by all the pasta and breads they eat.

The common denominator? They often find they’re logging well over 10,000 steps a day.

Insist on walking as much as possible. See my above strategy if you’re travelling for business — book a hotel away from the venue and plan to walk a bit.

Eat lean leading up to ‘evening events’

If you know you have a social situation that’ll make your food and drink choices difficult, your calorie intake in the early part of that day should be modest at best.

Two food choices that always fill you up nicely without being too high in calories are plants and protein. They’re filling, full of nutrition and don’t break the caloric bank.

And when you’re out at dinner? Try to get into the habit of choosing the vegetable side whenever possible. It might be a salad instead of fries or doubling up the steamed veggie portion instead of a starch such as pasta.

But, again, if you’ve done things right to this point you have room to work with in most cases.

Set some boundaries with alcohol

Small doses of alcohol aren’t detrimental to your fitness goals, but not many of us can moderate.

The poison is in the dose. It’s not the alcohol itself that’s a major problem, but the greasy pizza or other bad food choices at 3 a.m.

The body stops metabolizing other nutrients to prioritize alcohol. Booze puts the brakes on burning body fat, not just because of its effects on your metabolism but also because of what it does to your willpower.

It’s amazing how enticing that hot dog cart with questionable food safety standards looks after a night of debauchery.

The best alcoholic choices are non-flavoured liquors and zero-calorie mixers. Think diet drinks (soda water is one, diet cola is another) and vodka.

I only had a couple drinks over the course of the trip, but I was also hanging out with high performers who take their health seriously.

You don’t want to be the one person getting stupid in a group like that. Those pics last forever. A few drinks to socialize may be important, but just know too many could ruin your sleep quality and set back your health.

Surround yourself with people who pull you up to their level, not down.

What to choose in airports

What happens when your flight is delayed and you don’t want to grab an overpriced chocolate bar?

Grab a protein bar, ready-made protein drink (Core Power is a good one) or beef jerky.

When it comes to choosing your protein bar, always opt for something that has 20 grams of protein and a fairly even ratio of protein to carbs.

Anything too high in carbs and you’re just eating a glorified candy bar masquerading as a healthy option.

What do you pair your bar with if that’s not enough?

Most convenience stores in airports will have fruit available. Grab an apple or banana and you’re good to go. And don’t forget to hydrate, especially while on the plane.

Consider fasting

Want to take the stress out of eating on travel days? Fast until you arrive at your destination.

Fasting can be a useful travel strategy because it helps you conserve calories for a nice dinner out when you arrive. You’re essentially just banking your calories for later.

Usually you’ll be socializing on vacation, and that means food and booze temptations. The more you can create a fail-safe by saving calories for yourself, the better.

Plus, there’s some evidence fasting can ‘reset’ your sleep-wake cycle and reduce the effects of jet lag, according to a study from Harvard Medical School.

Basically, you time your eating to how it should set up on a typical day in the new time zone, fasting until your first meal in the morning (roughly 12-16 hours including the sleep you get).

Once you start eating again, your internal clock will be reset as though it is the start of a new day. Your body will consider the time you break your fast as your new normal morning routine.

In the end, there’s no reason to use travel or special occasions as an excuse to go completely off the rails. With a smart plan, you can marry the two and not set yourself back much at all.

Mitch Calvert is a Winnipeg-based fitness coach who has helped more than 1,400 people transform their bodies and lives over the past decade. Visit mitchcalvert.com to grab a free copy of his metabolism jumpstart or to get direct coaching to drop pounds before summer arrives.