The Secret Travel Formula

Recently, the lovely people over at Aetna International asked me a few questions about what life is like living overseas.  I found it really interesting to answer their questions and then reflect back upon what I said.   Why?  Well, nobody has ever asked before and it’s not really something I’ve thought about the last 15 years!

(You can find the interview here.)

But in thinking about all of this, maybe you’d be interested in how a person like me stays healthy while living and travelling overseas.

When I’m home in Australia, I run a pretty tight ship.  If I’m not at work, I’m off doing active things in and around Sydney.  I’ll bicycle around, go running or hiking, go to the gym for a bit of circuit training or head to the beach for a dip.

I’m definitely not a morning person, so after work, I’ll head to the gym for at least an hour a day over six days a week.  My preferred method of fitness is circuit training because I find my mind is able to drive whilst working hard and I also really enjoy the social aspect of it.

When I’m working out, I use a heart rate monitor.  That helps me see how hard I’m working and I can judge that against how I feel.  This is a great way to help me train and stay fit because I can weigh up how I feel against the workouts that I’m doing to see how much I should really push.

To keep myself fuelled during training, I actually do a lot of meal prep.  I’ve really benefited living so close to a supermarket that I can go every day and choose something I want to make for dinner.  I try to meal prep healthy chicken options and I usually make portions for two because then I have my lunch ready for the morning.  (I make a mad easy clean chicken and mushroom dish that I’m happy to share the recipe for if you’re interested)  I’ve really got the system down as it works for me. As a side note, I put all my meals in a glass container because I find it’s way easier to heat up in the mornings, too!

For keeping hydrated, I’m a little cheeky because my day doesn’t start until I get at least one cup of coffee in me.  Then, I’m able to function as a real human being.  I have a metal one litre bottle that I keep in the fridge when I want a super cool gulp of water and I refill it through the day.  I also add lemon and lime just to switch it up a bit!

And then if I get a cold – I totally fall to pieces. It’s just sleep, sleep and more sleep… and if I get a fever, I make sure to have Panadol and vitamin C’s at the ready and supplement with loads of water.  A lot of times when I have a cold, I don’t feel good enough to eat much, so I am a bit naughty and will drink a litre of orange juice for comfort.  I don’t recommend.

Ok, so what the heck do I do when I’m travelling?  Um…. do you want the honest answer?  I eat whatever I want.. and pretty much the only exercise I get is from walking.  That’s it.  I’ve got no good answer for staying fit and healthy when I’m travelling.  Well, I’ll have a lot of sea food.  If I see food, I eat it… like a cannoli.  If I want to eat a cannoli, I eat it.  Make sense?

Yep – bottom line is, it’s easier for me to exercise at home than it is when I’m travelling.  I pretty much throw all my training up in the air like confetti and yell ‘whoopee!’ as I hop on the plane for my next destination because I’m totally on holiday.

But we can spin this into something positive.  I’m looking after myself, mentally, right?  I’m eating copious amounts of tasty meals just like the writer from “Eat Pray Love.” There must be something in that, right?  What do you do at home and overseas? Do you have a training schedule and are you able to keep fit whilst travelling?  I’d love to hear your tips!