Recently someone asked me what was the thing I liked the most about travelling homeless. The answer was easy; I love meeting and connecting with diverse and exciting people. Making friends and putting myself in situations that take me out of my comfort zone are my favourite things.
However, there are a few things that I still struggle with.
The one I want to share with you today is how to stay fit and healthy while travelling.
For the past three years, I’ve been travelling homeless; I don’t have an official permanent residence, and I live with what I have in my luggage.
The road to becoming fit and healthy has been a rollercoaster. I started this adventure during the pandemic when I had to adjust my workout routine to do it anywhere, anytime, using body weight, yoga and HIIT training. I figured that once I started travelling, it would be easier for me to adapt. I was wrong!
Being fit, for me, means having good mobility, muscular tone and endurance.
But all of these things are dependent on nutrition, quality of sleep, hydration, quality of training and great habits.
When travelling, sometimes I wouldn’t have the whole mix. I would have great food, but inconvenient itineraries due to poor planning or delays would keep me awake most of the night.
Sometimes I would spend too long without proper hydration or high-protein food.
At some other points, I couldn’t find heavy enough weights or have time to go as intense as I needed to progress my fitness.
Add novelty to the mix, and you get unexpected partying that will require discipline to avoid drinking or overeating and staying late if you don’t drink.
I was at my heaviest last year, and when I became determined to lose weight, I had to leave the country where I was finally making progress and building a healthy routine.
I decided to lose weight again in January while in Croatia. I started counting calories and macros, making sure I would hit my goals every day, get the best rest possible and be hydrated, avoiding alcohol and processed foods. And unsurprisingly, losing weight became super easy, but then I encountered a new problem: rebuilding muscle mass.
And to whoever says that losing weight is hard, hear me out; losing weight and gaining lean muscle is 5x harder.
And so here I am today, at the smallest I’ve been in years, in my 30s, doing my best to build muscle while being healthy and enjoying life too.
It’s been even more complex lately cause I’m at a point of a lot of uncertainty. I have no control over many things: work, visa situation and even a partner who is with me all the time (cuddles are essential). I guess I’ve become so focused on my weight because out of all the things I don’t have any control over. My weight and attitude are things that I do.
Therefore, if you want to do your best to stay healthy and fit while travelling, here are my suggestions:
- Adjust your expectations and trust the process.
- Avoid alcohol. Leave it to super special occasions if you can’t quit it.
- Prioritize eating the healthiest you can, and avoid processed food.
- Sleep quality above anything else.
- When training, be intense but remember to rest.
- Look for local gyms. They sometimes have one-week trials or one-day free passes for training.
- Hydration is crucial.
- Prioritize health over aesthetics. Don’t obsess either on scale numbers or specific shapes.
