Fitness & International Travel

I’ve posted an article about staying on top of your workout and diet while traveling. It was based on the premise that you’d be traveling domestically and for a short period of time.

2-Month Trip

In a few days, I’ll embark on a journey to Malaysia and visit my family there. I was born there but moved to the States about 15 years ago. My parents and most of my relatives are still there. I plan on staying there for 2 months! Don’t I have to work? Well, I recently left the company that I worked for many years and that departure has afforded me many benefits. One of the key benefits was extended time off, obviously :).

On one hand, I’m very excited about this because I get to relax and spend some time with my folks back home. On the other hand, I’m a just a little concerned about what this could do to my current fitness routine. So I started jotting down the things that are a bit different there that could potentially impact my goal:

Variables

Higher Carbs – Lower Protein?

I’ve been doing the P90X Fat Shredder Diet where my food intake consists of 50% protein, 30% carb and 20% fat. I don’t hit the numbers 100% all the time but the numbers are very close (less than 5% margin of error). I have no problem getting the lean meat and protein supplements that I need. However, it could be a little challenging to keep up with a high protein diet when I’m in Malaysia. For those of you who are familiar with Malaysia or Asian culture in general, rice and noodles are the staple food. While there is access to meat and seafood protein, it can be very pricey to obtain those on a regular basis. Also, supplements like whey protein may not be easily available.

Less Connected?

Another curve ball is I’ll likely be always on the go when I’m there. And I already know that I’ll be visiting yet another country during the trip. I use my cell phone for a lot of things, e.g. keeping track of my calories, staying connected with the challenge group message board and other support outlets. I need a way to stay connected all the time.

I don’t like excuses and I don’t want these concerns to get turned into one. What do we do when we see potential obstacles like such? We come up with plans to overcome them!

The Plan

2 months isn’t a long time but it’s long enough for me to have to come up with a plan of attack so that the new routine can be established and I still can meet my goal of maintaining my current fitness condition.

Get Mobile Internet Access

I’ll be staying with my parents and they have WIFI. I’m good there. But since I’ll be on the go most of the time, I need to get a mobile Internet service for my cell to support a few gigs of usage a month. I’m currently using AT&T “grandfathered” unlimited mobile Internet and I doubt they have something like that over there. If you know of any good ones and want to recommend a plan, let me know. I’d appreciate that!

Get My New Routine Down

• Workout – I plan to continue the workout when I’m there. I recently ordered Focus T25 and hopefully I would get it before I leave. For convenience, I’ll try to burn a copy of the video to my laptop so that I can do it wherever I’ll be.
• Diet/Nutrition – I’ll have Internet access setup by then so I can continue tracking what I eat. Under the P90X Diet Plan, the Phase 3 plan for maintenance suggests a 60% carb, 30% protein and 20% fat diet (as long as I hit my maintenance calorie target). I want to try to stay at the Fat Shredder Diet for as long as I can but knowing that I could switch to Phase 3 for maintenance gives me a bit more flexibility.Remember this: We eat what our body needs not what we want. And we eat with a purpose.
• Staying Plugged In – As mentioned above, once I get the Internet access, I’ll have no problem staying connected with you all. You’ll know it when you see me updating this blog, the team Facebook page, the Challenge Group message board and etc. So don’t be slacking off!!

There you have it — my plan to staying committed for the next 2 months.
What’s yours?

Cheers,
Coach Al