Podcast Transcription: The 40+ Summer Travel Blueprint: 11 Simple Ways for Staying in Shape While Traveling – Part 3

Ted Ryce: Welcome back to part three of the 40 + Summer Travel Blueprint. So this is my special series to help you stay lean, healthy, and confident all summer long, even while enjoying your vacation in case you're just tuning in. This series is all about revisiting some of my most powerful episodes, the ones that are packed with real strategies to help you stay on track during the summer months without the stress, or let's say a lot of restriction In part one. 

I shared my ultimate travel fitness guide. It talked about, or I talked about how to stay in shape while on the road even when your schedule is unpredictable. In part two, we got back to basics with a deep dive into the core nutrition principles behind fat loss. To give you clarity, you need to enjoy your summer without sabotaging your goals. 

And now in today's episode, we're getting even more practical. I'm going to share 11 simple ways to stay in shape while traveling. Strategies that you can do. No matter where you're going or how packed your itinerary is, these are the same tips by the way that I use for myself and teach my coaching clients. 

So these aren't things that chat GPT told me to share with you. These are things that I actually do because I travel a lot or I'm kind of. Situated in one place at the moment, but I have traveled a lot over the past six years from vacations to business trips and everything in between. So stay tuned 'cause it's gonna help you a lot to implement these. 

That's it. So let's get into it. I've worked with hundreds of people. And one thing that I've noticed is that while my clients are in their routines. They are at home. They have their workout schedule, they have their meal planning. 

Most people eat the same thing all the time because we're just creatures of habit. Especially if you're super busy. It's a way of simplifying your life just to kind of eat the same things. You go shopping and you buy the same stuff. You eat the same stuff. You work out on the same days, at the same times. 

You just have this routine and it's comfortable and it works. What happens when vacations come up? You're gonna be traveling this summer, you're gonna be taking trips, you probably take business trips. 

And what happens is. Every time that I see a client doing well, but then they leave for a business trip, they go on vacation, they completely fall apart. The majority of people, not everybody, but the majority of people that I see, and I see this a lot, I've seen it even more since I've been doing the group coaching. 

I've seen it even more. I've seen the patterns emerge in a different way because I'm working with so many people at once and you see like, oh, look at these guys. They're on vacation. Their weights went up. When I reached out to 'em, they were, you know, said they had gone backwards. They lost a bit of motivation, et cetera, et cetera, and I don't want that to happen to you because it's unnecessary. 

In fact, I want to tell you that I live what I'm about to share with you,  

of course, we come up with our routines, we find our places to eat. I figure out a schedule that works and I'm able to do all my workouts, et cetera, but it's because I have the right mentality, the right planning. That I'm able to do this, and I wanna share with you these things. , I'm gonna share with you exactly what I do. 

And exactly what I teach my clients to do, my coaching clients and my one-on-one clients to do, to stay in shape on the road. 

And whether you're relaxing on the beach or exploring a new city, a timeout from our routines can be. 

A wonderful thing, but it can also make it so tough to stay on track. All those meals that we eat out, the temptations that we come across, wherever you go, you're gonna have those temptations. 

We're always faced with these temptations, and it's so new and exciting when you're traveling somewhere, and that's great. You should enjoy that those times, and you should enjoy those experiences. But here's the thing. Whatever your reason for being on the road, whether it's a corporate, you're traveling for your job, or it's a vacation you've had planned, there's one thing that you can count on. 

You are going to be challenged. To stay on track with your workouts. If you hit your workouts in the local gym, you may find yourself without the same equipment or maybe even no gym at all. That's happened to me a few times recently, and if you cook most of your meals at home, you may find yourself without a kitchen or a refrigerator. 

Actually, most hotel rooms at least have a small refrigerator and a microwave. But what are you gonna cook with that? If you know exactly what healthy options to order at your local restaurants, you, you may find yourself in all new restaurants or getting stuck eating airport food. And here's another thing that a lot of people don't talk about, but should. 

If you're used to sleeping in your own bed, you may find it difficult to sleep in an unfamiliar place. I don't know if you listened to my episode. Uh, we're where Giselle and I talked about our experience in Saigon, but we had a, an Airbnb apartment in this high rise condominium building where it was so noisy you could hear the road traffic, all the beeping from the millions, literally millions of motorbikes riding around Saigon. 

You could hear our next door neighbor. Playing music at loud hours. I had to call the security on him like countless times for him to stop because 2:00 AM on a Tuesday night is just not when you should be doing that. And you may find yourself dealing with those situations. Maybe you're not in Airbnb with, uh, you know, people who live in the building. 

Maybe you're in a hotel room and people are partying. These are just a few of the things that you're going to be experiencing or could be experiencing. And staying in shape, by the way, has been one of the most common questions I've been asked in my 19 years of experience of being in the health and fitness business. 

My clients who travel the most usually have the greatest challenge to staying in shape. But again, it doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't have to be that way at all. You just have to know what to do. You have to have a strategy for staying in shape. And without further ado, let's get to 11 simple strategies for staying in shape while traveling that anyone can do. 

And the first thing. Is mindset oriented. So what I want you to do is I want you to make staying in shape a priority. No matter what you're traveling for, whether it's going to be an amazing, exotic experience to somewhere that you've never been before, but you've always wanted to travel to, or whether it's just gonna be the run of the mill corporate. 

I, I don't know, not retreat, but get together where you've gotta travel for work and you go to one of those conferences, it doesn't matter. Make staying in shape or priority. Commit to yourself. Say, listen, I am going to find a way to work out, even if I have to work out in my hotel room, I'm going to find a way to not overindulge, but still. 

Enjoy myself enough to have some nice experiences because part of the beauty of traveling to a different place is to experience the culture there. And the culture includes the food, and that goes for whether you're living in California and traveling to New York, or whether you're like me in Miami Beach and you're traveling to Thailand or Hong Kong. 

Right. That's part of the beauty is experiencing not just the food, but the desserts, the, the way people do things differently, the culture. So make staying in shape a priority and realize that living in the moment and being healthy aren't mutually exclusive In reality, being healthy allows you to get much more out of your experience. 

You just have to know how to balance it. And one thing I wanna say with that is you've got to lose the all or nothing mentality. People say, okay, when I'm home, I'm gonna work out, I'm gonna eat these terribly bland meals because I know it's the right thing to do for my health, and I'm gonna go to bed at 9:00 PM Of course, you're not really doing that right, but you're staying on your phone or watching Netflix series. 

But what I'm trying to say is you stay on track. You're probably too rigid, but then it's like you're off your routine and you just go crazy. Get rid of that. So that's number two. Get rid of the all or nothing mentality. Say, listen, I'm gonna do some of the fun stuff. I'm gonna indulge in some of the temptations there. 

The unique cocktail that they offer at that bar in the hotel that you're gonna be staying in, and you're gonna have some dessert or whatever it is that you're into. You're also going to commit to eating healthy meals, to staying on track with your workouts, to getting some steps in to making sure that you get good quality sleep and all those other things that you should be doing already. 

So number three is pack your workout clothes and equipment, and this is one way to physically commit to staying in shape. While a lot of people will say, oh yeah, I'm gonna look myself in the mirror, look myself in the eye, in the mirror and say, you know what? I'm gonna stay in shape during this trip I'm about to take. 

But it's another thing when you actually take action. You pack your workout clothes, you pack your workout shoes. For me, I travel with a band system that I use, which is just incredible. It allows me to get a great workout with something that fits literally in a small carry on luggage. So pack your workout clothes and equipment. 

Number four, stock up on healthy travel snacks. One of the things that you're gonna be faced with when you travel is the terrible food in the airports. It's just impossible. To find good quality food. You get burgers with bacon and cheese and that's like the good quality food, or you get the crap pre-made stuff that's in the, the little refrigerated areas at those stalls in the airport. It's just terrible. 

It's slightly better in, in Thailand, it's slightly better in Hong Kong. Also Saigon, you can get a a little bit better quality food because Asian. Food in general is more healthy. They don't eat the same amount of fat that we do, although they eat a lot more carbohydrates, they're way less obese and overweight. 

And it's obvious when you see the types of foods they eat and the portions. So what I'm trying to say is when you are faced with those travel situations and challenges, make sure you come prepared. Some of the things that I take with me is, uh, I take 0%, uh, fat plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt. I take hardboiled eggs. 

Now, you might wanna be a little careful with these because opening up a bag of boiled eggs on the plane isn't gonna make you any friends. But if you're traveling in a car, if you're by yourself or if you don't mind, uh, you know, getting dirty looks from those around you on the plane or however you're traveling, then that's a solid option. 

Preservative free jerky is another good option. It's very portable and high in protein. Just watch this sugar content on some of the brands because certain brands will have a lot more than others. Make sure you read the ingredients list. Also vacuum packed tuna or salmon packets. Again, this isn't gonna be a way to make new friends on the road either, but it's a way for you to get in your protein and a way to avoid eating some of that unhealthy fare that you get on the road. 

Low carbohydrate protein bars. Although I'm not a fan of protein bars at all, in case you didn't know, protein bars, by the way, is processed food. Okay? It's a glorified candy bar. That's all a protein bar really is that said in a situation where it's not all or nothing, 'cause if you're at home, yeah, you shouldn't really be eating the protein bars and telling yourself, oh, I'm doing such a good thing for myself. 

What you should be doing is eating Whole Foods. Maybe supplementing with a whey protein shake, you should be staying away from the bars. They're just junk and they're loaded with too many carbohydrates 'cause it tastes terrible unless they put some sugar in them. So what I'm trying to tell you is in a situation where you have to do the best that you can. 

Low carbohydrate protein bar, like a Quest bar or some of the other ones. Uh, again, I don't have any great recommendations here because I don't really use these, although I do have Quest bars on occasion, but those are good examples. Roasted edamame, meat and dairy aren't the only sources of a high protein healthy snack. 

AMI is a great vegetarian source of protein. And by the way, it's a good thing to get some of your protein from vegetarian sources. Although it's not gonna be the most helpful to build muscle and make you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it will help with your health. Because of the methionine and glycine ratio, you're gonna get much more glycine and less methionine. 

From plant-based sources of protein, which that's something I've covered in the past. Go ahead and go to legendary live podcast.com and look for my articles on collagen if you wanna learn what the hell I'm talking about in case that's sounds completely crazy to you. And something that I'd rather you do than take a a protein bar, although again, that's a not a terrible option, is to put a protein powder in Ziploc baggies. 

If you already have a ton of this stuff at your house, just measure out some servings. Put them in plastic baggies for portability and convenience, then you're good to go. So those are just a few options on how to make sure that you have some, some decent food to eat while you're on the road. Now let's get into number five, which is research your hotel and city. 

There's a saying that failing to plan is planning to fail. And I can't tell you how much I agree with this, this quote. So instead of showing up with no idea about the gym options or the food options in the area that you're traveling to do a little research ahead of time, this will help you avoid being caught off guard. 

Another thing you can do is call up your hotel and ask them about gym and healthy dining options in the area. You should also ask your hotel concierge if they have passes for the local gym, if they don't have a gym on site. So number six is do body weight workouts. 

Again, this is part of that, getting rid of that all or nothing mentality where. I have this amazing gym workout that I'm following, but, oh, I don't have a gym in this hotel room that I'm staying in, or the hotel room isn't properly equipped for my workout, so I guess I'm just gonna skip it, right? Because it's all or nothing. 

Get rid of that mentality. It's going to ruin your progress. It's going to keep you stuck. And also most people who think like that, by the way, are successful people. They're successful in their career, they're hardworking, they're Type A, they're ambitious. So that's why I'm telling you this, especially because you, my friend, are probably suffering from this mentality. 

I used to suffer from it too. If I couldn't go to the gym and work out for an hour to hour and a half, I felt that it was a waste of time. So I just would sit on my butt and do nothing instead of wait for the next day. Don't make that mistake. It may work while you're in your twenties, but in your thirties, forties, fifties and beyond, you need to get in exercise frequently. 

So what I want you to do is figure out a workout you can do, plan a workout, have a backup. So let's say there's no gym there. Let's say the concierge is gonna give you some passes. But then you look up the location of the gym and you're like, oh, I'm gonna have to take an Uber over there, or it's a 20 minute walk. 

Just the chances of me really going and getting to the gym and doing my workout consistently, it's just not high. So instead, come planned. Always have a planned workout. I never know where I'm gonna stay in the next month. Right so I need to be. Ready to do a workout on my own in case I'm not gonna be in the ideal situation with a, a fully stocked gym or with, with like some dumbbells or something. 

I need to know what I'm gonna do. I have a body weight routine that I can always do. Now, in my case, as I told you earlier, I travel with a band system, so that I can get a killer upper body workout and lower body workout. But it's, the bands really work mostly for the upper body. I get a killer upper body workout, and I'm still able to get a great lower body workout so I don't go backwards because body weight workouts where you're just doing pushups. 

And some crunches and lunges and squats and side planks and front planks, and it just, it's okay, but it's really, you're really selling yourself short. You could do a lot more in this band system. Allows me to do rows, resisted pushups, shoulder presses, shoulder flies, reverse flies, bicep curls, triceps. I can work everything with this band system, 

another thing I wanna tell you, or I should say, tip number seven is go on an adventure. There's so many opportunities for you to go on an adventure. If you're in Europe, you can go sightseeing and see some of the amazing historical landmarks. You could go scuba diving. 

Uh, you could. Something I haven't done, but it's something I really want to do is go to Machu Picchu in, in Peru, go snorkeling if you're not into scuba diving. But the list is endless. It's limited your to your imagination. And I wanna tell you, even if you're traveling for business, it's something you should always look and take advantage of. 

So no matter where you are, how exotic or how you know local you are, there's always a way to find an adventure, but you gotta be creative about it. 

Number eight, make sure you optimize your hotel room for sleep. Now these days, the majority of hotel rooms are set up for sleep. In most places that I've stayed in, I have blackout curtains, so they in fact. You get blackout curtains in just about every hotel room that you stay in and all the Airbnbs in Asia Mo, the majority of 'em have, uh, blackout curtains in all the places I've stayed in Saigon, in Thailand, in Hong Kong, they all have blackout blinds, but one thing that they do also is they have a lot more technology usually, and there's a lot of lights that are on. 

So make sure you. Bring some black electrical tape to cover up all those little lights that you can't unplug. Like you don't really want to unplug the router, right? You can unplug the digital alarm clock, but you don't really want to unplug the the router. The other things that might be important to keep on, make sure you bring some blue light blocking glasses. 

If you are gonna be up working late, returning emails on your computer, make sure you cool your room down before you go to bed. Somewhere around the 69 degree range Fahrenheit, or 18 degrees Celsius is, uh, a good place to be there and, or I'm missing up my Celsius, I think it's 20 degrees Celsius. Sorry, my Celsius. 

Uh, my European listening friends are basically the entire world except for the United States, but, uh. It's somewhere around 18 to 20 degrees Celsius, I believe. So you may want to also bring some earplugs and a sleep mask just in case. For example, I'm in a place in Phuket right now. Quetta is a very slow beach town compared to Bangkok or Saigon or some of the other places, or New York for that matter, or even Miami. 

But it still can get a little noisy, especially when people are coming back from nights out at the bar. Make sure you bring some earplugs if you're one of those people like me who wakes up when there's a bit of noise. And tip number nine is have protein and vegetables at every meal. So how do you make sure that you stay on top of your nutrition while you're traveling? 

If you're gonna be in a place where you're not even sure the types of food, like if you go to an exotic place, for example, exotic for you. You may not be familiar with the cuisine, but you know what vegetables are, don't you? You know what protein is, don't you? Well, that's what you stock up on. That's what you eat. 

I'm not gonna go over the details of why protein and vegetables is so important, but just make sure on the days that you're more relaxed, that you're not doing so much physical exercise. Focus more on protein and vegetables on the days where you're gonna be quite active. Make sure you have plenty of carbohydrates and get the, the carbs from good sources like potatoes and uh, you know, if you're in Thailand, I'm eating a lot of sticky rice here. 

There's, uh, not a lot of potatoes that are easily available, so we're eating a lot of sticky rice and that's probably making some of my keto and low high fat listeners roll or squirm in their seats rather. But, uh, those are things that you can do. Number 10 is implement the never eat two rule. Now this is a simple yet powerful rule I've been teaching my clients for years. 

The Never Eat Two Rule means that you never have two quote unquote bad meals in a row. And while bad may be a bit subjective, I think you know what I'm talking about, where you have french toast, a mimosa, and a large latte filled with sugar for breakfast. And a ribeye steak, a loaded baked potato, and several cocktails. 

Then finish it off with a creme brulee for dessert. If you're eating like that every single meal, you're gonna be coming back and you're the type of person who's gonna be unhappy when they get back home and they step on the scale and they look at their bloated alcohol, intoxicated, sugar poisoned body in the mirror and say, oh, what did I do to myself? 

And what I wanna tell you is those meals tend to happen more often on vacation. So a simple rule to follow is never to have two meals like that in a row. So if you have a bad meal, make sure you follow up with something light, or even better, skip a meal, do some intermittent fasting. It's not for everybody, especially if you get headaches, if you skip meals or you get hangry and. 

You know, you're com gonna be completely unbearable. Uh, and you have like a whole day of, uh, being in a conference. So maybe don't do that, but make sure you either skip the meal or you have something light, like an egg white vegetable omelet and nothing else. Maybe, maybe a little bit of fruit maybe, or a sirloin steak with grilled vegetables or salad with lean beef, chicken, or fish with the dressing on the side. 

It's a simple rule, but a powerful one, especially if you're the type to have one calorie loaded alcohol infused meal after another while you're on a business trip or vacation. And number 11 is have a two drink maximum rule. So we all know that going without drinking is the best thing to do. In fact. I don't even drink these days. 

I don't know what exactly happened. I'm not trying to be a saint. I never will be. It's not possible with my past, but it's just not something that I'm really into these days. I, I'm not, I'm not enjoying it. I don't, even though I enjoy the taste of a nice scotch. I just don't enjoy the alcohol these days. 

The effects of the alcohol, if they had like alcohol free scotch, which I don't know if that's ever possible, but I would be drinking it, but I, I, I just really hate the feeling these days. It messes with my sleep. I just feel like crap, so I just stop doing it. It just wasn't like a hard rule. I just let it go. 

But I know a lot of you aren't like that and you'll enjoy a nice. Glass of red wine or a beer or whatever it is, mixed drink. So what I want to tell you is those drinks are a source of liquid calories that can add up to expanding your waistline even in a short period of time, particularly when you're paying less attention to what you eat. 

So. When a five ounce glass of red wine is 125 calories, it doesn't take much to tip your scale in the wrong direction when you're having four or five of those at dinner. So what I like to tell people is have a two drink maximum, and that's two drinks per a day, not per meal. And what I wanna tell you is you're probably gonna have some times where, oh, we're, we're gonna meet at the bar and we're gonna connect and network and. 

That's where all the great business happens. I understand that happens, right? But try to have that two drink maximum. And if you can't, at least on the days where you're not doing the networking at the bar and it's not for any other reason, don't just be a careless, sloppy food orderer where you're like, oh, I just might as well have a beer or cocktail because don't do that. 

When you want to have a treat, have it and enjoy it. But when you just carelessly order food, that just is way too high in calories, or if you order too many drinks just because you're being careless about what you're doing, stop that. Okay? So have that two drink maximum per day. And the last thing, a little bit of a bonus tip is stay connected with your coach. 

One of the most powerful ways to stay on track no matter what you're doing or what you're trying to achieve, is having a coach. Having workout and nutrition strategies for the road is only effective when your level of commitment is high. But the problem is, most people who are listening to this right now, and yes, that means you. 

You're gonna listen to these strategies and think, oh wow, these are great. I should do some of these for my upcoming trip. And then when it comes down to putting in the work and the action, you don't do it. Especially when you're thinking about it now and there's none of that travel stress. But then all of a sudden you gotta book your flight, you gotta pack, you gotta make sure you took your contact solution and all the other things that you're gonna make sure. 

Then you forget about it, and then the fun starts going, and then it's all over. What I wanna tell you is I've even gone as far as doing workouts and or consultations on Skype with my clients who are away and having trouble sticking with their plan. Having someone to hold you accountable can be a powerful way to ensure you end up doing what you set out to do. 

So you can either hire a coach or you don't even have to do that. You can have accountability buddy, or you could join a group where you get the necessary knowledge and support. That you stay on track and make it through your vacations and business travels without sliding backwards with your health. 

So in conclusion, I want you to listen to your body. If you're tired, rest, relax, and eat healthily to recharge and rejuvenate. And while you're away, find workouts that seamlessly fit into your day. And look for opportunities to explore a new environment, whether it's cityscapes, seascapes, or all inspiring landscapes. 

Remember, regular short quality exercise sessions also create lasting change. It doesn't have to be that all or nothing approach where you have to spend an hour or two in the gym. Health and fitness. When it comes down to it is a lifestyle and a daily practice, no matter where you are or, or what your goals are. 

Remember, health and fitness is a lifestyle. That means it's something that you practice every single day, even in less than I circumstances. Even if you drank too much the night before, you should find a way to do something healthy. To help you get back to baseline. Don't have that all or nothing. 

Approach and make sure if you have something planned, whether it's vacation or travel for business, that you take some of these strategies and put them in to work for you. I've tested them. I've tried them. I shared them with my clients. They work. All you need to do is listen, learn, and apply. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I'll speak to you soon.