Tag Archives: blogging

Diet, health, healthy living, RoadWarrior, Spirit, Travel

Rethinking the Rules….

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When I started RoadWarriorFit 5 years ago, one of the very first posts I wrote was on Guardrails.  The rules that help to keep you on track and keep you from careening off of the road.

Over the years, my rules have continuously evolved.  I eat a lot less carbs now than I did when I wrote the original, portion control has become a big part of my routine and the workouts have become much more disciplined.  So since I have not posted in quite a while (Facebook Live has somewhat taken away the need for the traditional blog post) – I thought I would mark my return to the written word with a revisiting of the RoadWarriorFit rules for traveling while focusing on health.

Rule #1: The 5 P’s

This is the number one rule for a reason.  Go in to your travel with a plan.  Know when you have the time to fit your workout in.  Know if you are going out with clients and need to accommodate for that indulgence.  Plan for prioritizing your own health.  And if you are still wondering what the 5 P’s mean – Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Rule #2:  Travel Like a 2 Year Old

Do you have toddlers?  Have you had toddlers?  Have you ever seen anyone travel with toddlers?  What is the one thing you would never have traveled without – a snack bag.  That magic bag that the parents could dive in to anytime anyone gets a bit fussy.  Think the same way.  Bring your own.  Pack healthy snacks, nut butters, dried fruit (in moderation), healthy bars, Shakeology.  You get the drill.

Rule #3:  Workout Before Wine

This was one of the originals and still holds true.  Alcohol is a quick way to get a whole bunch of quick calories that shuts down your liver processing (actually, it prioritizes it).  You better have pushed yourself before you start doing 6 oz curls.

Rule #4:  Eat Your Veggies Early

Since I started paying attention to both portion control and total portions, I realized that I never get all of my veggies in unless I have at least one serving during breakfast.   I live for the omelet bar that can load up my omelet with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and especially jalapenos.  Of course I also get it with a side of bacon so don’t fret for me missing out.

Rule #5:  Taste the Rainbow

So in my original rules, I had one that centered around not eating brown food.  Truth be told, I still avoid it but that’s really not enough.  You need to eat all kinds of colors, including brown (just not a lot of brown).  Load up on the greens, the yellows, reds are fantastic and purples are usually out of this world good.  Just make sure the colors are from your actual food and not a lab somewhere

Rule #6:  Never Let a Rest Day be a Cheat Day

Pretty simple but needs to be said.  You can take a day off from working out.  You can take a day off from being on top of your nutrition.  You should never take a day off from both simultaneously.  Yep, even on vacation.  One or the other.  Pick (and refer back to rule #1)

Rule #6:  Have an ‘Healthy’ Obsession

Ever heard the phrase – “Idle hands are the Devil’s playground”?  I found this to be true with myself.  Presented with a lot of time alone on the road and nothing to really focus on, it is easy to fill that void with food, drink and a litany of other unhealthy obsessions.  So make a preemptive strike and fill it with something ‘healthy’.  A hobby you can take with you, a desire to learn, a series of books to devour.  You need something to intentionally fill the time or the unintentional quickly will.

Rule #7:  Know When to Break the Rules

There are times when some of the rules should be broken.  If you have spent all day on an airplane crossing an ocean, take the day off.  Focus on getting adjusted to the new time.  If you have meetings all day after a plane flight and a client dinner after that – do your best but don’t kill yourself.  You can miss a day.  Even two but never let a third day go by before getting back to where you need to be.

So there you go.  The newest iteration of RoadWarriorFit’s rules for living a healthy life on the road.  Are there other guardrails I put in place?  You bet.   But I will save those for another post.

Fitness, My Favorite Things, RoadWarrior, Travel

Happy Birthday!!! – A year’s worth of blogging lessons

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It is hard for me to believe but today marks the 1 year anniversary of the very first post on RoadWarriorFit.net.  I remember posting with a very specific goal in mind, providing a resource for travelers who want to put their fitness and health at the forefront of their travels.  What it has ended up being?   A completely hot mess and a total work in progress.

There are definitely a few things I have learned over the past 12 months that I want to share with all potential bloggers.  These are the things I wish someone had told me that I would learn over the first year so go ahead and do them now.

Just write: 

When I began the prep work for this blog, I had all kinds of ideas of categories for posts.  Reality has been that it has been a random collection of my thoughts and observations over the last year.  Candidly, I think it has turned out for the better that I did not stick to the ‘script’ but the key to that evolution has been to just write.  Some topics never see the light of day but none the less, you need to write.

Sometimes you have to break the rules: 

One of my first blog posts was on the Guardrails that every RoadWarrior needs to have in place in order to keep yourself true on the road.  When it comes to writing blogs though, see lesson number 1.  Write, write, write.  Rules be damned.   Don’t worry about which ‘tag’ you haven’t written for in the last month or that the content on this ‘tab’ is stale.  Just write.

Get a Swedish Fitness Model/blogger to follow your blog early:

fitness on toast

So I have no idea how this happened but very early on, I had a Swedish Fitness model and blogger follow my blog (you can see her posts at Fitness on Toast – I recommend it, I actually really have enjoyed following her travels).  I think it actually may have been my post on the motivating factor of an empty water bottle that attracted her attention.  Regardless, it has led to a slew of attention from the European Fitness Fashionista/Blogger set and I would like to specifically thank FitnessonToast, Alys, Akvilee, faceandfortune, The Keen Peach and others for their support.  If I believe my own hype, I am actually a big deal among the European fitness and fashion blog set and I chose to believe my own hype.

Laugh at yourself:

SNL 1

My second most read post, and by far my most popular based on Twitter/Facebook, was about #snowleopardpants.  They have fueled a fantastic date night, raised thousands of dollars for Love Is Louder Than Cancer and taught me the hard lesson of not internet shaming anyone for their fashion choices.  However they never would have shown their power if I was not willing to completely release all pride and let the #snowleopardpants power shine through.

Share the real you: 

People read posts that reflect your actual experiences, not the ones you wish you had.  My original idea of posting a variety of workouts you can perform that conform to the resources available to you at various levels of hotel standard has still not materialized.  Drinking more water at conferences?  Two posts, hundred plus reads and counting.  The story of how Being fit nearly killed me?  By far the most popular and most read.

Study your stats: 

I know that if I post on Wednesday, you are the most likely to read this.  On Monday…not a chance, which is ironic considering that our anniversary is falling on a Monday so I have to honor the date.  Oh well, here is to re-blogging on Wednesday.

Don’t obsess over your numbers: 

OK – this one may just be me preaching to me but you can’t obsess over how many followers/likes/page views you have.  It is not healthy.  You need to blog for you not for the followers.  That being said, thank you for clicking on all of the links here so I can obsess further on why you clicked on how I nearly died but didn’t on combining sightseeing with your travel.

Enjoy the evolution: 

RoadWarriorFit.net is nothing like I thought it would be when I started this.  Thanks to all of you and your feedback, it is so much better.

So thank you.  Thank you for letting me process this crazy life on the road.  Thank you for ‘listening’ to my occasional rant.  Thank you for providing me with the accountability loop necessary to keep myself on track while on the road.  And most importantly, thank you for sharing the journey with me.

Here is to another year of travel, fitness, diet, health and wellness.  Looking forward to spending it with you.

Diet, Family, Fitness, RoadWarrior, Uncategorized

The ‘Dad Bod’ Myth

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“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist” – Keyser Soze – The Usual Suspects

So lately there has been a lot of chatter around the ‘Dad Bod’ and how it is actually more attractive than a lean physique.  This all started from a Blog post (the pesky bloggers ;-} ) by a student at Clemson University, Mackenzie Pearson, who was commenting on the interests of her roommate when it came to the male physique.  To give credit where credit is due, you can read her post here.  Since this was posted back in March of 2015, I have seen it covered by MSN, The Today Show, Health, GQ, ABC, CBS and CNN.   Ms. Pearson should give a clinic on how to pick a topic to go viral.

But Seriously??  This is a thing?!?!?

Pearson defines the Dad Bod as a ‘nice balance between a beer gut and working out’ – I call it a medical tragedy waiting to happen.

AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Where do I even begin?   It is especially troubling to me that the men she is describing in the blog are not even dads.  They are young men who should be in their prime.  I can confidently say that the majority of the people that I see on my Facebook feed look considerable different now than they did in high school/college.  I know I do.  They call it your physical prime for a reason.

Dear Frat Boy – Your ‘Dad Bod’ is trying to kill you!!  Literally.

Now I am not at a single % body fat, I enjoy my wine and beer but I also know that I cannot allow myself to have any excuse to carry extra weight around, especially around my mid-section.  You see, that fat that is around your middle is known as Visceral Fat – and it is the most dangerous to carry around with you.  It actually directly increases your chance at developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and even sleep apnea.  How?  According to WebMD, here’s how:

  • Abdominal fat breaks down easily into fatty acids that are processed by the Liver and your muscles. Neither of which likes the material it is breaking down.
  • When the liver breaks down the fatty acids, your LDL levels (the bad Cholesterol) spikes.
  • When your LDL levels spike, insulin becomes less effective – causing blood sugar levels to spike (read: increased chance of developing diabetes)
  • Hormones released during the processing of the fatty acids also create constriction of the vasculature system – leading to heart disease and potentially stroke.
  • Even the sheer weight and volume of the fat can push against your diaphragm and result in difficulty breathing and if severe enough, sleep apnea.

Now ladies, I have a specific message for all of you.  Do not let us get away with this excuse for not taking care of ourselves.  This is not about getting to the point where we will be staring in the next installment of Magic Mike but we should want to be around for as long as possible.  Besides, who said all dads were soft and pudgy?  Last I checked, Hugh Jackman, Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Craig, Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Gossling and even Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson are all dads.  If we are talking about their examples of ‘Dad Bod’ – then I am all in.

I think my sister in law put it best “This is just an excuse for Frat Boys to party on the weekends”

Happy Father’s Day and I will see you on the road!!