#and then if youre plan managed youre more likely to be treated poorly. lose access to your money. or be outright denied anything you need

[iwanttorundirectlyintothesun]

fuck the ndia

no, seriously, these bastards are so incapable of admitting that they don't actually care about the Australian people that they want to blame people who don't follow their (self-admittedly) complicated instructions to the dot on the i's for "wasting money" by accruing aids that they actually need. they punish people by refusing to help people buy clothing accommodations, mobility aids, transport and then making them wait for replies. a kid died. a 19 year old on an ndis plan died in their home because the ndia didn't help, didn't give them the support that they needed to the point that the last thing the kid communicated to anyone was a text asking if the ndis responded to their request for 24 hr support.

Menstruation products are only available as a support if they are deliberately and specifically required by the disability, not if your period is affected by your disability, not if you have a particularly difficult menstrual cycle that is exacerbated by your disability, only if you have an issue that is specifically and evidentially caused by your disability.

They want thousands of dollars worth of reports that list each thing wrong with you and the way you live, they want several years worth of doctors visits and personal accounts and bank statements. All so someone that doesn't even have a medical degree can tell you that it's not cost effective. Can tell you that under rule 34 of the 2013 ndis act they can legally say, "sorry, you're not worth the money".

And then when you give them that truly unnecessary number of personal details and evidence they don't even look at it. They don't read the letters from the specialists. They ignore evidence and say that it doesn't matter that that recommendation came directly from a professional/specialist. They don't look at the receipts and testimonials and papers you've found and researched on your own time to prove that this aid will help, this prescription will help you live a better, calmer, happier life not marred by as much pain and suffering. A life that's living and not just surviving.

All because they don't care, because the government made some stupid decisions decades ago and every time they get an opportunity to change they dig themselves deeper and say don't worry about the inflation, don't worry about the cost of living, don't worry about how your body and your country are failing you.

People on a disability scheme like the ndis according Australian Institute of Health and Welfare are twice as likely if not more to commit suicide than the general population. Men who are disabled are more likely to commit suicide and more likely to consider it (doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdy197).

They hire lawyers that call in soft voices to tell you that you need to resubmit years worth of evidence, that "that's not what the agency is for" when you ask for the recommended number of hours. And legal aid is no help, they want you to wait until you're booked until you ask them for help even when you've been told specifically to ask them for help. And because this is happening all over, the support workers and advocacy groups are overrun and overworked.

The ndia only cares if it will make them look good on paper. The ndia will tell the general population "look how much money we saved" while the disabled looks on in agony, while they are denied medication, support, aid, transportation, therapies and god knows what else.

[princeasimdiya12]

My Problem with the Miraculous Season Finales

Heyo ML community. So I often make and reblog my fair share of ML salt memes every now and then. But today I wanted to post something a little more different and more elaborate on a particular subject. And the subject in mind?

The finales feel completely one-sided against Ladybug and the heroes in general. By that I mean that the season finales for Miraculous Ladybug are created in ways that give huge advantages to Hawk Moth while barely compensating Ladybug for her efforts. 

The general idea of a season finale is that the characters often face a great obstacle that’s accumulated from past points throughout a season. Most finales end with the hero triumphing said obstacle and getting stronger or obtaining a personal reward for their merits. And there are often cases where the season finale ends on a downer ending where the villain wins or the heroes end up losing; it’s not a problem since it sets up potential conflicts for the next season. But with Miraculous, the finales often end with HM getting a better advantage against the heroes while the heroes get barely anything. 

Allow me to go through each finale and how it impacts both Ladybug and Hawk Moth.

Season 1: Vulpina

I’m counting Vulpina over Origins since the latter was the official pilot for the series and Vulpina continues the story onto season 2. Marinette’s reward is that she gets her hands on the Book of the Miraculous and gets to meet Master Fu for the first time. She gets to meet the person who gave her her powers and will become a useful ally to her during her battles. Hawk Moth’s reward is that he gets an ally in Lila Rossi who strongly hates Ladybug. He manages to use her in later seasons for any of his complicated plans. So far it’s balanced as the two parties gain something that helps them with their overall goals.

Season 2: Heroes’ Day

This is where things get unbalanced. At the end of the episode, Hawk Moth gets two advantages that become of use to him in the series. The first is Operation Catalyst where he can now create armies of Akumas which can overwhelm the heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t predict when and how he can create this plan meaning that Hawk Moth is able to pull off this scheme whenever he wants provided that he generates a large amount of sadness/negative emotion within a group of Parisians. Which he does in the Ladybug-Sentimonster episode. The second advantage is Nathalie becoming Mayura who is now a proactive ally in the fight against the heroes and her powers are frequently used to support HM’s plans.

What’s Ladybug’s advantages at the end of the season? Not much. This finale doesn’t really give Ladybug anything in particular that will be helpful in the future. The only thing that can come close would be summoning Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee to fight alongside her and Chat Noir. But even that doesn’t last long as the new heroes are quickly captured and brainwashed leaving it up to LB and CN to save the day on their own. And the other semi-thing was Marinette kissing Adrien on the cheeks. While it didn’t boost Ladybug’s hero career, it does mark a significant set up between Marinette and Adrien’s relationship where Marinette becomes more confident enough to showcase her feelings for the boy rather than just cower and act awkward. It was a step towards positive character development. But then season 3 came and chucked that out like a football. So Ladybug/Marinette don’t really get anything this finale.

And then there’s…

Season 3: Miracle Queen

I’m sure many are aware of how messed up and poorly directed this episode was as it derailed Chloe’s character and kicked Master Fu out of the narrative. But looking at it again, there’s so many rewards Hawk Moth ended up gaining compared to Ladybug.

For starters, he has a new ally in Chloe who officially hates Ladybug and wants nothing to do with her. Especially considering that she’s back to her prime personality but slightly worse. She’s perfect Akuma bait and HM can use her whenever he wants.

Next is that he knows the secret identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s allies. Meaning that neither of them can ever become heroes in fear that HM will use their identities against them in some way. And that’s not even thinking about what Gabriel ‘Garbage Bag’ Agreste can do when he notices that most of those heroes are his son’s friends and classmates as he can use his connections to hurt them. Either by alienating him from his son or for petty revenge.

Then there’s how Nathalie managed to steal Fu’s tablet which contained the translated text of the Grimmoire meaning that HM has access to the secrets of the Miraculous and can use them to his advantage. You know how Fu discovered the secret powerups thanks to the book? Well now Hawk Moth can do the same for him and Mayura and surprise the heroes with their new powers.

And speaking of Mayura, the final reward is that Hawk Moth was able to fix the Peacock Miraculous. This means that Mayura is able to properly fight against the heroes without fear of succumbing to illnesses. And while Nathalie may be too sick to fight, he can always rely on either Lila or Chloe to take on the Mayura mantle.

So overall, that’s at least 4 huge advantages that Hawk Moth has against the heroes. And what does Ladybug receive?

The Miraculous box and the new title of Guardian of the Miraculous. On one hand, this isn’t as bad because now she has the Miraculous at hand and doesn’t have to worry about traveling to Fu’s place to get a new one to pick an ally. Although it will be a challenge considering it’s a giant Easter egg. But on the other hand, this is a huge disadvantage for her.

While she is the new Guardian, we haven’t really been shown how she’s ready to take on such a huge role. She doesn’t know all the secrets pertaining to the Miraculous Order or how to activate all of her powers. Her losing Master Fu puts her at a disadvantage because she lost the one person who could explain and guide her through her mission as a Miraculous holder. And while she does have Chat Noir on her side, she still considers it too dangerous to confide in many of the Guardian secrets. That and how easily he gets captured, decommissioned or brainwashed when fighting Akumas. Although the possibility of LB becoming closer to CN so he can shoulder some of the burden is possible, it comes off as less than likely given how the show treats CN as inferior and unnecessary compared to LB. Not to mention how she lost a good chunk of allies she can turn to for help now that Hawk Moth knows their true identities. Technically speaking, she’s on her own when it comes to being a Guardian.

Also, one unfortunate piece of Fridge Horror comes to mind. Just like how Master Fu lost his memories as a Guardian, that means Ladybug in the far future will have to lose her own memories when she gives up the title. That’s pretty dark considering all she’s done for Paris as Ladybug. All the lives she’s saved and changed, her experiences growing up, her relations with friends and loved ones. Most of them will end up being erased or blurred once she gives up the title. And it gives a sense of somber over the inevitable fate of Marinette. How everything she’s worked for and experienced will be forgotten by her.

So for me, this honestly feels that the season finales have been more in favor of Hawk Moth while making the battle harder for Ladybug. And I know that heroes need to have challenges and hardships to make their victories more enjoyable. Yet it feels frustrating that the narrative is constantly making things harder for Ladybug while barely giving her any meaningful rewards or advantages that will allow LB to overcome those hardships. Can you really say that it’s fair that Hawk Moth’s villain role gets more and more easier while Ladybug faces more adversity and losses during her hero career? As a fan/viewer rooting for Ladybug to succeed, it feels disappointing having to see her lose so much and barely survive Hawk Moth’s schemes. I wouldn’t be as upset if there were more advantages in favor of Ladybug and the other heroes giving it a better balance for the heroes and villains. But as it stands, it feels really unbalanced for the most part and I’m not very optimistic for the season 4 finale and what’ll happen then.

That’s all I have to say on the matter. If you agree or disagree with anything I’ve written, you’re more than welcome to reblog this with your commentary.

[conciteque]

Kiribaku Month - Day 23: Different Schools

Wordcount: 1075 words

@kiribakumonth2019

I had to tweak the meaning a little for this one and play on “School of Thought” for it to work. I mean, there’s no school for androids, what else could I do?

Enjoy arguing android boyfriends, I guess?

Day 23: Different Schools

“Kacchan, I’m not doing this,” Eijirou said, arms crossed, stance wide, the image of unmovable.

Kacchan growled.

“Ei, you can’t be serious! It’s safer! Why the fuck wouldn’t you do this?”

Eijirou rolled his eyes. Kacchan had a feeling that it wasn’t the first time they were having this conversation.

“Because it’s not how I was built! I’m not meant to have a copy of my consciousness on a server like you. Why can’t you understand that?”

“You’re not designed to be like this now, but if we can find a way-”

“I’m not going to look for it,” Eijirou snapped. “And you can’t force me either. It’s just… unnatural.”

“Oh, so I’m unnatural now?”

“That’s not what I meant! It’s natural for you, it’s how you were designed. It’s different for me. I can’t do that.”

“Of course you fucking can, we just need to find out how, and to look for a safe place to store your data.”

“Kacchan, no. I don’t want to,” Eijirou protested. “And let’s say the worst happens. Let’s say I die. What if you can’t find a replacement body? What if I’m not compatible with any body? Does that mean I’ll be trapped in a chip forever? What happens to the data copied on the chip before I need it? What if we evolve differently?”

“It doesn’t fucking work like that, Ei. It’s just data until it’s inside a compatible body.”

“But does it mean you can clone me? Is that your plan?”

“Of course it’s not my fucking plan, Ei!” Kacchan yelled. “Don’t be so dramatic. I just need a backup in case I can’t protect you! I have to be sure you’re safe!” Then, he calmed down and whispered: “I can’t lose you like this…”

Eijirou sighed.

“Kacchan, that’s how it is,” he said, softer. “I’m prepared for this. When I die, I die. That’s it. I’ve had a long life. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s fucking not!” Kacchan yelled again. He was so fucking tired of this argument. It was like Eijirou didn’t even listen. “What about me, fucker?! You won’t give a shit because you’ll be fucking dead, but I won’t!”

Eijirou flinched. For the first time, he seemed to truly consider what Kacchan was saying, and the YuUEi unit decided to use it to his advantage and push further.

“We have a promise, Ei. I fucking promised and I still mean it. Don’t make me fulfill it.”

Eijirou’s eyes widened. He obviously didn’t think Kacchan would have unlocked this memory. Well, too bad for him, this promise was one of the first things he’d managed to restore. It wasn’t even corrupted, as it was stored in a file of its own, untouched.

“Kacchan, you can’t say that,” Eijirou protested, his voice low but indignant. “You can’t force me to do it by threatening my friends.”

“What…? I’m not…” Kacchan started, taken aback.

It wasn’t what he meant. Sure, he was planning to destroy the entire world, which included their Eijirou’s friends, but he wasn’t threatening them specifically.

Not that it changed much, actually.

“Well, I wouldn’t fucking have to if you’d just listen!” he exclaimed stubbornly.

“Oh, so I’m the one who isn’t listening? I keep telling you it goes against everything I stand for! Why can’t you accept that? How can you be so selfish?!”

“I’m not fucking selfish, you are! I can’t accept it because it’s fucking stupid! You’re going to die and I’m not! I’m giving you an easy solution, and you don’t want to because… what? Your fucking beliefs?”

There was something in Eijirou’s eyes, in the middle of Kacchan’s speech. Surprise, mostly, but also a hint of sadness.

“Kacchan, nothing is eternal, not even YuUEi’s servers,” Eijirou reasoned. “You’re not going to die for the same reasons, but it’s going to happen no matter what.”

For the first time, Kacchan was left speechless. He’d never considered the possibility of his own death. It didn’t scare him, though. Nothing did, obviously, and even the idea of losing Eijirou, well… he just didn’t fucking like it, like a lot of things.

This time, it was Eijirou’s turn to push his advantage.

“Plus, even if it all works out; even if you find a way to make me like you, then what? You’re going to make your own Eijirou as soon as we have to split? Or when we fight? You’re going to reformat me whenever it’s convenient?”

Eijirou’s voice was soft, sad almost.

Kacchan was indignant.

“Ei, what the fuck? I’d never fucking do that! How the fuck dare-”

“Oh? Isn’t that how YuUEi treats their androids?”

For the second time, Kacchan’s mouth snapped shut. Eijirou wasn’t supposed to know that, but he probably didn’t know to what extent his statement was true.

“You’re not a YuUEi android. I wouldn’t treat you like one,” he protested.

“That’s right, I’m not,” Eijirou said. “So if you can admit that we’re different, don’t force me to do it. Please.”

Eijirou was as unshakable as when the conversation started, Kacchan realized. He looked into the other’s eyes and saw nothing but earnest resolve. Kacchan had a feeling this conversation went exactly the same way, last time.

Unable to decide whether he should insist or not, Kacchan settled on locating the corrupted memory file he suspected was from the last version of this argument. Strangely enough, the bad memories weren’t the most damaged, and Kacchan didn’t have much trouble restoring it. He was starting to be good at it, actually.

Accessing it confirmed his doubts. It didn’t work last time either. In a way, it went even more poorly.

“Ugh, fine,” he finally said. He didn’t want to force Eijirou to go through it twice. Now that he remembered, Kacchan didn’t want to do it twice, either.

Eijirou’s face lightened up.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“But I can’t fucking believe you wouldn’t trust me after I promised-”

“Kacchan!” Eijirou warned.

Kacchan sighed. He was still annoyed by that last point, but he didn’t have all day to argue, and he’d understood long ago that sometimes, Eijirou was more stubborn than him. It was just a temporary retreat, though.

They might be completely different, both in the way they were designed, and how they thought and saw the world, but they still had a lot of things in common. Eijirou wasn’t the only one who was stubborn, and he said himself that nothing was eternal, after all.

[crystalelemental]

Okay, now that I've sat on it for a few days, let's talk EO5.  Short version: not my favorite, but not the worst.

Let's start positive.  I've mentioned before that difficulty in this game is either Normal or Hard.  There is no Easy mode.  While that initially freaked me out, their Normal mode seems more like EO4 Easy than the standard difficulty of earlier games.  I cannot express enough how good that is.  If difficulty returned to pre-EO4 days, I'd probably lose interest.  Hell, if I had started the series prior to EO4, I likely wouldn't have kept going.  The series turning to have an Easy mode is honestly what got me invested.  Remember kids: if you want a hardcore challenge game, that's what a Normal or Hard mode is for.  There's no reason there shouldn't be an easier difficulty for ease of access for casual players, and if you refuse to accommodate that, you're basically accepting a significant loss in player base outright.

I'm a big fan of the Master Classes.  I like subclassing better in theory, since it offers more permutations, but let's be honest: you never used anything too outrageous.  In EO3, I don't know that subclasses ever actually did anything (they really never felt that dynamic), and in EO4, almost every class had the definitive best option that you should always pick and none of the others were good.  Imperial and Link Landsknecht wanted Runemaster for extra element damage, Arcanist wanted Medic, Runemaster wanted Imperial for even more bonus element damage, Bushi wanted Nightseeker to dual-wield, Dancer wanted Nightseeker to dual-wield for maximum normal attacks, etc.  You really didn't deviate much, and outside of the Fortress and Sniper, I can't think of any classes that didn't have a definitive optimal subclass.  So having two options, both of which are good in their own right and can fit on different planned-out teams, is divine.  I really like how they're split up, too.  Dragoon, which is always more of a tank class, now has an offensive option with the cannon.  Botanist, which usually just heals, has a status-based option.  Harbinger, which was expected to be mostly just hitting status, has an option for debuffs and healing now, and it's awesome.  Classes are really cool, and having your own unique titles for characters?  That's basically all I could ever ask for.

As a smaller thing, I'm also a huge, huge fan of the new level cap increasing monsters.  The Dragons can be neat, but at this phase of life, I'm really over dragons.  They're not that cool, and why are they always the strongest beings at everything?  Find a different creature, dammit!  And find it they did, with the Dryad and the Lamia.  Dryad is like...my ideal, since I love plant girls.  Lamia is super bizarre, but I adore it just the same.  I think this set is a lot more interesting overall than the elemental dragons, and honestly, a lot more fair.  The elemental dragons, on harder difficulties, basically came down to "You'd best have negation of an element for the party or you're dead when they use this attack."  That doesn't happen with these three.  Dryad has a first turn attack that can potentially wipe most if not all of the party, but I only ever saw it one time in the whole fight, which is a lot more manageable.

Lastly, I really like that there are small events in the labyrinth that give experience now.  There were always small events, and they were always great, but the fact that it's been adapted to give extra EXP is divine.  I love that this works for all sorts of events.  My only complaint is that the sixth stratum basically has 0 such events.  It makes sense.  You're not exact in a place for these kinds of events to occur, but it's still frustrating that we have an entire stratum with like...nothing to do but go forward.  Which leads well into the complaints segment.

I really did not enjoy exploring stratum 5 and stratum 6.  Stratum 5 was okay at the start, but the hovering puzzles...were not fun.  You go flying all around the map and it's really hard to keep track of what the fuck is going on as you're zipping around without control.  Neat idea, but not my favorite in execution. Stratum 6 can fuck right off, though.  I'm not a fan of warp puzzles, but they can be done well.  I'm mostly thinking of things like Misty Ravine in EO4, where the "warps" were mostly just reaching the edge of the map and circling back around. It's easy to keep track of, and you can visually see how it works on the map with a few notes.  Stratum 6 does not do this.  It offers a bunch of different colored warp portals, that don't even necessarily warp you to the same colors of portal. They don't even warp you to the same floor, or to the same general area on the floor they warp you to.   It's a convoluted mess that is virtually impossible to keep track of by any means you have with map-making, and frankly, I didn't even explore everything.  There are a few holes in my maps on some of those floors, and honestly?  Fuck it.  I don't even care.  It's so impossible to keep track, and the shortcuts do nothing to mitigate the problems of having multiple portals available, but having most of them throw you outside the area you were trying to explore and having to start all over.  The worst is a succession of 7 portals, all in a row, on floor 26.  One leads to the exit, one leads to another series of portals only one of which leads to treasure that then boots you out of the exploring zone, and the other 5 are worthless.  Look.  I know good level design requires dead ends, otherwise there's no real need to explore anything.  But there is a difference between a dead end that means backtracking a bit, and "you randomly chose the wrong portal in a 1/7 chance gamble, time to redo 10-15 minutes of work to get back to this gamble with slightly improved odds of success."  Yes, looking at your map can help you identify which one might be the correct one.  But this is just stupid, and I don't like it.

In a related vein to "stupid and I don't like it," the plot.  EO5 follows a lot of conventions, and in my mind is almost regressive, going from the more open feeling of EO4's exploration with smaller but numerous dungeons to the standard "technically one dungeon with 6 strata, all 5 floors in length."  It even keeps the locked door bonus areas, the superboss on floor 8 with the town task of figuring out how to get around it, etc.  I'm fine with this, since the formula works either way, but of all the conventions to drop, why drop the one about Yggdrasil being a human-made construct to reverse environmental calamity?  I know EO3 did a separate thing too, but guess what?  That one also wasn't great. It was, by far, the most confusing and poorly put-together.  The true ending boss' motivations weren't so much complex and "make your own interpretations" as it was...just a mess, and contradictory all the time.  But at least they tried.  At least they established the two sides in the conflict and what was going on.  At least they explained the final boss, and tried to explain the final boss.  EO5 doesn't even bother.  "Yeah, the final boss is this dark dragon thing that is the enemy of humanity you must overcome."  ...why?  Yggdrasil's been here forever, and it hasn't wiped out our race yet.  Hell, if we'd never gone up here, there wouldn't be an issue.  You talked about the war that happened in the third stratum, but that's never elaborated on.  Why was it significant?  And then there's my eternal issue with aliens.  I do not mind aliens.  I mind when they're treated as something above humans, and the ones "guiding" humanity forward, like the arken are implied to be.  Fuck off, that's a stupid premise, and you don't even explain where you came from or why.   You're just there.  And that's the issue with the higher strata: everything is just there.  With no rhyme or reason, things are just there.  There's a war.  It was super important, but we're not gonna tell you about it.  There's a deadly dragon thing at the top of the tree you need to kill.  It's super important you kill it, but we're not gonna tell you exactly why.  The Arken watch over humans and guide you forward.  They're super important, but their motivations and reasons for being here aren't.  It's all really bland and unimpressive.

Maybe I've been spoiled by EO4, where plot came at you in consistent and small chunks, with the extra dungeon giving a ton of backstory depending on how well you explore.  Maybe EO2U did the same, with the explanations of what was happening.  Maybe I'm just really, really attached to the concept of environmental calamity and human efforts to curb the inevitable, and the fallout from their efforts.  This game just...really felt hollow to me.  The story aspect and even the character aspect just feels very limited, and it doesn't feel as engaging.  Add to it a very frustrating final and extra stratum to explore, and there's not as much to keep me invested.  I'll replay it again, probably to mess around with the classes since I love doing that.  But it's...very not as great as most others.  I still think EO3 is my least favorite.  But this one is also not a particularly strong entry of the series in my mind.

[tomeandflickcorner]

OUAT Episode Analysis- Page 23

I’d like to apologize in advance if my episode analyses seem to be declining a bit in terms of quality as of late. I’d usually have a transcript for the episode in question on hand when writing these up, but the website I used for transcripts haven’t posted a new transcript for OUAT in a while.  Unless someone knows of an alternate site I can use, I’m going to have to write these up with just my memory to rely on.

So, we start with Regina and Zelena storming into the Charming’s loft apartment to inform the Nevengers that Queen Cobra is back and was turned back to a person.  Of course, their timing is horrible, as Emma was in the middle of informing Snow and Henry about her recent engagement.  On the plus side, it was a bit amusing how Zelena immediately noticed the ring without any prompting.  And, to Regina’s credit, she does seem genuinely happy to hear the news.  (Which is a huge 180 from her attitude at the end of the Underworld arc, when she told Emma she wanted to kill Killian for being alive when Robin wasn’t.)  Even more, when it becomes clear that Evil Queenie was plotting to use Robin Clone as bait to force Regina to come face her, Regina even tells Emma she doesn’t blame her for the situation.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t genuinely surprised by Regina not blaming Emma and accusing her of talking her into bringing Robin along.  But pleasantly so.  I’m all-around okay for Regina showing some actual character growth.

Anyway, Regina eventually goes to her office to save Robin Clone, who is being contained by magic ropes.  Which was a rather clever move.  It made me chuckle to see how the ropes would immediately re-tie themselves every time Robin Clone managed to get free.  But when Regina shows up, Evil Queen decides Robin Clone served his purpose and, partially due to a conversation they had earlier, sends Robin Clone back home to Wish World.  Which I expect is incontestable proof that the Wish World continued to exist even after Emma left.  Meaning it’s a real place, and Regina killed an actual version of Snow and Charming, made a version of Henry lose his grandparents and mother, and left an entire world at the mercy of an angry Rumpelstiltskin.  But of course, I doubt they’re ever going to address that.  In any event, Regina and Evil Queen initiate an all-out duel to the death, with Evil Queen using those dumb fate-severing sheers to sever the tie between them.  Which essentially nullifies the previous-standing rule that Evil Queen will instantly die if Regina does.  Eventually, Regina gets the upper hand.  But before she could finish her opponent off, she catches a glimpse of her reflection in a shard of the mirror that got broken during the fight.  And that triggers her memory of the event chronicled in the flashback portion of the episode.

So, in Regina Flashback #685, Evil Queen Regina is, of course, hunting down Snow White.  (Shocker!)  When she realizes Snow has evaded her again, she tries to coax the villagers into surrendering the information on Snow’s whereabouts, going on about how only she loves them and how Snow doesn’t care about them.  (Yeah, and how many villagers have you massacred at this point?)  Out of nowhere, Tinkerbell shows up, urging Regina to knock it off and just go find the man with the Lion Tattoo.  While it’s nice to see Tinkerbell again, this does make me wonder why Regina got so surprised to see how downtrodden Tink was in Neverland.  But I guess EQ Regina was just too caught up in her own little world at the moment to really take in Tink’s appearance.  EQ Regina, of course, refuses to listen to Tinkerbell, stating she’s not going to let pixie dust decide her life, and to prove she’s capable of love, she’s not going to kill Tink, blah blah blah.  

Sometime later, however, Henry Senior, who later reveals he conspired with Tink off-screen, tells Regina that he knows of a spell in Cora’s old spell book.  This spell would allow EQ Regina to locate Snow.  Except this turns out to be a false lead, as their quest brings them instead to Cupid’s Arrow, which would help Regina find who she loves the most. (Surprised Rumpelstiltskin didn’t try to get his grubby hands on that particular artifact.)  EQ Regina is livid, and accuses her father of betraying her.  But she quickly gets an idea and magically manipulates the arrow.  Instead of leading her to who she loves the most, the arrow will lead her to who she hates the most.  As probably everyone predicted, when EQ Regina fires off the arrow, it doesn’t lead her to Snow like she suspected it would.  It leads her to her wardrobe back at her castle.  More specifically, the mirror inside the wardrobe door.  Meaning Regina hates herself the most.  

Yeah, while that was predictable, it was a bit odd to be told that Regina hates herself.  She just always seemed to be...I don’t know…full of herself? But I guess it could be argued that that was her compensating.  But now that Regina has been reminded of that, she decides she needs to accept the Evil Queen.  I mean, I think that’s what we’re supposed to conclude. But the way they executed it was kinda odd.  I’m just saying, if they wanted to show Regina accepting the Evil Queen as part of her, wouldn’t it have been better to show her reabsorb Evil Queen?  But instead, she does something to their hearts, with Evil Queen getting some of Regina’s light and Regina getting some of Evil Queen’s darkness.   (Wasn’t Evil Queen’s heart crushed at the end of 5B?  Or did it reform when she did?)  Personally, I think this seems a bit like a cop-out.  Especially since they still seem to be treating the Evil Queen as a separate entity, particularly in the scene when Regina fills in Snow, Henry and Zelena about it.  Snow even says that the Evil Queen might not be capable of being redeemed (which seems odd coming from Mrs. Purity and Light), and Regina says ‘If I can be redeemed, so can the Evil Queen.’  Or something to that effect.  Again, I don’t have access to episode transcripts at the moment. And Zelena doesn’t seem swayed by the idea at first either, which was also odd, because, in the show’s timeline, it was just about a week or so ago that Zelena was on Team Evil Queen. Regardless, Evil Queen takes that as her cue to step in to actually apologize to Snow for everything she’s done to her. To my knowledge, this is the first time Evil Queen/Regina ever acknowledged and apologized to Snow.  So I had no complaint about that, even though it took her long enough.

In an unrelated story, may I ask who’s watching Baby Neal and Baby Robyn while this is going on?  I mean, Regina, Snow, Zelena and Henry are at Granny’s, and Charming’s taking a dirt nap.  I supposed it’s possible Emma is looking after the babies, but it still amazes me how often the babies seem to vanish until the plot demands their presence.

Rambling aside, that’s when Henry is given the task of using his position of The Author to send Evil Queen to a place where she can have a fresh start.  Which was a bit odd, especially when they point out that it’s against the rules to manipulate events.  But Henry is all ‘nope, loophole time,’ saying something about how it’s only against the rules to alter events in your own world, but other stories are fair game. I’m sorry, but that sounds iffy to me. Because Author Isaac got punished for manipulating things in the Enchanted Forest.  And he wasn’t from the Enchanted Forest.  He was from the Land Without Magic.  So he was altering events in a different world from his own.  It just….seems like this is going to blow up in their faces somehow.  Especially since Charming’s wish that the Evil Queen would get what she deserved still stands, to my knowledge.  In any event, Evil Queen is transported to Wish World, where she is able to enter the tavern and meet up with Robin Clone again.  Which I guess is meant to be them rectifying how Regina didn’t go into the tavern to meet Robin Prime all those years ago.

Now, I’m not exactly a fan of Regina, but I don’t necessarily hate her.  Even so, I still question what the point of this whole split-storyline for Regina even was.  Because it looks like the lesson Regina had to learn was to move forward with her life and accept that there’s good and bad in her, and that her happy ending isn’t tied to Robin’s presence in her life, and that she has to love herself.  But didn’t she already learn that lesson at the end of S4, when she decided to not erase Zelena and the then-unborn Baby Robyn from existence?  Plus, this whole thing with Evil Queen ending up with Clone Robin seems like the writers wanting to allow Regina to have her cake and eat it too.  This whole thing just seemed completely pointless to me. Also, there’s the tiny matter that Evil Queen is in the Wish World now.  You know, where Wish!Henry is out for her blood?  What’s going to happen if and when he finds Evil Queen and Robin Clone? I suppose I should just be happy this whole storyline is over and done with, but it just seems like it was painfully clunky and poorly executed.  Especially if they’re still not completely acknowledging the fact that Regina was the Evil Queen, and therefore should be held accountable for everything she did to people.

So, now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on to the Captain Swan portion of the episode.  Killian is still in an emotional funk because he still hasn’t been able to tell Emma about the thing with Grandpa Robert.  While he’s down by the Storybrooke Pier, being all emo, he’s approached by Captain Nemo, who has come to bid Killian goodbye, as he plans to set off with Liam 2.0 and the rest of the Nautilus crew.  Gotta say, I’m not happy with that.  Why can’t Nemo stick around in Storybrooke?  I realize Killian’s not alone anymore and he has the family that Nemo told him he could find.  But that doesn’t mean Killian doesn’t also deserve to have friends outside his future wife and father-in-law.  And this episode is a perfect example of how Nemo could be the perfect friend for Killian.  Just look at how Killian’s face lights up when he sees Nemo. He’s totally happy to see him.  I realize Faran Tahir is an actor who might have other commitments, but that doesn’t mean they have to write Captain Nemo off.  They can just make allusions to his ongoing presence in Storybrooke.  I don’t think we’ve seen Marco/Gepetto since 4B, but I’ve never doubted he wasn’t still somewhere in town.  

Anyway, Killian confides in Nemo about the situation he’s in, and Nemo, being the supportive friend/pseudo father figure that he is, advises Killian to seek forgiveness, as guilt can eat away at you just as much as vengeance.  But Killian doesn’t seem to follow Nemo’s advice, as the next time we see him, he’s encased his memory of Robert’s death inside a dreamcatcher, and is apparently getting ready to burn it.

Now, I have some questions about this moment.  First of all, would Killian burning that dreamcatcher result in him forgetting about that event? If not, it makes this seem a bit counterproductive.  But more importantly, how was he able to extract his memory with the dreamcatcher? Don’t you have to have magic to do that? I know it was a fan theory for a while that Killian somehow maintained a bit of magic from his stint as Dark Killian, but that was never confirmed in canon.  So how could Killian pull out that memory with the dreamcatcher, considering he’s supposed to be completely non-magical?  Is there something you want to share with the class, Captain Jones? Have you been holding out on us? Or did A&E change the rules on us again.

Unfortunately, Killian made a poor judgement call, as he chose to schedule the dreamcatcher burning while Emma was home, and she witnesses the memory playing out within the dreamcatcher. While it is a bit odd that she recognizes Grandpa Robert, who she’s never even met, she quickly figures out that Killian was planning to burn the memory instead of being honest and coming to her about it.  To be fair, he had every intention of telling her the night before, but I also realize he had second thoughts and his guilt got the better of him.  The two end up having an argument over the matter, which isn’t a bad thing.  Communication is vitally important in a healthy relationship.  And it’s made very clear that Emma’s not mad because he killed the grandpa she never met.  She’s mad that he didn’t come to her about it.  To which Killian admits a part of his actions in wanting to burn the memory is because he couldn’t cope with the guilt, and doubted he could ever look Emma’s parents in the eyes again.  In other words, his self-loathing is back again in full force.  In the end, Emma decides to return the ring to Killian, while making it clear that they can talk about it when he feels ready to be honest with her.

Okay, I completely get why Emma did this.  I get where she’s coming from.  At the same time, returning the ring seems just a teensy bit extensive to me.  I mean, she knows Killian has self-esteem issues, and has crippling self-loathing.  This is nothing new for him.  So I’m wondering if we’ll see her contemplate how he might have interpreted that gesture, considering he was experiencing a pretty big low at the time.  Because Killian certainly seemed to feel like she meant it as a full-on breakup when he seeks out Nemo to ask if he can accompany him when he leaves Storybrooke, stating he needs help to become the man Emma needs him to be again. However, as the episode ends, Killian is approached by Snow, who somehow seems to not know about what happened between him and Emma, as she voices her happiness for the both of them.  She even goes so far as to say she’s glad that he’s the one Emma chose.  Overall, I really liked this scene.  Especially since I don’t think we’ve EVER seen Killian and Snow interacting before. Unless you count the ‘thank you, milady’ bit back in ‘Tallahassee.’  And that was a LONG time ago, when neither of them had any idea of how hard Emma and Killian would fall for each other.  (Although, Snow might have had an inkling.  I noticed that look she gave them.)  And it’s great to see Killian getting the confirmation that both of Emma’s parents approve of him.  At the same time, I have to shake my head at Snow for her obliviousness.  She’s standing there, being all happy smiles and sunshine, and doesn’t seem to notice that Killian obviously is in poor spirits. She doesn’t even question why he’s standing alone in the snow.  Considering Emma obviously didn’t tell her about the fight they had, you’d think Snow would be wondering why Killian wasn’t off with Emma somewhere.

Snow’s obliviousness aside, she does tell Killian about how the Evil Queen is off getting her happy ending, which ends up restoring his hope that he can still get his happy ending, too.  He decides he can’t leave Emma after all, and goes to tell Nemo that he changed his mind and is staying in Storybrooke.  But before he could get a chance to leave the Nautilus, Gideon pops up and magically forces the Nautilus to sail off. Before teleporting off, Gideon tells Killian that he can’t afford to have him in Storybrooke if his new big bad plan is going to work.

Now, because of Gideon’s interference, Killian is trapped on the Nautilus as it sets off to a currently unknown location. And since he didn’t leave Emma a note explaining that he was planning to go away, but only temporally, she’s not going to know what happened.  Which means she’s probably going to entertain the notion that Killian left for good. After all, Emma has crippling abandonment issues to go with Killian’s self-loathing.  Admittedly, I was initially put-off that Killian didn’t leave Emma a note before he headed off to the docks to join up with Nemo. But I suppose he probably had his talking phone with him.  And, if Snow hadn’t unknowingly helped change his mind, he would have called before the Nautilus left Storybrooke to let Emma know he wasn’t leaving for good.  Especially since he knows Emma’s history of being abandoned.  But since it’s unlikely there’s good phone reception under the ocean, Killian’s probably not going to be able to reach Emma to let her know he was sent away by force. All I can say is that Emma better not spend all of the next episode thinking Killian abandoned her.  She better figure out something’s wrong, and that Killian Jones would never leave her on his own, within the first 15 minutes. (Likewise, if we’re forced to listen to Snow and/or Regina spout off some ridiculous ‘good riddance to bad rubbish/you were too good for him anyway’ nonsense, I will be ticked.  Especially since that would make them seem incredibly two-faced, as they were all supportive and happy about the engagement in this episode.)  Most importantly, A&E?  Don’t drag this whole angst plot out too long, okay?  I want to be happy by the end of next episode.  I know the episode will be written by Jane and Jerome, who have yet to let us down in terms of quality CS moments.  But considering there’s talk of Tiger Lily joining the cast, I’m stumped about what she’s going to bring to the table.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

[magzoso-tech]

All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part IV: Healthcare, Biotech, Fintech and Nonprofits

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All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part IV: Healthcare, Biotech, Fintech and Nonprofits

Y Combinator’s Demo Day was a bit different this time around.

As concerns grew over the spread of COVID-19, Y Combinator shifted the event format away from the two-day gathering in San Francisco we’ve gotten used to, instead opting to have its entire class debut to invited investors and media via YC’s Demo Day website.

In a bit of a surprise twist, YC also moved Demo Day forward one week citing accelerated pacing from investors. Alas, this meant switching up its plan for each company to have a recorded pitch on the Demo Day website; instead, each company pitched via slides, a few paragraphs outlining what they’re doing and the traction they’re seeing, and team bios. It’s unclear so far how this new format — in combination with the rapidly evolving investment climate — will impact this class.

As we do with each class, we’ve collected our notes on each company based on information gathered from their pitches, websites and, in some cases, our earlier coverage of them.

To make things a bit easier to read, we’ve split things up by category rather than have it be one huge wall of text. These are the healthcare, biotech, fintech and nonprofit companies. You can find the other categories (such as B2B, consumer and robotics) here.

Healthcare and Biotech

Simple Stripes: Aims to make glucose testing cheaper and more accessible by making strips that can be read by any smartphone camera, rather than requiring a dedicated glucose meter. The company says it expects to submit its strips for FDA approval in June.

nplex biosciences: A faster, cheaper way to do the protein panels required in the development of new medications. The company says it has over $4 million in letters-of-intent in the works, including one from a major pharma company.

Healthlane: An app meant to help users in Africa communicate with their doctors, make appointments and track lab results. The company says it has already reached profitability, with a retention rate of 98%.

Breathe Well-being: A 16-week program meant to help users in India with chronic conditions (such as diabetes) in their efforts to lose weight. The company offers a one-on-one diabetes coach who helps the user with tracking things like weight/meals/activity and trains them in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques meant to reduce stress. Currently seeing an $11.2K MRR.

Dropprint Genomics: “Single cell genomics” software meant to reduce the time/financial cost of analyzing individual cell activity to enable better drug discovery. They’ve signed over $1 million in LOIs in two months.

Newman’s: A digital health clinic for men in Indonesia. They’re focusing on problems that are often seen as either embarrassing (hair loss, erectile dysfunction) or are often abandoned (quitting smoking) by making doctor visits easier, cheaper and more private by way of remote consultation. Find our previous coverage of Newman’s here.

Loop Health: Loop Health says that most health insurance in India covers “only hospital stays, not doctor visits.” They’re looking to improve this by offering unlimited access to their designated Loop Health clinics, along with app-based telemedicine.

Synapsica Healthcare: An “AI reporting assistant.” Currently focusing on spinal MRIs, the company says it saves radiologists 80% of their reporting time by automatically annotating measurements and characterizing disc degeneration. The company says it’s currently in a $100K pilot program with a radiology practice tapped by 250 chiropractic clinics.

Volumetric: Volumetric makes 3D bioprinters that create vascularized human tissue. Founded by two PhDs, Volumetric sells its photoactive tissue to pharmaceutical companies and scientists. It’s using the proceeds to move toward building bioprinters and bioinks that can generate functional tissue and even organs. Find our previous coverage of Volumetric here.

Ophelia: Ophelia replaces rehab with telemedicine for America’s 3 million opioid addicts. It lets patients do teleconferenced doctor visits, get prescribed and delivered medications like Buprenorphine and Naloxone, and access therapy without the stigma. The founder started the company after a longtime girlfriend died from opioid addiction, and Ophelia has now treated 40 patients.

Lilia: Claiming that “in the future, women will freeze their eggs upon graduation,” Lilia is an egg-freezing concierge service. The startup charges $500 for concierge, and gets another $500 when somebody is placed in a clinic. Lilia says its total addressable market is $33 billion.

Equator Therapeutics: Equator Therapeutics is developing a drug to help users burn calories without exercise. Founded by a duo of PhDs and a data scientist who worked at a company developing an anti-aging drug, Equator Therapeutics is targeting people dealing with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Altay Therapeutics: Located inside the Bayer Collaborator in San Francisco, Altay Therapeutics has developed small molecule therapies that block disease-causing DNA-binding proteins (or transcriptional regulators). The company’s initial therapies are focused on arthritis, fibrosis, ulcerative colitis and liver cancer.

Tambua Health: Tambua Health uses an “acoustic” stethoscope and proprietary software to provide advanced imaging for lung imaging without the radiation of an x-ray.

Abalone Bio: Founded by serial life sciences entrepreneurs, Abalone Bio is using libraries of yeast cells expressing billions of antibody variants to grow specific antibodies that can activate or inhibit a drug target. Using gene sequencing, machine learning and synthetic biology, the company makes recombinant protein versions of its antibodies and confirms their efficacy in human cell assays. The company’s initial targets are drugs for pain, inflammatory diseases, rare cancer and rare kidney disease.

Felix Biotechnology: Founded by the famous Yale University researcher Paul Turner, Felix Biotechnologies is developing treatments to address antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and fungi. These pathogens cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths in the United States alone each year, according to the company. On average, someone in the U.S. dies from an antibiotic-resistant infection every 15 minutes. Researchers have warned that more people will die from antibiotic resistance than from cancer by the year 2050.

Genecis Bioindustries: Genecis Bioindustries is turning food waste into compostable plastics. Find our previous coverage on Genecis here.

Candid Health: Candid Health has developed automated billing software for the healthcare industry that follows up with insurance companies and automatically appeals denied claims. It takes a 5% cut of each payment.

Ochre Bio: Ochre says that most donated livers are discarded — despite there being a shortage — due to them containing too much fat for a successful transplant. They’re aiming to “rejuvenate livers outside the body” by finding ways to treat them prior to transplant.

Fintech

Facio: Brazil has a banking problem. An oligarchy of five banks manage the Brazilian market, and they’re slow, have terrible customer service, high APR and don’t serve SMBs. Facio wants to keep workers from falling victim to predatory debt and instead gain financial freedom with a low-priced payroll loan to employees. It integrates with the employer, deducting loans right from their payroll.

delt.ai: Delt.ai is a digital bank that handles payments, invoicing and corporate cards for poorly served SMEs and freelancers in Mexico. The startup is targeting the $50 billion+ market of business deposits in Mexico. Think of Delt.ai is a Brex or a Mercury, but focused on Latin America.

Nexu: Like many other personal financing operations in Latin America, car financing is an expensive, low-tech, arduous process. Nexu, a financing platform for Latin American car dealerships, uses dynamic credit scoring to give car buyers an approval with a turnaround of a few seconds. The founding team met as Wharton MBA candidates.

Fondeadora: Fondeadora is joining Mexico’s saturated fintech scene, with its alternative neobanking debit card. The company offers a fully mobile digital savings account run within its app. Fondeadora says it has 65,000 users and $6.5 million monthly transactions. Albo, another Mexico-focused debit card, currently owns the market share with 200,000 monthly active customers who are spending and making transactions in its platform and $26 million in capital raised. But the banking problem in Mexico is big enough that multiple startups can thrive. Out of the 130 million population of Mexico, 45% are underbanked, meaning they lack deep financial products designed to help them compound wealth through lending and savings features.

Jenfi: Loans money to small businesses in Asia — typically about $10,000 to $100,000 — based on the business’ revenue. We wrote about Jenfi previously here.

yBANQ: A collections and reconciliation system for large B2B companies in India. The company says it has found 18 customers since launching in late January, reaching a GMV of around $18K.

ZeFi: A savings account that converts USD deposits to/from “stablecoin” cryptocurrencies behind the scenes, with ZeFi lending these funds out to borrowers to gain interest.

Grain: Grain hooks your existing debit card to a “responsible” amount of credit (currently capped at $500, and based on your income/cash low), hopefully helping those with minimal/bad credit build up their credit report over time. In the three months since launch, the company says it has signed up 1,000 customers, and expects to make around $80 per customer per year.

CrowdForce: Lets local merchants in Africa act as bank branches, serving as an intermediary on transactions when a bank is too far away. The company says it made $70K in net revenue last month, making an average of $20 per year per customer.

Stark Bank: A banking API to handle B2B transactions for tech companies in Brazil. A little over a year after launch, the company says it’s seeing $12 million in monthly gross volume.

Bamboo: An online brokerage for high-wealth individuals in Africa to buy securities from around the world. The company says it already has over 2,100 investors who have traded over $1.6 million on the platform since launching roughly five months ago, currently accounting for over $10,000 in monthly revenue.

Swipe: Pitching itself as “Brex for Africa,” Swipe gives African SMBs a credit card to help cover payroll and expenses. They onboard businesses by providing them with free expensing/billing tools, then offer credit accordingly. The company says it’s currently working with 30 companies, with $200K in credit deployed.

goDutch: A payments card for splitting costs amongst groups that often share bills, such as roommates. Focusing on India. Charges are put onto one card and deducted from each group member’s account automatically.

Paymobil: Uses stablecoin cryptocurrencies to transfer money across the globe through a Venmo-style app. The founder, Daniel Nordh, notes that he previously led consumer design at Coinbase.

Karat: Karat offers banking, loans and credit cards to influencers. By using data on their popularity to manage risk, Karat has achieved 40% APR on its loans with an average repayment time of 45 days. Thanks to its founders’ experience building influencer tools at Instagram and structuring debt at Goldman Sachs, it’s already signing up stars with over 10 million followers.

Homestead: Homestead helps home owners convert their garages into rental properties at no upfront cost. Homestead pays for all the construction, tenant search and management, and then splits the rent income with the home owner. A new California law allows the state’s 8 million garages to be rented out as living spaces, creating an enormous market opportunity. Homestead’s founders met at MIT’s graduate school of architecture and city planning, and the startup has already done $1 million in sales.

Benepass: Benepass offers a benefits card for startups and small businesses. Using the Benepass debit card, employees can pay for tax-advantaged benefits and wellness perks like flexible spending accounts, childcare, commuting, fitness and education while an app tracks their buying. Free for employers, Benepass has a 6% take rate but can save thousands on income and payroll taxes. With startups desperate to compete with tech giants for top talent, Benepass could ensure employees feel supported.

GAS POS: U.S. gas station owners are racing to upgrade outside pumps with EMV technology, a global standard for credit cards equipped with computer chips. GAS POS was founded to deliver a modern point-of-sale system that will help North America’s 180,000 gas stations comply with EMV and make transactions more secure. The company has several sources of revenue, a 3% fee on processed payments, SaaS free for equipment and an offer to customers to provide next-day funding.

YearEnd: YearEnd is building tax software for the paper rich, helping startup employees file their taxes while optimizing for their equity. The startup charges $330 per year for individual users and is hoping to sell to businesses that can add YearEnd as an employee benefit.

GIGI Benefits: India’s GIGI Benefits is looking to be the benefits provider for the nation’s gig economy workers. The business takes a page from companies like last year’s hottest Y Combinator startup, Catch, or the venture-backed Trupo, to provide things like health insurance and retirement investment accounts to gig economy workers.

Easyplan: Easyplan is the Qapital or Digit for India, allowing users to seamlessly save money for certain specific goals.

Haven: Haven is a next-gen platform for servicing home mortgages, offering more modern customer interfaces, better payment modeling for lenders and more.

WorkPay: WorkPay describes itself as “Gusto for Africa” — next-gen payroll and related services targeting small and medium businesses in the region.

Spenny: Spenny is a savings tool for Indian consumers that lets customers start banking money away by rounding up their purchases.

Kosh: Kosh is an algorithmically enhanced savings and investment platform for India, allowing those with good credit to effectively vouch for friends with limited credit to help them borrow.

Nonprofit

Potential: Potential is a nonprofit that wants to connect the formerly incarcerated to jobs and resources. The company works with detention centers and employment organizations to make a more friendly hiring environment.

[fitnessexpert00-blog]

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

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How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

Everybody travels.

Whether it’s for business, pleasure, vacation, or world domination, at some point in “peoples lives” we all depart from the comfort of our personal “Shire” to visit another location.

It might be a quick trip to the next town over for a business conference or a massive escapade halfway around the world for months at a time.

No matter what kind of trip it is, one thing is certain :P TAGEND

Our normal routines get wholly hurled out the window when traveling :P TAGEND

If you work out in a gym, suddenly you might not have access to any equipment. If you run around your neighborhood, suddenly you no longer have a familiar path to follow. If you usually prepare your own meals, suddenly you don’t have a kitchen or fridge. If you’re used to a good night’s sleep, suddenly you’re sleeping at odd hours in different time zones.

We are beings of habit- while working a normal day chore, we can stick to a routine pretty easily( wake up at the same time, eat all meals at the same time, work out at the same time, go to sleep at the same time ).

However, when we start traveling, absolutely nothing is familiar and the slightest speed bump can be enough to screw things up.

Luckily, there is hope!

It’s time to get you a specific action plan that you can take with you on your next trip.

This is the philosophy we teach to all of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients. Many travel quite a bit, so having” worldwide accountability” and a specific plan for travel has been a game changer for these Rebels.

Are you trying to learn a new workout, lose weight, or build muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? Let us help you- click below to learn more.

Step 1: Make It Your Constant

If you are trying to get healthy but need to travel often, I am asking you to stimulate workout your constant.

I don’t know if you were a Lost fan, but my favorite episode,” The Constant ,” involved a character named Desmond who had to find the one “constant” in their own lives in order to stay sane.

Something Desmond could focus on as his mind traveled through time.

You had to be there.

I’ve traveled quite a bit over the years: sightseeing nations, sleeping on bus, exploring temples, and visiting a new township seemingly every other day.

During all this chaos: exercising became my constant.

I knew that without a doubt , no matter where I was or what I was doing, every other day I would find a way to work out- no excuses. I might have had to add in an extra day between workouts maybe a handful of times.

What I’m trying to say is this: if you are serious about prioritizing your health, even while traveling, then start treating exercise like YOUR constant.

Make it a dependable, consistent thing in your schedule , no matter where you are in the world.

No matter what.

Sound difficult? Start by asking yourself the following table :P TAGEND

” If I HAD to still get my workouts in, even though they are I am traveling or on vacation, how would I do it ?”

Most answers will be something like this :P TAGEND

” If I had to work out, it would mean that I need to wake up SUPER early tomorrow morning to reach the gym before the conference starts .” “If I had to get my run in, it would mean I was only able to go for a 20 minute run instead of my normal 60 minute operated .” “If I had to get my workout in, that would mean I need to actually PAY for a day pass at a real gym, because I know hotel gyms are crappy .”

This is the most important question you can ask yourself before your trip:” How do I make this work for me ?”

Then, structure your environment and schedule to make it happen :P TAGEND

Add it to your calendar. Situated up a text reminder. Plan your schedule around it. Have your coach or friend remind you. Research the nearest gym or park.

Again, ask yourself- what if you HAD setting out , no matter what. How would you get it done? What would you need to change?

And then do whatever you can to make it your constant.

” Steve, I can find the time. But What KIND of workout should I do while traveling ?”

It all counts, but if I had to pick one, I’d say strength training.

Studies consistently show that strength training is the best method for weight management- especially when traveling- when coupled with a proper diet( we’ll talk about eating healthy while traveling shortly ). [ 1 ]

If time is limited on the road, and you’re gonna plan on only one sort of exercising, plan for strength training.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck with strength educate, especially when compared to a similar amount of time spent doing cardio.

So, if you ONLY have 30 minutes, prioritize strength.

Need some assistance on starting a strength educate routine?

We have a free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, that will show you exactly how to start a practice to grow strong and build muscle. Plus, there’s a segment in there on develop without a gym, in case you there’s none in sight.

You can grab the guidebook for free when you join the Rebellion below :P TAGEND Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

Everything you need to know about getting strong.

Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight educate.

How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

I identify as a:

Woman

Man

Let’s talk some actionable steps exercising while traveling.

Step 2: Plan Your Workout Ahead of Schedule

Whenever I travel, my first mission- before I even leave- is to find a place for me to work out.

In some instances, this entails I pay $20 for a day pass at a real gym.

Yes, that is an absurd amount of money to expend for one day in a gym, especially considering I merely pay $30 a few months for my current gym membership!

However, I gladly pay this amount every time I travel, and prioritize it in my travel budget.

Because exercise is critical in my life right now.

Because NOT exercising isn’t an option( assure step 1 ).

Because I’m not just paying $20 to use a gym.

Because I’m really paying the $20 to KEEP my momentum going.

Everybody conflicts with getting back on track AFTER they come home from a trip.

I am no different.

So, by hitting the gym- even when traveling- I am maintaining momentum, which constructs getting back into rhythm when I get home super easy.

No gym anywhere in sight?

No problem, I once expended 8 months living out of a knapsack and never once set foot in a gym.

So my “gym” became anywhere with the following:

A pull-up bar or swing set A sturdy tree branch A house or bus stop overhang

I know that as long as I can find one of those three things, I could complete a full workout!

My workouts consist of :P TAGEND

A push exercising( push-ups or handstands ), A pull exercise( pull-ups or rows ), A leg exercise( lunges or squats ), A core exercise( planks or hanging knee tucks ).

You can check out our post” How to Build Your Own Workout Routine” for inspiration on creating a training practice in your nearby environment.

Even only one full-body strength training session per week( if you’re on a shorter trip) can often be enough to allow you to maintain your current levels and hit the ground running when you get back.

What’s that “youre telling”? Your hotel gym is TERRIBLE?

I know. They all are.

Which is why I work out in my hotel room instead( here’s a 20 -minute routine for you to try ).

Just remember, going ahead and construct exercise your “constant.”

STEP 3: Nutrition is Still the Most Important part of the Equation.

Despite what you read in Instagram captions, calories on vacation still count.

Every beer.

Every cookie.

Every french fry.

Armed with this information, you can do one of two things :P TAGEND

Path# 1: Lament the fact that your body still follows the laws of thermodynamics. Then, eat bad food and was terrible about yourself when you get home. Track# 2: Plan ahead, STILL eat unhealthy food while traveling, and don’t feel bad while doing so. Come home and not weigh any more than you did when you began your trip.

Everybody picks Path# 1.

We’re going to pick Path# 2.

I promise you it’s possible.

Personally, I know I am going to eat poorly while traveling. It generally means eating at a Chili’s at the airport, or Wendy’s on a road trip. Knowing that this happens literally every time I travel, I going ahead!

Here’s what I do specifically while traveling :P TAGEND

# 1) I skip dinners strategically. I know that if I skip breakfast, it entails I can eat a slightly larger lunch and have an extra drink with dinner and STILL come in under my daily calorie expenditure.

# 2) I prepare for bad meals. I love me a good steak dinner with a side of mac and cheese and sweet potato fries and dessert and a few whiskeys. When I’m on vacation or celebrating, that sounds like heaven to me.

However, I know if I always eat like that, I’m going to pack on a ton of weight.

So I plan ahead for a big meal so that I can enjoy it guilt-free, and not see the scale budge. I eat protein and veggies for lunch, strategically undereating so that I can overeat for dinner- and not gain weight in the long run.

# 3) I never eat 2 bad snacks in a row. We have a big” never two in a row” rule at Nerd Fitness. Believe it or not, even being healthy just 50% of the time carries with it the tremendous potential for weight loss and a healthier life. So, if you feed a bad lunch, follow it up with a healthy dinner. Eat fast food for dinner? Cool! Make your breakfast healthy.

This is NOT” 100% or nothing .” Every decision counts, every meal counts, so any decision where you are SLIIIIIGHTLY healthier than you would have been otherwise is a win in my book.

Curious on my default diet these days? You can read all about it right here. And here is the specific diet I followed- while traveling frequently- to lose 22 pounds sustainably.

Tips for Eating HEALTHY on THE ROAD

Since diet is everything, here are some tips-off for feeing nutritiously, airport to airport.

Ask for a mini-fridge. You’d be surprised at how many hotels will have a room with a mini-fridge waiting. You merely have to ask for it. Granted, it might be full of junk food they’re trying to peddle on you. Fill it with your own healthy snacks- only make sure they don’t charge you for taking out the other foods! Fruit, sliced veggies, and some deli meat will provide you with some sustenance until you can order a proper meal.

Here is a post with some ideas for healthy snacks you can buy and store in your room.

Travel with a cooler. If you know the hotel can’t accommodate a mini-fridge, or you’re on a road journey , no problem! Bring a mini-cooler or cooler container. If you use a container, it’ll fold up for easy packing.

Is it weird to travel with a cooler? Sure. But we embrace weird around these portions.

Bring non-perishable snacks with you. I’ve eaten almonds forgotten in a knapsack, months later, and lived to tell the tale.

Lots of dry food like nuts and jerky won’t spoiling anytime soon, so store some in your travel bag. It’s a good move to have snacks on you at all periods, because who knows when you’ll eat next. Munching some beef jerky is a much better idea than the pizza in the airport terminal. Here are some good almonds to purchase, and here’s some recommended beef jerky for you to try out.

Focus on protein and fiber. When preferring meals or snacks, make sure the foods you pick are full of protein and fiber.[ 2 ] This will help keep you full, so you’re not seduced to eat the donuts waiting for you at your work conference.

What are protein and fiber-rich foods? Hard-boiled eggs will store good, and is also available bought at many convenience store. That’s a good protein source. Deli meat, jerky, and nuts will also do the trick for your protein requirements.

Fiber-rich foods? Fruit and veggies for the win. Always bring an apple with you.

All is not lost if you order fast food. There’s a common notion amongst our coaching clients, that the moment you step foot in a fast food store, “youve lost”. You made a terrible decision by even strolling in. Might as well order whatever, because you already failed.

This is 100% not true. What you order will make all the difference. For example, I feed a chicken bowl from Chipotle almost every day. To the point that it’s weird.[ 3 ]

Why? Because it’s healthier than anything I’m realistically going to make at lunchtime, devoted my schedule.

Remember, what you order, is often more important than where you order.

Let’s dive into that last phase a little more.

HEALTHY EATING THROUGH FAST FOOD

Let’s outline an entire day’s worth of eating, provided by a drive-thru window.

Most of these can also be found at your median airport terminal.

BREAKFAST :P TAGEND

Location: Starbucks

Sous Vide Egg Bites, Bacon& Gruyere: A great protein source. Go ahead and order some black coffee with it too.

Calories: 310 Protein: 19 g Net Carbs: 9g Fat: 22 g

Location: Dunkin’ Donuts

Sausage Egg and Cheese Bagel( no bagel ): Sausage and egg are a breakfast staple. Plus, cheese!

Calories: 370 Protein: 16 g Net Carbs: 3g Fat: 33 g

LUNCH :P TAGEND

Location: McDonald’s

Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad( Use the Balsamic Vinaigrette ): It’s mostly greens, grilled chicken and a little bacon. No customization involved. Your salad comes in under 400 calories.

Calories: 320 Protein: 42 g Net Carbs: 6g Fat: 14 g

Location: Subway

Oven Roasted Chicken: Grab it with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onion, green peppers, cucumbers, and olives, with petroleum and vinegar as dres. Also, feel free to add bacon and guacamole to increase your calories. Your nutrition info will look like this if ordered as above:

Calories: 490 Protein: 24 g Net Carbs: 11 g Fat: 35.5 g

DINNER :P TAGEND

Location: Boston Market

Three-Piece Dark: Lot’s of protein, decent fat, and no carbs.

Calories: 300 Protein: 37 g Net Carbs: 1g Fat: 16 g

Green Beans: Keep it simple.

Calories: 90 cals Protein: 1g Net Carbs: 4g Fat: 5g

Fresh Steamed Vegetables: Following our “simple” strategy.

Calories: 60 Protein: 2g Net Carbs: 4g Fat: 3.5 g

Location: Chipotle

Salad Bowl( with Carnitas ): order it with Fajita Vegetables, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Sour Cream, Cheese, and YES for Guacamole.

Calories: 710 Protein: 34 g Net Carbs: 12 Fat: 51 g

The above should help give you some notions on what to order when you’re depending on fast food.

Want some more notions? You got it.

HOW TO EAT HEALTHY AT THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

So your room come here for a free complimentary breakfast.

Might as well take advantage of it!

Go ahead and load up on these :P TAGEND

Eggs. We mentioned earlier to prioritize protein with your meals. Simply about every hotel continental breakfast will have some eggs. The quality might be so-so, however. If they have some hot sauce around, this can stimulate just about any scramble tolerable.

Sausage. Continuing with our protein theme, if there is sausage at the buffet, grab some. Granted, it’ll often have some sugar in the form of maple syrup included. But we’re going with the best we can here.

Bacon. We love bacon around these components so much better, we wrote an entire post on it. The fat in bacon will help keep you full until you’re next meal. Plus, if the eggs are crappy( the eggs will probably be crappy ), you can mix in some bacon to bring up the tasty factor.

Fruit. It can’t all be about meat. Go ahead and grab some fruit for your plate. Apples are relatively high in fiber, which is why they’re my going to see. Bananas also have decent fiber, as well as vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.

Are there berries available? Grab some for their antioxidant potential( we talk all about berries and antioxidants in this article ).

One final word about fruit. Fruit can be relatively high in sugar, so it’s important to eat some protein( eggs, sausage) with it to help prevent insulin spikes. You can check out this article for a deep diving into the subject.

Toast. I know, I know, we might be attracting the Carb Police on us for this one. But you can do a lot worse at a breakfast buffet than a little whole wheat toast. If you put some eggs and bacon on it, you have yourself a pretty decent breakfast sandwich with some fiber to help keep you full.

Alright, prioritize the above on your plate. Plus, bide clear of the following :P TAGEND

Juice. If I could give you one single piece of diet advice, it would be this: don’t drink your calories. There’s a lot of arguments on diets, but this advice is widely accepted.

An orange has plenty of vitamins in it, plus a lot of fiber to help balance out the sugar. OJ? Zero fiber, which means it’ll wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels.

Skip the juice and feed the whole fruit.

Pancakes/ Waffles. Don’t eat these. The batter itself will have sugar in it, plus it’s designed to have more sugar( maple syrup) poured on top.

Stick to toast.

Cereal. A breakfast food often packed full of sugar is cereal. For example, the third ingredient for Cheerios is “sugar.” And that’s Cheerios. Don’t even get me started on Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes.

Again, stick to toast.

The above advice should get you started on loading up properly at a breakfast buffet.

Step 4: Stay Active. it All Counts.

Last but not least- stay active.

I don’t care if you’re walking laps in the airport while listening to Ke$ ha during a two-hour layover or jumping rope at a bus stop- if you can find a way to be active, you are winning.

It all counts!

I already told you that eating right will be 90% of your success or failure- that means you need to be ” on” with how you feed every day, even on days that you’re not strength training.

Go for a run around the town, go for a hike, toss a frisbee in the park, go swimming in the ocean, etc.

Whatever it is, do something!

Here’s why this is so crucial: on days when I exercise, I feed better.

Something activates in my brain when exerting that says” I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy .”

On days when I don’t exert at all, I tend to say things like” meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or’ it’s only one meal” or” it’s only 37 brews”( kidding, Mom ).

Want to keep things simple?

Go for a walking– try walking EVERYWHERE. In a big city? If it’s nice out walk instead of taking a cab! Go for a jog around your new surroundings…just stay active.

If you’re on a work journey, consider trying a” strolling meeting ,” attained famous by Steve Jobs. You know, that guy who is responsible for the device you’re probably reading this article on.

Step 5: Practice Antifragility.

Things are going to go wrong while you travel.

Your flight WILL get delayed.

Your merely options for food WILL be McDonald’s.

Your hotel gym WILL be crappy.

You’ll forget your kid at home.

It’s going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

So rather than getting flustered and lamenting the fact that things aren’t perfect, prepare for chaos!

What doesn’t kill you constructs you stronger.

And what doesn’t violate you attains you stronger too.

This is how we become antifragile.

If you know things will most likely get interrupted, then you won’t be bamboozled when it happens!

This is why I try to live out former president Teddy Roosevelt’s quote:” Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are .”

I know I’m going to eat fast food and get stuck doing a hotel room workout.

It’s better than nothing, right?

If I can’t get to a gym…I do a workout in a park.

If I can’t get to a park…I do a workout in my hotel room.

If I can’t do a full workout, I do half a workout.

If I can’t feed perfectly, I aim for “pretty good.”

50% compliance is still 50% better than nothing!

A NOTE ON SLEEP, JET LAG, AND HYDRATION

We need to address a few final points: sleep, jet lag, and hydration.

All of these are going to impact your ability to follow the steps above.

FIRST UP, SLEEP.

When I’m sleep deprived, I often don’t have the energy to exercise…when current realities is that workout is often the thing that will give me energy( foreshadowing ).

Also, if you’re lacking on shuteye, you’ll get hungrier.[ 4 ] When you’re sleep deprived, your brain sends signals for more energy, which means more calories. This is troublesome if you’re trying to hold out until you can order a nutritious chicken salad.

Prioritize sleep.

Two good tools to help with this are earplugs and an eye mask. Some hotels have a way of being bright and noisy.

DEALING WITH JET LAG.

Even being able to go to sleep, is going to assume you are not suffering terribly from “jet lag.”

Jet lag is the phenomenon of traveling from one time zone to another, but still being stuck in the former time.

For example, you fly from New York to London.

It was night when you left New York. It is now morning in London. You may or were not able to have slept on the plane.

What day is it?

Your body can have some serious trouble getting back on track, because our circadian rhythms( our biological clock) is thrown off from the geographic change.

My solution: work out( Step# 4 again ).

Studies have shown that a good perspiration can help change your circadian rhythm, which might help you adjust to the local time.[ 5 ]

If you’re able to, work out as soon as you get settled to help combat plane lag. I’ve personally find this to be super helpful in adjusting to the local hour.

FINALLY, HYDRATION.

Air travel dehydrates you.[ 5 ] The cabin’s air is environmentally controlled, with lower moisture than you find here on the ground.

Humidity on the good old fashioned Earth: 30 -6 0% Moisture in an average airplane: 10 -2 0%

Yeah…that 10 -2 0% is less than the Sahara desert.

On top of that, the pressurization of the cabin itself causes you to expel H2O.

Something something, physics. Something something, less water.

The low humidity and pressurise surrounding create a perfect scenario for you to lose lots of water.

And if you’re dehydrated, it can induce you tired, which can go back to that whole starvation and calories thing.

Drink water.

Travel WorkoutS and Healthy Eating Resources

I respect the road warrior, and I respect you for wanting to learn how to be healthy while you travel.

Here are some other Nerd Fitness resources you can check out if you want to dive deeper.

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL WORKOUTS :P TAGEND

The 20 -minute Hotel Room Workout The Playground Workout The Angry Birds Workout

RESOURCES FOR HEALTHY EATING WHILE TRAVELING:

Healthy Fast Food? Here are 8 Specific Alternative . The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting. The Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating.

Above all else, Preserve momentum!

Whatever you’re currently working on improving in your life, you can continue working on that while traveling.

You merely fall off the wagon if you resign yourself to the fact that it’s impossible to stay fit while traveling!

Why not have the opposite mindset, and ask” How do I make this work for me ?”

Millions of people manage to stay healthy despite a hectic traveling schedule, and I want the same for you.

Here are some final tips-off to assist you in while traveling:

Travel day? Pack some healthy snacks with you in your container- apples and almonds are my go-to.

Going out to dinner with your company? Find the restaurant online, scour the menu, and” pre-order your dinner” in your intellect so you know what to order when you get there. Order the” meat+ veggie+ potato” alternative on the menu, and ask for doubled veggies instead. Aim for something like steak tips, or grilled chicken, salmon, etc.

Traveling with your family? Let them know that you’re making a concerted effort to eat most effective and that you’d like their support.

Going out with friends? Let’s say you’re going out with buddies, and you have no choice but to eat fried food and drink tons of brew( I dislike when that happens ).

Compensate by being extra diligent on the days before and after- no drive-thru meals , no late-night vending machine stops , no bad snacks while at the convention.

Pick your battles. Plan ahead. Make eating a priority.

Alright, that should help get you started. Now, your turn :P TAGEND

Do you travel for work?

Do you have a big adventure coming up? An upcoming vacation the summer months?

What fights do you have while on the road? What kind of questions do you have about staying in shape and traveling?

Leave a question in the comments and I’ll help in any way that I can.

-Steve

PS- I want to again remind you of our Online Coaching Program. If you live from hotel room to hotel room, constantly on the go, there are still some things you can maintain constant: your coach-and-four!

They can be right there with you, from any parts of the world, helping you make sure you reached your fitness aims. Click on the image below to learn more :P TAGEND

###

All photo citations can be read right here.[ 6 ]

Footnotes( returns to text)

You can check out this study, and this study, and this study on the benefits of strength training. You can check on this study on protein and satiation, and this one on fiber. Again, embracing it. Here’s a study on sleep and appetite for you to check out. You can check out this study on exerting and circadian rhythms. The LA Times has a great article on the subject. Backpacker, Decathlon, Good Party, Newtonmas, Apples, Model Train Display, Califonia Dreamin , Angry Hulk , Dirt Bike.

Read more: nerdfitness.com

[healthyeating43-blog]

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

New Post has been published on https://dietguideto.com/awesome/how-to-stay-in-shape-while-traveling/

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

Everybody travels.

Whether it’s for business, pleasure, vacation, or world domination, at some point in “peoples lives” we all depart from the consolation of our personal “Shire” to visit another location.

It might be a quick trip to the next town over for a business conference or a massive escapade halfway around the world for months at a time.

No matter what kind of trip it is, one thing is certain :P TAGEND

Our normal routines get completely thrown out the window when traveling :P TAGEND

If you work out in a gym, abruptly you might not have access to any equipment. If you run around your neighborhood, abruptly you no longer have a familiar path to follow. If you usually prepare your own snacks, abruptly you don’t have a kitchen or fridge. If you’re used to a good night’s sleep, suddenly you’re sleeping at odd hours in different time zones.

We are creatures of habit- while working a normal day task, we can stick to a routine pretty easily( wake up at the same time, eat all snacks at the same time, work out at the same time, go to sleep at the same time ).

However, when we start traveling, absolutely nothing is familiar and the slightest speed bump can be enough to screw things up.

Luckily, there is hope!

It’s time to get you a specific action plan that you can take with you on your next trip.

This is the philosophy we teach to all of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients. Many travel quite a bit, so having” worldwide accountability” and a specific plan for travel has been a game changer for these Rebels.

Are you trying to learn a new exercising, lose weight, or construct muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? Let us help you- click below to learn more.

Step 1: Make It Your Constant

If you are trying to get healthy but need to travel often, I am asking you to attain exercise your constant.

I don’t know if you were a Lost fan, but my favorite episode,” The Constant ,” involved a character named Desmond who had to find the one “constant” in his life in order to stay sane.

Something Desmond could focus on as his intellect traveled through time.

You had to be there.

I’ve traveled quite a bit over the years: sightseeing nations, sleeping on buses, exploring temples, and visiting a new township seemingly every other day.

During all this chaos: exert became my constant.

I knew that without a doubt , no matter where I was or what I was doing, every other day I would find a way to work out- no excuses. I might have had to add in an extra day between workouts maybe a handful of times.

What I’m trying to say is this: if you are serious about prioritizing your health, even while traveling, then start treating exercise like YOUR constant.

Make it a reliable, consistent thing in your schedule , no matter where you are in the world.

No matter what.

Sound difficult? Start by asking yourself the following table :P TAGEND

” If I HAD to still get my workouts in, even if I am traveling or on vacation, how would I do it ?”

Most answers will be something like this :P TAGEND

” If I had to work out, it would mean that I need to wake up SUPER early tomorrow morning to reach the gym before the conference starts .” “If I had to get my run in, it would entail I was only able to go for a 20 minute run instead of my normal 60 minute operated .” “If I had to get my workout in, that would mean I need to actually PAY for a day pass at a real gym, because I know hotel gyms are crappy .”

This is the most important question you can ask yourself before your journey:” How do I make this work for me ?”

Then, structure your environment and schedule to make it happen :P TAGEND

Add it to your calendar. Situate up a text reminder. Plan your schedule around it. Have your coach or friend remind you. Research the nearest gym or park.

Again, ask yourself- what if you HAD to work out , no matter what. How would you get it done? What would you need to change?

And then do whatever you can to make it your constant.

” Steve, I can find the time. But What KIND of exercising should I do while traveling ?”

It all counts, but if I had to pick one, I’d say strength training.

Studies consistently show that strength training is the best method for weight management- especially when traveling- when coupled with a proper diet( we’ll talk about eating healthy while traveling shortly ). [ 1 ]

If time is limited on the road, and you’re gonna plan on just one form of exercising, plan for strength training.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck with strength develop, especially when compared to a similar quantity of time spent do cardio.

So, if you ONLY have 30 minutes, prioritize strength.

Need some help on starting a strength train routine?

We have a free guidebook, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, that will show you exactly how to start a practice to grow strong and build muscle. Plus, there’s a segment in there on develop without a gym, in case you there’s none in sight.

You can grab the guide for free when you join the Rebellion below :P TAGEND Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

Everything you need to know about getting strong.

Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight educate.

How to find the right gym and develop properly in one.

I identify as a:

Woman

Man

Let’s talk some actionable steps exerting while traveling.

STep 2: Plan Your Workout Ahead of Schedule

Whenever I traveling, my first mission- before I even leave- be able to find a place for me to work out.

In some instances, this entails I pay $20 for a day pass at a real gym.

Yes, that is an absurd amount of money to expend for one day in a gym, especially considering I only pay $30 a month for my current gym membership!

However, I gladly pay this amount every time I travel, and prioritize it in my travelling budget.

Because exercise is critical in my life right now.

Because NOT exercising isn’t an option( find step 1 ).

Because I’m not just paying $20 to use a gym.

Because I’m really paying the $20 to KEEP my momentum going.

Everybody battles with getting back on track AFTER they come home from a trip.

I am no different.

So, by hitting the gym- even when traveling- I am maintaining momentum, which constructs getting back into rhythm when I get home super easy.

No gym anywhere in sight?

No problem, I once spent 8 months living out of a backpack and never once set foot in a gym.

So my “gym” became anywhere with the following:

A pull-up bar or swing define A sturdy tree branch A building or bus stop overhang

I know that as long as I can find one of those three things, I could complete a full workout!

My workouts consist of :P TAGEND

A pushing exercising( push-ups or handstands ), A pull exercise( pull-ups or rows ), A leg exercise( lunges or squats ), A core exercise( planks or hanging knee tucks ).

You can check out our post” How to Build Your Own Workout Routine” for inspiration on creating a training practice in your nearby environment.

Even only one full-body strength training session per week( if you’re on a shorter trip-up) can often be enough to allow you to maintain your current levels and hit the ground running when you get back.

What’s that “youre telling”? Your hotel gym is TERRIBLE?

I know. They all are.

Which is why I work out in my hotel room instead( here’s a 20 -minute routine for you to try ).

Just remember, going ahead and construct workout your “constant.”

STEP 3: Nutrition is Still the Most Important part of the Equation.

Despite what you read in Instagram captions, calories on vacation still count.

Every beer.

Every cookie.

Every french fry.

Armed with this information, you can do one of two things :P TAGEND

Path# 1: Lament the fact that your body still follows the laws of thermodynamics. Then, eat bad food and feel terrible about yourself when you get home. Track# 2: Plan ahead, STILL eat unhealthy food while traveling, and don’t feel bad while doing so. Come home and not weigh any more than you did when you began your trip-up.

Everybody picks Path# 1.

We’re going to pick Path# 2.

I promise you it’s possible.

Personally, I know I am going to eat poorly while traveling. It generally entails eating at a Chili’s at the airport, or Wendy’s on a road journey. Knowing that this happens literally every time I travel, I going ahead!

Here’s what I do specifically while traveling :P TAGEND

# 1) I skip snacks strategically. I know that if I skip breakfast, it means I can eat a slightly larger lunch and have an extra drink with dinner and STILL come in under my daily calorie expenditure.

# 2) I prepare for bad snacks. I love me a good steak dinner with a side of mac and cheese and sweet potato fries and dessert and a few whiskeys. When I’m on vacation or celebrating, that sounds like heaven to me.

However, I know if I always eat like that, I’m going to pack on a ton of weight.

So I plan ahead for a big snack so that I can enjoy it guilt-free, and not watch the scale budge. I eat protein and veggies for lunch, strategically undereating so that I can overeat for dinner- and not gain weight in the long run.

# 3) I never eat 2 bad meals in a row. We have a big” never two in a row” regulation at Nerd Fitness. Believe it or not, even being healthy only 50% of the time carries with it the tremendous potential for weight loss and a healthier life. So, if you feed a bad lunch, follow it up with a healthy dinner. Eat fast food for dinner? Cool! Make your breakfast healthy.

This is NOT” 100% or nothing .” Every decision counts, every meal counts, so any decision where you are SLIIIIIGHTLY healthier than you would have been otherwise is a win in my book.

Curious on my default diet these days? You can read all about it right here. And here is the specific diet I followed- while traveling often- to lose 22 pounds sustainably.

Tips for Eating HEALTHY on THE ROAD

Since diet is everything, here are some tips-off for feeing nutritiously, airport to airport.

Ask for a mini-fridge. You’d be surprised at how many hotels will have a room with a mini-fridge waiting. You simply have to ask for it. Granted, it might be full of junk food they’re trying to peddle on you. Fill it with your own healthy snacks- just make sure they don’t charge you for taking out the other foods! Fruit, sliced veggies, and some deli meat will provide you with some sustenance until you can order a proper meal.

Here is a post with some notions for healthy snacks you can buy and store in your room.

Travel with a cooler. If you know the hotel can’t accommodate a mini-fridge, or you’re on a road trip , no problem! Bring a mini-cooler or cooler purse. If you use a container, it’ll fold up for easy packing.

Is it weird to travel with a cooler? Sure. But we embrace weird around these portions.

Bring non-perishable snacks with you. I’ve consume almonds forgotten in a backpack, months later, and lived to tell the tale.

Lots of dry food like nuts and jerky won’t spoiling anytime soon, so store some in your travel bag. It’s a good move to have snacks on you at all times, because who knows when you’ll eat next. Munching some beef jerky is a much better idea than the pizza in the airport terminal. Here are some good almonds to purchase, and here’s some recommended beef jerky for you to try out.

Focus on protein and fiber. When preferring snacks or snacks, make sure the foods you pick are full of protein and fiber.[ 2 ] This will help keep you full, so you’re not seduced to eat the donuts waiting for you at your work conference.

What are protein and fiber-rich foods? Hard-boiled eggs will store good, and can be bought at many convenience stores. That’s a good protein source. Deli meat, jerky, and nuts will also do the trick for your protein requirements.

Fiber-rich foods? Fruits and veggies for the win. Always bringing an apple with you.

All is not lost if you order fast food. There’s a common faith amongst our coaching clients, that the moment you step foot in a fast food store, you lost. You made a terrible decision by even walking in. Might as well order whatever, because you already failed.

This is 100% not true. What you order will make all the difference. For example, I feed a chicken bowl from Chipotle almost every day. To the point that it’s weird.[ 3 ]

Why? Because it’s healthier than anything I’m realistically going to make at lunchtime, devoted my schedule.

Remember, what you order, is often more important than where you order.

Let’s dive into that last phase a little more.

HEALTHY EATING THROUGH FAST FOOD

Let’s outline an entire day’s worth of feeing, provided by a drive-thru window.

Most of these can also be found at your median airport terminal.

BREAKFAST :P TAGEND

Location: Starbucks

Sous Vide Egg Bites, Bacon& Gruyere: A great protein source. Go ahead and order some black coffee with it too.

Calories: 310 Protein: 19 g Net Carbs: 9g Fat: 22 g

Location: Dunkin’ Donuts

Sausage Egg and Cheese Bagel( no bagel ): Sausage and egg are a breakfast staple. Plus, cheese!

Calories: 370 Protein: 16 g Net Carbs: 3g Fat: 33 g

LUNCH :P TAGEND

Location: McDonald’s

Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad( Use the Balsamic Vinaigrette ): It’s mostly greens, grilled chicken and a little bacon. No customization necessitated. Your salad comes in under 400 calories.

Calories: 320 Protein: 42 g Net Carbs: 6g Fat: 14 g

Location: Subway

Oven Roasted Chicken: Grab it with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onion, green peppers, cucumbers, and olives, with petroleum and vinegar as dressing. Also, feel free to add bacon and guacamole to increase your calories. Your nutrition info will look like this if ordered as above:

Calories: 490 Protein: 24 g Net Carbs: 11 g Fat: 35.5 g

DINNER :P TAGEND

Location: Boston Market

Three-Piece Dark: Lot’s of protein, decent fat, and no carbs.

Calories: 300 Protein: 37 g Net Carbs: 1g Fat: 16 g

Green Bean: Keep it simple.

Calories: 90 cals Protein: 1g Net Carbs: 4g Fat: 5g

Fresh Steamed Vegetables: Following our “simple” strategy.

Calories: 60 Protein: 2g Net Carbs: 4g Fat: 3.5 g

Location: Chipotle

Salad Bowl( with Carnitas ): order it with Fajita Vegetables, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Sour Cream, Cheese, and YES for Guacamole.

Calories: 710 Protein: 34 g Net Carbs: 12 Fat: 51 g

The above should help give you some ideas on what to order when you’re depending on fast food.

Want some more notions? You got it.

HOW TO EAT HEALTHY AT THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

So your room comes with a free complimentary breakfast.

Might as well take advantage of it!

Go ahead and load up on these :P TAGEND

Eggs. We mentioned earlier to prioritize protein with your meals. Only about every hotel continental breakfast will have some eggs. The quality might be so-so, however. If they have some hot sauce around, this can make just about any scramble tolerable.

Sausage. Continuing with our protein theme, if there is sausage at the buffet, grab some. Granted, it’ll often have some sugar in the form of maple syrup included. But we’re going with the best we can here.

Bacon. We love bacon around these parts so much, we wrote an entire post on it. The fat in bacon will help keep you full until you’re next snack. Plus, if the eggs are crappy( the eggs will probably be crappy ), you can mix in some bacon to bring up the tasty factor.

Fruit. It can’t all be about meat. Go ahead and grab some fruit for your plate. Apples are relatively high in fiber, which is why they’re my go to. Bananas also have decent fiber, as well as vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.

Are there berries available? Grab some for their antioxidant potential( we talk all about berries and antioxidants in this article ).

One final word about fruit. Fruit can be relatively high in sugar, so it’s important to eat some protein( eggs, sausage) with it to help prevent insulin spikes. You can check out this article for a deep diving into the subject.

Toast. I know, I know, we might be attracting the Carb Police on us for this one. But you can do a lot worse at a breakfast buffet than a little whole wheat toast. If you put some eggs and bacon on it, you have yourself a pretty decent breakfast sandwich with some fiber to help keep you full.

Alright, prioritize the above on your plate. Plus, remain clear of the following :P TAGEND

Juice. If I could give you one single piece of diet advice, it would be this: don’t drink your calories. There’s a lot of debates on diets, but this advice is widely accepted.

An orange has plenty of vitamins in it, plus a lot of fiber to help balance out the sugar. OJ? Zero fiber, which entails it’ll wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels.

Skip the juice and feed the whole fruit.

Pancakes/ Waffles. Don’t eat these. The batter itself will have sugar in it, plus it’s designed to have more sugar( maple syrup) poured on top.

Stick to toast.

Cereal. A breakfast food often packed full of sugar is cereal. For example, the third ingredient for Cheerios is “sugar.” And that’s Cheerios. Don’t even get me started on Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes.

Again, stick to toast.

The above advice should get you started on loading up properly at a breakfast buffet.

Step 4: Stay Active. it All Counts.

Last but not least- stay active.

I don’t care if you’re walking laps in the airport while listening to Ke$ ha during a two-hour layover or jumping rope at a bus stop- if you can find a way to be active, you are winning.

It all counts!

I already told you that eating right will be 90% of your success or failing- that means you need to be ” on” with how you eat every day, even on days that you’re not strength training.

Go for a run around the town, go for a hike, toss a frisbee in the park, go swimming in the ocean, etc.

Whatever it is, do something!

Here’s why this is so crucial: on days when I exercise, I feed better.

Something activates in my brain when exercising that says” I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy .”

On days when I don’t exert at all, I tend to say things like” meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or’ it’s only one snack” or” it’s only 37 brews”( kidding, Mom ).

Want to keep things simple?

Go for a walking– try strolling EVERYWHERE. In a big city? If it’s nice out walk instead of taking a cab! Go for a jog around your new surroundings…just stay active.

If you’re on a work journey, consider trying a” walking meeting ,” attained famous by Steve Jobs. You know, that guy who is responsible for the device you’re probably reading this article on.

Step 5: Practice Antifragility.

Things are going to go wrong while you travel.

Your flight WILL get delayed.

Your merely options for food WILL be McDonald’s.

Your hotel gym WILL be crappy.

You’ll forget your kid at home.

It’s going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

So rather than getting flustered and lamenting the fact that things aren’t perfect, prepare for chaos!

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

And what doesn’t transgress you builds you stronger too.

This is how we become antifragile.

If you know things will most likely get interrupted, then you won’t be bamboozled when it happens!

This is why I try to live out former chairman Teddy Roosevelt’s quote:” Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are .”

I know I’m going to eat fast food and get stuck doing a hotel room workout.

It’s better than nothing, right?

If I can’t get to a gym…I do a workout in a park.

If I can’t get to a park…I do a workout in my hotel room.

If I can’t do a full workout, I do half a workout.

If I can’t eat perfectly, I is striving for “pretty good.”

50% compliance is still 50% better than nothing!

A NOTE ON SLEEP, JET LAG, AND HYDRATION

We need to address a few final phases: sleep, jet lag, and hydration.

All of these are going to impact your ability to follow the steps above.

FIRST UP, SLEEP.

When I’m sleep deprived, I often don’t have the energy to exercise…when the reality is that exercising is often the thing that will give me energy( foreshadowing ).

Also, if you’re lacking on shuteye, you’ll get hungrier.[ 4 ] When you’re sleep deprived, your brain sends signals for more energy, which means more calories. This is troublesome if you’re trying to hold out until you can order a nutritious chicken salad.

Prioritize sleep.

Two good tools to help with this are earplugs and an eye mask. Some hotels have a way of being bright and noisy.

DEALING WITH JET LAG.

Even being able to go to sleep, is going to assume you are not suffering terribly from “jet lag.”

Jet lag is the phenomenon of traveling from one time zone to another, but still being stuck in the former time.

For example, you fly from New York to London.

It was night when you left New York. It is now morning in London. You may or may not have slept on the plane.

What period is it?

Your body can have some serious trouble getting back on track, because our circadian rhythms( our biological clock) is thrown off from the geographic change.

My solution: work out( Step# 4 again ).

Studies have shown that a good perspiration can help change your circadian rhythm, which might help you adjust to the local time.[ 5 ]

If you’re able to, work out as soon as you get settled to help combat jet lag. I’ve personally determined this to be super helpful in adjusting to the local day.

FINALLY, HYDRATION.

Air travel dehydrates you.[ 5 ] The cabin’s air is environmentally controlled, with lower moisture than you find here on the ground.

Humidity on the good old fashioned Earth: 30 -6 0% Moisture in an average airplane: 10 -2 0%

Yeah…that 10 -2 0% is less than the Sahara desert.

On top of that, the pressurization of the cabin itself causes you to expel H2O.

Something something, physics. Something something, less water.

The low humidity and pressurized environment create a perfect scenario for you to lose lots of water.

And if you’re dehydrated, it can construct you tired, which can go back to that whole hunger and calories thing.

Drink water.

Travel WorkoutS and Healthy Eating Resources

I respect the road warrior, and I respect you for wanting to learn how to be healthy while you travel.

Here are some other Nerd Fitness resources you can check out if you want to dive deeper.

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL WORKOUTS :P TAGEND

The 20 -minute Hotel Room Workout The Playground Workout The Angry Birds Workout

RESOURCES FOR HEALTHY EATING WHILE TRAVELING:

Healthy Fast Food? Here are 8 Specific Alternative . The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting. The Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating.

Above all else, Preserve momentum!

Whatever you’re currently working on improving in your life, you can continue working on that while traveling.

You merely fall off the wagon if you resign yourself to the fact that it’s impossible to stay fit while traveling!

Why not have the opposite mindset, and ask” How do I make this work for me ?”

Millions of people manage to stay healthy despite a hectic traveling schedule, and I want the same for you.

Here are some final tips to assist you in while traveling:

Travel day? Pack some healthy snacks with you in your suitcase- apples and almonds are my go-to.

Going out to dinner with your company? Find the restaurant online, scour the menu, and” pre-order your dinner” in your mind so you know what to order when you get there. Order the” meat+ veggie+ potato” alternative on the menu, and ask for double veggies instead. Aim for something like steak tips, or grilled chicken, salmon, etc.

Traveling with your family? Let them know that you’re making a concerted effort to eat most effective and that you’d like their support.

Going out with friends? Let’s say you’re going out with buddies, and you have no choice but to eat fried food and drink tons of brew( I hate when that happens ).

Compensate by being extra diligent on the days before and after- no drive-thru meals , no late-night vending machine stops , no bad snacks while at the convention.

Pick your battles. Plan ahead. Make eating a priority.

Alright, that should help get you started. Now, your turn :P TAGEND

Do you travel for work?

Do you have a big adventure coming up? An upcoming vacation this summer?

What conflicts do you have while on the road? What kind of questions do you have about staying in shape and traveling?

Leave a question in the comments and I’ll help in any way that I can.

-Steve

PS- I want to again remind you of our Online Coaching Program. If you live from hotel room to hotel room, constantly on the go, there are still some things you can maintain constant: your coach!

They can be right there with you, from any parts of the world, helping you make sure you hit your fitness objectives. Click on the image below to learn more :P TAGEND

###

All photo citations can be read right here.[ 6 ]

Footnotes( returns to text)

You can check out this study, and this study, and this study on the benefits of strength training. You can check on this study on protein and satiation, and this one on fiber. Again, espouse it. Here’s a study on sleep and appetite for you to check out. You can check out this study on exerting and circadian rhythms. The LA Times has a great article on the subject. Backpacker, Decathlon, Good Party, Newtonmas, Apples, Model Train Display, Califonia Dreamin , Angry Hulk , Dirt Bike.

Read more: nerdfitness.com

[lindafrancois]

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

Everybody travels.

Whether it’s for business, pleasure, vacation, or world domination, at some point in our lives we all depart from the comfort of our personal “Shire” to visit another location.

It might be a quick trip to the next town over for a business conference or a massive adventure halfway around the world for months at a time.

No matter what kind of trip it is, one thing is certain:

Our normal routines get completely thrown out the window when traveling:

If you work out in a gym, suddenly you might not have access to any equipment.

If you run around your neighborhood, suddenly you no longer have a familiar path to follow.

If you usually prepare your own meals, suddenly you don’t have a kitchen or fridge.

If you’re used to a good night’s sleep, suddenly you’re sleeping at odd hours in different time zones.

We are creatures of habit – while working a normal day job, we can stick to a routine pretty easily (wake up at the same time, eat all meals at the same time, work out at the same time, go to sleep at the same time).

However, when we start traveling, absolutely nothing is familiar and the slightest speed bump can be enough to screw things up.

Luckily, there is hope! 

It’s time to get you a specific action plan that you can take with you on your next trip.

This is the philosophy we teach to all of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients. Many travel quite a bit, so having “worldwide accountability” and a specific plan for travel has been a game changer for these Rebels.

Are you trying to learn a new exercise, lose weight, or build muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? Let us help you – click below to learn more.

Step 1: Make It Your Constant

If you are trying to get healthy but need to travel frequently, I want you to make exercise your constant.

I don’t know if you were a Lost fan, but my favorite episode, “The Constant,” involved a character named Desmond who had to find the one “constant” in his life in order to stay sane.

Something Desmond could focus on as his mind traveled through time.

You had to be there.

I’ve traveled quite a bit over the years: sightseeing countries, sleeping on buses, exploring temples, and visiting a new town seemingly every other day.

During all this chaos: exercise became my constant.

I knew that without a doubt, no matter where I was or what I was doing, every other day I would find a way to work out – no excuses. I might have had to add in an extra day between workouts maybe a handful of times.

What I’m trying to say is this: if you are serious about prioritizing your health, even while traveling, then start treating exercise like YOUR constant.

Make it a reliable, consistent thing in your schedule, no matter where you are in the world.

No matter what.

Sound difficult? Start by asking yourself the following:

“If I HAD to still get my workouts in, even if I am traveling or on vacation, how would I do it?”

Most answers will be something like this:

“If I had to work out, it would mean that I need to wake up SUPER early tomorrow morning to hit the gym before the conference starts.”

“If I had to get my run in, it would mean I could only go for a 20 minute run instead of my normal 60 minute run.”

“If I had to get my workout in, that would mean I need to actually PAY for a day pass at a real gym, because I know hotel gyms are crappy.”

This is the most important question you can ask yourself before your trip: “How do I make this work for me?” 

Then, structure your environment and schedule to make it happen:

Add it to your calendar.

Set up a text reminder.

Plan your schedule around it.

Have your coach or friend remind you.

Research the nearest gym or park.

Again, ask yourself – what if you HAD to work out, no matter what. How would you get it done? What would you need to change?

And then do whatever you can to make it your constant.

“Steve, I can find the time. But What KIND of exercise should I do while traveling?”

It all counts, but if I had to pick one, I’d say strength training.

Studies consistently show that strength training is the best method for weight management – especially when traveling – when coupled with a proper diet (we’ll talk about eating healthy while traveling shortly).[1]

If time is limited on the road, and you’re gonna plan on just one form of exercise, plan for strength training.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck with strength training, especially when compared to a similar amount of time spent doing cardio.

So, if you ONLY have 30 minutes, prioritize strength.

Need some help on starting a strength training routine?

We have a free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, that will show you exactly how to start a practice to grow strong and build muscle. Plus, there’s a section in there on training without a gym, in case you there’s none in sight.

You can grab the guide for free when you join the Rebellion below:

Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

Everything you need to know about getting strong.

Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.

How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

I identify as a:

Woman

Man

Let’s talk some actionable steps exercising while traveling.

STep 2: Plan Your Workout Ahead of Schedule

Whenever I travel, my first mission – before I even leave – is to find a place for me to work out.

In some instances, this means I pay $20 for a day pass at a real gym. 

Yes, that is an absurd amount of money to spend for one day in a gym, especially considering I only pay $30 a month for my current gym membership!

However, I gladly pay this amount every time I travel, and prioritize it in my travel budget.

Because exercise is critical in my life right now.

Because NOT exercising isn’t an option (see step 1).

Because I’m not just paying $20 to use a gym.

Because I’m really paying the $20 to KEEP my momentum going.

Everybody struggles with getting back on track AFTER they come home from a trip.

I am no different.

So, by hitting the gym – even when traveling – I am maintaining momentum, which makes getting back into rhythm when I get home super easy.

No gym anywhere in sight?

No problem, I once spent 8 months living out of a backpack and never once set foot in a gym.

So my “gym” became anywhere with the following: 

A pull-up bar or swing set

A sturdy tree branch

A building or bus stop overhang

I know that as long as I can find one of those three things, I could complete a full workout!

My workouts consist of:

A push exercise (push-ups or handstands),

A pull exercise (pull-ups or rows),

A leg exercise (lunges or squats),

A core exercise (planks or hanging knee tucks).

You can check out our post “How to Build Your Own Workout Routine” for inspiration on creating a training practice in your nearby environment.

Even just one full-body strength training session per week (if you’re on a shorter trip) can often be enough to allow you to maintain your current levels and hit the ground running when you get back.

What’s that you say? Your hotel gym is TERRIBLE?

I know. They all are.

Which is why I work out in my hotel room instead (here’s a 20-minute routine for you to try).

Just remember, plan ahead and make exercise your “constant.”

STEP 3: Nutrition is Still the Most Important part of the Equation.

Despite what you read in Instagram captions, calories on vacation still count.

Every beer.

Every cookie.

Every french fry.

Armed with this information, you can do one of two things:

Path #1: Lament the fact that your body still follows the laws of thermodynamics. Then, eat bad food and feel terrible about yourself when you get home.

Path #2: Plan ahead, STILL eat unhealthy food while traveling, and don’t feel bad while doing so. Come home and not weigh any more than you did when you began your trip.

Everybody picks Path #1.

We’re going to pick Path #2.

I promise you it’s possible.

Personally, I know I am going to eat poorly while traveling. It generally means eating at a Chili’s at the airport, or Wendy’s on a road trip. Knowing that this happens literally every time I travel, I plan ahead!

Here’s what I do specifically while traveling:

#1) I skip meals strategically. I know that if I skip breakfast, it means I can eat a slightly larger lunch and have an extra drink with dinner and STILL come in under my daily calorie expenditure.

#2) I prepare for bad meals. I love me a good steak dinner with a side of mac and cheese and sweet potato fries and dessert and a few whiskeys. When I’m on vacation or celebrating, that sounds like heaven to me.

However, I know if I always eat like that, I’m going to pack on a ton of weight.

So I plan ahead for a big meal so that I can enjoy it guilt-free, and not see the scale budge. I eat protein and veggies for lunch, strategically undereating so that I can overeat for dinner – and not gain weight in the long run.

#3) I never eat 2 bad meals in a row. We have a big “never two in a row” rule at Nerd Fitness. Believe it or not, even being healthy just 50% of the time carries with it the tremendous potential for weight loss and a healthier life. So, if you eat a bad lunch, follow it up with a healthy dinner. Eat fast food for dinner? Cool! Make your breakfast healthy.

This is NOT “100% or nothing.” Every decision counts, every meal counts, so any decision where you are SLIIIIIGHTLY healthier than you would have been otherwise is a win in my book.

Curious on my default diet these days? You can read all about it right here. And here is the specific diet I followed – while traveling frequently – to lose 22 pounds sustainably. 

Tips for Eating HEALTHY on THE ROAD

Since diet is everything, here are some tips for eating nutritiously, airport to airport.

Ask for a mini-fridge. You’d be surprised at how many hotels will have a room with a mini-fridge waiting. You just have to ask for it. Granted, it might be full of junk food they’re trying to peddle on you. Fill it with your own healthy snacks – just make sure they don’t charge you for taking out the other foods! Fruit, sliced veggies, and some deli meat will provide you with some sustenance until you can order a proper meal.

Here is a post with some ideas for healthy snacks you can buy and store in your room.

Travel with a cooler. If you know the hotel can’t accommodate a mini-fridge, or you’re on a road trip, no problem! Bring a mini-cooler or cooler bag. If you use a bag, it’ll fold up for easy packing.

Is it weird to travel with a cooler? Sure. But we embrace weird around these parts.

Bring non-perishable snacks with you. I’ve eaten almonds forgotten in a backpack, months later, and lived to tell the tale.

Lots of dry food like nuts and jerky won’t spoil anytime soon, so store some in your travel bag. It’s a good move to have snacks on you at all times, because who knows when you’ll eat next. Munching some beef jerky is a much better idea than the pizza in the airport terminal. Here are some good almonds to purchase, and here’s some recommended beef jerky for you to try out.

Focus on protein and fiber. When choosing meals or snacks, make sure the foods you pick are full of protein and fiber.[2] This will help keep you full, so you’re not tempted to eat the donuts waiting for you at your work conference.

What are protein and fiber-rich foods? Hard-boiled eggs will store good, and can be bought at many convenience stores. That’s a good protein source. Deli meat, jerky, and nuts will also do the trick for your protein requirements.

Fiber-rich foods? Fruits and vegetables for the win. Always bring an apple with you.

All is not lost if you order fast food. There’s a common belief amongst our coaching clients, that the moment you step foot in a fast food store, you lost. You made a terrible decision by even walking in. Might as well order whatever, because you already failed.

This is 100% not true. What you order will make all the difference. For example, I eat a chicken bowl from Chipotle almost every day. To the point that it’s weird.[3]

Why? Because it’s healthier than anything I’m realistically going to make at lunchtime, given my schedule.

Remember, what you order, is often more important than where you order.

Let’s dive into that last point a little more.

HEALTHY EATING THROUGH FAST FOOD

Let’s outline an entire day’s worth of eating, provided by a drive-thru window.

Most of these can also be found at your average airport terminal.

BREAKFAST:

Location: Starbucks

Sous Vide Egg Bites, Bacon & Gruyere: A great protein source. Go ahead and order some black coffee with it too.

Calories: 310

Protein: 19g

Net Carbs: 9g

Fat: 22g

Location: Dunkin’ Donuts

Sausage Egg and Cheese Bagel (no bagel): Sausage and egg are a breakfast staple. Plus, cheese!

Calories: 370

Protein: 16g

Net Carbs: 3g

Fat: 33g

LUNCH:

Location: McDonald’s

Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad (Use the Balsamic Vinaigrette): It’s mostly greens, grilled chicken and a little bacon. No customization required. Your salad comes in under 400 calories.

Calories: 320

Protein: 42g

Net Carbs: 6g

Fat: 14g

Location: Subway

Oven Roasted Chicken: Grab it with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onion, green peppers, cucumbers, and olives, with oil and vinegar as dressing. Also, feel free to add bacon and guacamole to increase your calories. Your nutrition info will look like this if ordered as above:

Calories: 490

Protein: 24g

Net Carbs: 11g

Fat: 35.5g

DINNER:

Location: Boston Market

Three-Piece Dark: Lot’s of protein, decent fat, and no carbs.

Calories: 300

Protein: 37g

Net Carbs: 1g

Fat: 16g

 Green Beans: Keep it simple.

Calories: 90cals

Protein: 1g

Net Carbs: 4g

Fat: 5g

Fresh Steamed Vegetables: Following our “simple” strategy.

Calories: 60

Protein: 2g

Net Carbs: 4g

Fat: 3.5g

Location: Chipotle

Salad Bowl (with Carnitas): order it with Fajita Vegetables, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Sour Cream, Cheese, and YES for Guacamole.

Calories: 710

Protein: 34g

Net Carbs: 12

Fat: 51g

The above should help give you some ideas on what to order when you’re depending on fast food.

Want some more ideas? You got it.

HOW TO EAT HEALTHY AT THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

So your room comes with a free complimentary breakfast.

Might as well take advantage of it!

Go ahead and load up on these:

Eggs. We mentioned earlier to prioritize protein with your meals. Just about every hotel continental breakfast will have some eggs. The quality might be so-so, however. If they have some hot sauce around, this can make just about any scramble tolerable.

Sausage. Continuing with our protein theme, if there is sausage at the buffet, grab some. Granted, it’ll often have some sugar in the form of maple syrup included. But we’re going with the best we can here.

Bacon. We love bacon around these parts so much, we wrote an entire post on it. The fat in bacon will help keep you full until you’re next meal. Plus, if the eggs are crappy (the eggs will probably be crappy), you can mix in some bacon to bring up the tasty factor.

Fruit. It can’t all be about meat. Go ahead and grab some fruit for your plate. Apples are relatively high in fiber, which is why they’re my go to. Bananas also have decent fiber, as well as vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.

Are there berries available? Grab some for their antioxidant potential (we talk all about berries and antioxidants in this article).

One final word about fruit. Fruit can be relatively high in sugar, so it’s important to eat some protein (eggs, sausage) with it to help prevent insulin spikes. You can check out this article for a deep dive into the subject.

Toast. I know, I know, we might be attracting the Carb Police on us for this one. But you can do a lot worse at a breakfast buffet than a little whole wheat toast. If you put some eggs and bacon on it, you have yourself a pretty decent breakfast sandwich with some fiber to help keep you full.

Alright, prioritize the above on your plate. Plus, stay clear of the following:

Juice. If I could give you one single piece of diet advice, it would be this: don’t drink your calories. There’s a lot of arguments on diets, but this advice is widely accepted.

An orange has plenty of vitamins in it, plus a lot of fiber to help balance out the sugar. OJ? Zero fiber, which means it’ll wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels.

Skip the juice and eat the whole fruit.

Pancakes/Waffles. Don’t eat these. The batter itself will have sugar in it, plus it’s designed to have more sugar (maple syrup) poured on top.

Stick to toast.

Cereal. A breakfast food often packed full of sugar is cereal. For example, the third ingredient for Cheerios is “sugar.” And that’s Cheerios. Don’t even get me started on Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes.

Again, stick to toast.

The above advice should get you started on loading up properly at a breakfast buffet.

Step 4: Stay Active. it All Counts.

Last but not least – stay active.

I don’t care if you’re walking laps in the airport while listening to Ke$ha during a two-hour layover or jumping rope at a bus stop – if you can find a way to be active, you are winning.

It all counts!

I already told you that eating right will be 90% of your success or failure – that means you need to be “on” with how you eat every day, even on days that you’re not strength training.

Go for a run around the town, go for a hike, toss a frisbee in the park, go swimming in the ocean, etc.

Whatever it is, do something!

Here’s why this is so crucial: on days when I exercise, I eat better.

Something activates in my brain when exercising that says “I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy.”

On days when I don’t exercise at all, I tend to say things like “meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or ‘it’s only one meal” or “it’s only 37 beers” (kidding, Mom).

Want to keep things simple?

Go for a walk – try walking EVERYWHERE. In a big city? If it’s nice out walk instead of taking a cab! Go for a jog around your new surroundings…just stay active.

If you’re on a work trip, consider trying a “walking meeting,” made famous by Steve Jobs. You know, that guy who is responsible for the device you’re probably reading this article on.

Step 5: Practice Antifragility.

Things are going to go wrong while you travel.

Your flight WILL get delayed.

Your only options for food WILL be McDonald’s.

Your hotel gym WILL be crappy.

You’ll forget your kid at home.

It’s going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

So rather than getting flustered and lamenting the fact that things aren’t perfect, prepare for chaos!

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

And what doesn’t break you makes you stronger too. 

This is how we become antifragile.

If you know things will most likely get disrupted, then you won’t be bamboozled when it happens!

This is why I try to live out former president Teddy Roosevelt’s quote: “Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.”

I know I’m going to eat fast food and get stuck doing a hotel room workout.

It’s better than nothing, right?

If I can’t get to a gym…I do a workout in a park.

If I can’t get to a park…I do a workout in my hotel room.

If I can’t do a full workout, I do half a workout.

If I can’t eat perfectly, I aim for “pretty good.”

50% compliance is still 50% better than nothing!

A NOTE ON SLEEP, JET LAG, AND HYDRATION

We need to address a few final points: sleep, jet lag, and hydration.

All of these are going to impact your ability to follow the steps above. 

FIRST UP, SLEEP.

When I’m sleep deprived, I often don’t have the energy to exercise…when the reality is that exercise is often the thing that will give me energy (foreshadowing).

Also, if you’re lacking on shuteye, you’ll get hungrier.[4] When you’re sleep deprived, your brain sends signals for more energy, which means more calories. This is troublesome if you’re trying to hold out until you can order a nutritious chicken salad.

Prioritize sleep.

Two good tools to help with this are earplugs and an eye mask. Some hotels have a way of being bright and noisy.

DEALING WITH JET LAG.

Even being able to go to sleep, is going to assume you are not suffering terribly from “jet lag.”

Jet lag is the phenomenon of traveling from one time zone to another, but still being stuck in the former time.

For example, you fly from New York to London.

It was night when you left New York. It is now morning in London. You may or may not have slept on the plane.

What time is it?

Your body can have some serious trouble getting back on track, because our circadian rhythms (our biological clock) is thrown off from the geographic change.

My solution: work out (Step #4 again).

Studies have shown that a good sweat can help change your circadian rhythm, which might help you adjust to the local time.[5]

If you’re able to, work out as soon as you get settled to help combat jet lag. I’ve personally found this to be super helpful in adjusting to the local time. 

FINALLY, HYDRATION.

Air travel dehydrates you.[5] The cabin’s air is environmentally controlled, with lower moisture than you find here on the ground.

Humidity on the good old fashioned Earth: 30-60%

Moisture in an average airplane: 10-20%

Yeah…that 10-20% is less than the Sahara desert.

On top of that, the pressurization of the cabin itself causes you to expel H2O.

Something something, physics. Something something, less water.

The low humidity and pressurized environment create a perfect scenario for you to lose lots of water. 

And if you’re dehydrated, it can make you tired, which can go back to that whole hunger and calories thing.

Drink water.

Travel WorkoutS and Healthy Eating Resources

I respect the road warrior, and I respect you for wanting to learn how to be healthy while you travel.

Here are some other Nerd Fitness resources you can check out if you want to dive deeper.

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL WORKOUTS:

The 20-minute Hotel Room Workout

The Playground Workout

The Angry Birds Workout

RESOURCES FOR HEALTHY EATING WHILE TRAVELING: 

Healthy Fast Food? Here are 8 Specific Options.

The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting.

The Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating.

Above all else, Preserve momentum!

Whatever you’re currently working on improving in your life, you can continue working on that while traveling.

You only fall off the wagon if you resign yourself to the fact that it’s impossible to stay fit while traveling!

Why not have the opposite mindset, and ask “How do I make this work for me?”

Millions of people manage to stay healthy despite a hectic travel schedule, and I want the same for you.

Here are some final tips to help you while traveling: 

Travel day? Pack some healthy snacks with you in your bag – apples and almonds are my go-to.

Going out to dinner with your company? Find the restaurant online, scour the menu, and “pre-order your dinner” in your mind so you know what to order when you get there. Order the “meat + veggie + potato” option on the menu, and ask for double veggies instead. Aim for something like steak tips, or grilled chicken, salmon, etc.

Traveling with your family? Let them know that you’re making a concerted effort to eat better and that you’d like their support.

Going out with friends? Let’s say you’re going out with buddies, and you have no choice but to eat fried food and drink tons of beer (I hate when that happens).

Compensate by being extra diligent on the days before and after – no drive-thru meals, no late-night vending machine stops, no bad snacks while at the convention.

Pick your battles. Plan ahead. Make eating a priority.

Alright, that should help get you started. Now, your turn:

Do you travel for work?

Do you have a big adventure coming up?  An upcoming vacation this summer?

What struggles do you have while on the road? What kind of questions do you have about staying in shape and traveling?

Leave a question in the comments and I’ll help in any way that I can.

-Steve

PS – I want to again remind you of our Online Coaching Program. If you live from hotel room to hotel room, constantly on the go, there are still some things you can keep constant: your coach!

They can be right there with you, from any part of the world, helping you make sure you hit your fitness goals.

Click right here to learn more.

###

All photo citations can be read right here.[6]

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

You can check out this study, and this study, and this study on the benefits of strength training.

You can check on this study on protein and satiation, and this one on fiber.

Again, embrace it.

Here’s a study on sleep and appetite for you to check out.

You can check out this study on exercising and circadian rhythms.

The LA Times has a great article on the subject.

Backpacker, Decathlon, Good Party, Newtonmas, Apples, Model Train Display, Califonia Dreamin, Angry Hulk, Dirt Bike.

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling published first on https://dietariouspage.tumblr.com/

[williamsjoan]

Ten pieces of friendly VC advice for when someone wants to buy your company

David Frankel Contributor

David Frankel is a managing partner at Founder Collective.

More posts by this contributor

Startups should read this checklist before they go ‘whale hunting’ for big partners

You earn a million dollars a year and can’t get funded?

I’ve been fortunate to have been part of half a dozen exits this year, and have seen the process work smoothly, and other times, like a roller coaster with only the most tenuous connection to the track. Here are ten bits of advice I’ve distilled from these experiences in the event someone makes you an offer for your startup.

1. Understand the motivations of your acquirer.

The first thing you need to understand is why the acquiring company wants your startup. Do you have a strategic product or technology, a unique team, or a sizable revenue run rate? Strategic acquirers, like Google and Facebook, likely want you for your tech, team, or sometimes even your user traction. Financial acquirers, like PE firms, care a great deal more about revenue and growth. The motivations of the buyers will likely be the single-biggest influencer of the multiple offered.

It’s also essential to talk price early on. It can be somewhat awkward for less experienced founders to propose a rich valuation for their company but it’s a critical step towards assessing the seriousness of the discussion. Otherwise, it’s far too easy for an acquirer to put your company through a distracting process for what amounts to an underwhelming offer, or worse, a ploy to learn more about your strategy and product roadmap.

2. Don’t “Test the waters.” Pass, or fully commit.

Going through an M&A process is the single most distracting thing a founder can do to his or her company. If executed poorly, the process can terminally damage the company. I’d strongly advise founders to consider these three points before making a decision:

Is now the right time? The decision to sell can be a tough choice for first-time founders. Often the opportunity to sell the company comes just as the process of running it becomes enjoyable. Serial entrepreneurship is a low-percentage game, and this may be the most influential platform a founder will ever have. But the reflex to sell is understandable. Most founders have never had a chance to add millions to their bank accounts overnight. Moreover, there is a team to consider; usually all with mortgages to pay, college funds to shore up, and the myriad of other expenses and their needs should factor into the decision.

Is it actually your choice to make? Most investors look at M&A as a sign your company could be even bigger and as an opportunity to put more capital to work. However, when VCs have lost confidence and see a fair offer come in, or they hear a larger competitor is looking at entering your space, they may push you to sell. Of course, the best position to be in is one where you can control your destiny and use profitability as the ultimate BATNA (“best alternative to a negotiated agreement”).

How long do you have to stay? In the case of competing offers, you may have limited ability to negotiate price, but other deal terms could be negotiable. One of the most important is the amount of time you have to stay at the company, and how much of the sale price is held in escrow, or dependent on earn-outs.

3. Manage your team.

As soon as you attract interest from an acquirer, start socializing the idea that most M&A deals fall apart — because they do. This is important for two reasons.

First, your executive team will likely start counting their potential gains, and they just may let KPIs key to running the business slip. If the deal fails to close, the senior team will be dejected, demotivated, and you may start to hear some mutinous noises. This attitude quickly percolates through the team and can be deadly for the culture. What was supposed to be your moment of triumph can quickly turn into a catastrophe for team morale.

This is typically the toughest part of the M&A process. You need the exec team to execute to close a deal, but you’re running into some of the deepest recesses of human nature too. Recognize the fact that managing internal expectations is as important as managing the external process.

4. Raise enough money to stay flush for a year.

Assuming you’re selling your company from a position of strength, make sure you have enough capital so that you don’t lose leverage due to a balance sheet lacking cash. I’ve seen too many companies start M&A discussions and take their foot off the gas in the business, only to see the metrics drop and runway shorten, allowing the acquirer to play hardball. In an ideal scenario, you want at least 9 months of cash in the bank.

5. Hire a banker.

If you get serious inbound interest, or if you’re at the point where you want to sell your company, hire a banker. Your VCs should be able to introduce you to a few strong firms. Acquisition negotiations are high stakes, and while bankers are expensive, they can help avoid costly rookie mistakes. They can also classically and plausibly play the bad cop to your good cop which can also contribute positively to your post-merger relations.

My only caveat is that bankers have a playbook and tend not to get creative enough. You can still be additive in helping fill the funnel of potential acquirers, especially if you’ve had communication with unlikely acquirers in the past.

6. Find a second bidder… and a third… and a fourth.

The hardest bit of advice is also the most valuable. Get a second bidder ASAP. It’s Negotiation 101, but without a credible threat of a competitive bid, it is all too easy to be dragged along.

Hopefully, you’ve been talking with other companies in your space as you’ve been building your startup. Now is the time to call your point of contact and warn them that a deal is going down, and if they want in, they need to move quickly.

Until you’re in a position of formal exclusivity, keep talking with potential acquirers. Don’t be afraid to add new suitors late in the game. You’d be amazed at how much info spreads through M&A back channels and you may not even be aware of rivalries that can be extremely useful to your pursuit.

Even when you’re far down the road with an acquirer, if they know you have a fallback plan in mind it can provide valuable leverage as you negotiate key terms. The valuation may be set, but the amount paid upfront vs. earnouts, the lock-up period for employees and a multitude of other details can be negotiated more favorably if you have a real alternative. Of course, nothing provides a better alternative than your simply having a growing and profitable business!

7. Start building your data room.

Founders can raise shockingly large sums of money with pitch decks and spreadsheets, but when it comes time to sell your startup for a large sum, the buyer is going to want to get access to documentation, sometimes down to engineering meeting minutes. Financial records, forward-looking models, audit records, and any other spreadsheet will be scrutinized. Large acquirers will even want to look at information like HR policies, pay scales, and other human resources minutiae. As negotiations progress, you’ll be expected to share almost every detail with the buyer, so start pulling this information together sooner rather than later.

One CEO said that during the peak of diligence, there were more people from the acquirer in his office than employees. Remember to treat your CFO and General Counsel well – chances are high that they get very little rest during this process.

8. Keep your board close, your tiny investors far away.

Founders are in a tough situation in that they’re starving for advice, but they should avoid the temptation to share info about negotiations with those who don’t have alignment. For instance, a small shareholder on the cap table is more likely to blab to the press than a board member whose incentives are the same as yours. We’ve seen deals scuttled because word leaked and the acquirer got cold feet.

Loose lips sink startups.

9. Use leaks when they inevitably happen.

Leaks are annoying and preventable, but if they do happen, try using them as leverage. If the press reports that you’ve been acquired, and you haven’t been, and also haven’t entered a period of exclusivity, try to ensure that other potential bidders take notice. If you’ve been having trouble drumming up interest with potential bidders, a report from Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, or TechCrunch can spark interest in the way a simple email won’t.

10. Expect sudden radio silence.

There’s a disconnect between how founders perceive a $500M acquisition and how a giant like Google does. For the founder, this is a life changing moment, the fruition of a decade of work, a testament to their team’s efforts. For the corp dev person at Google, it’s Tuesday.

This reality means that your deal may get dropped as all hands rush to get a higher-priority, multi-billion dollar transaction over the finish line. It can be terrifying for founders to have what were productive talks go radio silent, but it happens more often than you think. A good banker should be able to back channel and read the tea leaves better than you can. It’s their day job not yours.

No amount of advice can prepare you for the M&A process, but remember that this could be one of the highest quality problems you’re likely to experience as a founder. Focus on execution, but feel good about achieving a milestone many entrepreneurs will never experience!

Ten pieces of friendly VC advice for when someone wants to buy your company published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[theinvinciblenoob]

David Frankel Contributor

David Frankel is a managing partner at Founder Collective.

More posts by this contributor

Startups should read this checklist before they go ‘whale hunting’ for big partners

You earn a million dollars a year and can’t get funded?

I’ve been fortunate to have been part of half a dozen exits this year, and have seen the process work smoothly, and other times, like a roller coaster with only the most tenuous connection to the track. Here are ten bits of advice I’ve distilled from these experiences in the event someone makes you an offer for your startup.

1. Understand the motivations of your acquirer.

The first thing you need to understand is why the acquiring company wants your startup. Do you have a strategic product or technology, a unique team, or a sizable revenue run rate? Strategic acquirers, like Google and Facebook, likely want you for your tech, team, or sometimes even your user traction. Financial acquirers, like PE firms, care a great deal more about revenue and growth. The motivations of the buyers will likely be the single-biggest influencer of the multiple offered.

It’s also essential to talk price early on. It can be somewhat awkward for less experienced founders to propose a rich valuation for their company but it’s a critical step towards assessing the seriousness of the discussion. Otherwise, it’s far too easy for an acquirer to put your company through a distracting process for what amounts to an underwhelming offer, or worse, a ploy to learn more about your strategy and product roadmap.

2. Don’t “Test the waters.” Pass, or fully commit.

Going through an M&A process is the single most distracting thing a founder can do to his or her company. If executed poorly, the process can terminally damage the company. I’d strongly advise founders to consider these three points before making a decision:

Is now the right time? The decision to sell can be a tough choice for first-time founders. Often the opportunity to sell the company comes just as the process of running it becomes enjoyable. Serial entrepreneurship is a low-percentage game, and this may be the most influential platform a founder will ever have. But the reflex to sell is understandable. Most founders have never had a chance to add millions to their bank accounts overnight. Moreover, there is a team to consider; usually all with mortgages to pay, college funds to shore up, and the myriad of other expenses and their needs should factor into the decision.

Is it actually your choice to make? Most investors look at M&A as a sign your company could be even bigger and as an opportunity to put more capital to work. However, when VCs have lost confidence and see a fair offer come in, or they hear a larger competitor is looking at entering your space, they may push you to sell. Of course, the best position to be in is one where you can control your destiny and use profitability as the ultimate BATNA (“best alternative to a negotiated agreement”).

How long do you have to stay? In the case of competing offers, you may have limited ability to negotiate price, but other deal terms could be negotiable. One of the most important is the amount of time you have to stay at the company, and how much of the sale price is held in escrow, or dependent on earn-outs.

3. Manage your team.

As soon as you attract interest from an acquirer, start socializing the idea that most M&A deals fall apart — because they do. This is important for two reasons.

First, your executive team will likely start counting their potential gains, and they just may let KPIs key to running the business slip. If the deal fails to close, the senior team will be dejected, demotivated, and you may start to hear some mutinous noises. This attitude quickly percolates through the team and can be deadly for the culture. What was supposed to be your moment of triumph can quickly turn into a catastrophe for team morale.

This is typically the toughest part of the M&A process. You need the exec team to execute to close a deal, but you’re running into some of the deepest recesses of human nature too. Recognize the fact that managing internal expectations is as important as managing the external process.

4. Raise enough money to stay flush for a year.

Assuming you’re selling your company from a position of strength, make sure you have enough capital so that you don’t lose leverage due to a balance sheet lacking cash. I’ve seen too many companies start M&A discussions and take their foot off the gas in the business, only to see the metrics drop and runway shorten, allowing the acquirer to play hardball. In an ideal scenario, you want at least 9 months of cash in the bank.

5. Hire a banker.

If you get serious inbound interest, or if you’re at the point where you want to sell your company, hire a banker. Your VCs should be able to introduce you to a few strong firms. Acquisition negotiations are high stakes, and while bankers are expensive, they can help avoid costly rookie mistakes. They can also classically and plausibly play the bad cop to your good cop which can also contribute positively to your post-merger relations.

My only caveat is that bankers have a playbook and tend not to get creative enough. You can still be additive in helping fill the funnel of potential acquirers, especially if you’ve had communication with unlikely acquirers in the past.

6. Find a second bidder… and a third… and a fourth.

The hardest bit of advice is also the most valuable. Get a second bidder ASAP. It’s Negotiation 101, but without a credible threat of a competitive bid, it is all too easy to be dragged along.

Hopefully, you’ve been talking with other companies in your space as you’ve been building your startup. Now is the time to call your point of contact and warn them that a deal is going down, and if they want in, they need to move quickly.

Until you’re in a position of formal exclusivity, keep talking with potential acquirers. Don’t be afraid to add new suitors late in the game. You’d be amazed at how much info spreads through M&A back channels and you may not even be aware of rivalries that can be extremely useful to your pursuit.

Even when you’re far down the road with an acquirer, if they know you have a fallback plan in mind it can provide valuable leverage as you negotiate key terms. The valuation may be set, but the amount paid upfront vs. earnouts, the lock-up period for employees and a multitude of other details can be negotiated more favorably if you have a real alternative. Of course, nothing provides a better alternative than your simply having a growing and profitable business!

7. Start building your data room.

Founders can raise shockingly large sums of money with pitch decks and spreadsheets, but when it comes time to sell your startup for a large sum, the buyer is going to want to get access to documentation, sometimes down to engineering meeting minutes. Financial records, forward-looking models, audit records, and any other spreadsheet will be scrutinized. Large acquirers will even want to look at information like HR policies, pay scales, and other human resources minutiae. As negotiations progress, you’ll be expected to share almost every detail with the buyer, so start pulling this information together sooner rather than later.

One CEO said that during the peak of diligence, there were more people from the acquirer in his office than employees. Remember to treat your CFO and General Counsel well – chances are high that they get very little rest during this process.

8. Keep your board close, your tiny investors far away.

Founders are in a tough situation in that they’re starving for advice, but they should avoid the temptation to share info about negotiations with those who don’t have alignment. For instance, a small shareholder on the cap table is more likely to blab to the press than a board member whose incentives are the same as yours. We’ve seen deals scuttled because word leaked and the acquirer got cold feet.

Loose lips sink startups.

9. Use leaks when they inevitably happen.

Leaks are annoying and preventable, but if they do happen, try using them as leverage. If the press reports that you’ve been acquired, and you haven’t been, and also haven’t entered a period of exclusivity, try to ensure that other potential bidders take notice. If you’ve been having trouble drumming up interest with potential bidders, a report from Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, or TechCrunch can spark interest in the way a simple email won’t.

10. Expect sudden radio silence.

There’s a disconnect between how founders perceive a $500M acquisition and how a giant like Google does. For the founder, this is a life changing moment, the fruition of a decade of work, a testament to their team’s efforts. For the corp dev person at Google, it’s Tuesday.

This reality means that your deal may get dropped as all hands rush to get a higher-priority, multi-billion dollar transaction over the finish line. It can be terrifying for founders to have what were productive talks go radio silent, but it happens more often than you think. A good banker should be able to back channel and read the tea leaves better than you can. It’s their day job not yours.

No amount of advice can prepare you for the M&A process, but remember that this could be one of the highest quality problems you’re likely to experience as a founder. Focus on execution, but feel good about achieving a milestone many entrepreneurs will never experience!

via TechCrunch

[hrhorizons-blog1]

Why Change Management Fails

By Jude Owens @ HR Horizons

 Change in modern business is a fact of life – face facts and get used to it.

A study by The Economist carried out in 2013 looked to assess the views of UK senior leaders asking them “By 2020, what will be the main drivers of change for your business?” Below you can see the summary of the main key trends which clearly identify Global competition, Technology, and Talent/people management as the greatest drivers for business change. Each category alone is a key driver for change, but combine all three and the case for change is nothing short of compelling.

It’s agreed, change needs to happen for your business to survive, maintain its position and grow.

So, what’s next? A programme manager and a plan!

You’ve decided on the change programme and have a 20-page project plan. It’s beautiful, a work of art. The Board have signed off the plan and you’ve been given a budget. You’ve set up a project management team and you’re ready to go. You feel invincible, this is going to be great!

Or is it?

Although few organisations will admit it, surprisingly few change management programmes are genuinely successful and add value to the bottom-line of a business or results in an intended change that lasts. Why is this and how can we do things differently and better?

 1.   Start at the very beginning - Understand what you really want to achieve from the change you are proposing

Understand what you really want to achieve and whether this is realistic. Is there only one outcome or is it more realistic to have a range of outcomes that you can flex as you receive more data and insight throughout the change programme.

2.   Preparation, preparation, preparation

Poor preparation results in…. failure. Assess the information, resources, and talent that you have available and understand where you have gaps. Understand associated risks and associated impacts on the business and your people.

It’s no good achieving your outcomes if you sabotage your business in the process!

3.   Consultation and communication

Take the time to communicate and consult across the organisation, through an extensive internal communications programme, using face to face meetings as well as corporate communications. Let them see the whites of your eyes. Talk to people, but more importantly LISTEN.

One of the biggest reasons for failure is the inability to listen and refine your stance. Listen to and consider the impacts on the business and people, that people are raising with you. A project plan is exactly that, a plan, it should always have the ability for review and modification.

Wherever possible involve a range of stakeholders before, during and after you launch your change programme. If possible, second and engage onto the programme team, stakeholders who disagree or you can anticipate will act as a blockage or saboteur. Whilst they may not be fully supportive, use their insights, objections, and input to address concerns. Listening to their concerns and where possible addressing them.

In global businesses, change will impact your business and people differently from location to location, it is critical to understand the cultural and legal nuances that this will create and have a plan for each location or region.

Change is everyone’s responsibility, but it’s your responsibility to understand how the change impacts the business in different cultures and operating environments.

4.   Genuine buy-in at a senior level or lip service and hidden agenda’s?

Organisations employ people. Where there are people, there will be politics, this is the nature of business. Politics is not always negative as it forces change, both good and bad.

Be realistic. Recognise and challenge lip service. If you do not have buy in understand why. Employees will always spot a lack of authenticity in leaders and emulate the behaviour of those they see as successful at a senior level. Walk the walk and talk the talk with authenticity.

5.   You can manipulate data, but you can’t force people to accept the change

No two people are the same. We talk about the need to support and promote diversity and inclusion, but struggle when the views of our employees don’t match ours. Take the time to talk to people and answer their questions. Treat them like adults and value the input that they share with you.  Do this well and you will engage your talent – do this poorly and you will lose it to your competition.

6.   Understand your “Three Critical Gaps”

Be honest with yourself - there is a critical difference between what we would like to happen and what is happening in practice.

*Modified from Bungay (2013)

Be data hungry! Listen to feedback and understand your Knowledge Gap, Alignment Gap, and Effects Gap. Then continue to listen, review, and refine your plan and the range of outcomes you want to achieve.

7.   Agility and flexibility – don’t blindly follow the plan

Probably the biggest sin ever in change management, is failing to incorporate agility and flexibility into your plans and desired outcomes. Successful businesses respond to both internal and external change stimulus, some of which are unpredictable and unplanned. If your project plan is not agile and flexible enough to allow modifications in response to external and internal changes, the outcomes you have planned to achieve may not meet the needs of your new environment. This renders all your efforts a waste of time, effort, and resource.

8.   Give it time – good change is fluid not rigid

In today’s fast-paced, globalised business environment, allowing your changes the time to embed and refine, is probably the most difficult challenge of all.

Change is fluid, not static. Change is now business as usual and should not be a series of “initiatives” and pet projects.

If you are executing your changes effectively, your business will be constantly evolving and your talent growing and developing.

Manage your change challenges and opportunities well and you will also drive organic talent development, creativity, and innovation.

9.  Celebrate and reward success

Finally, don’t forget to take a moment to look in the rear-view mirror and recognise how far you have come.

Recognise success and reward individuals and teams for their contributions to the successful outcomes you have achieved.

________________________________________________________________

Jude Owens, HR Consultant, and Executive Coach

For a confidential discussion about how Jude can support you to realise your potential, allowing you and your business to succeed and grow from the inside out, please call 07769 970629 or email jude@hrhorizons.co.uk

 References

 Anon., 2017. www.statista.com. [Online]  Available at: https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/statistics/315291/future-business-change-driver-in-the-united-kingdom/  [Accessed 26 April 2017].

Bungay, S.,  2013. The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions  and Results. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

[healthfitessweblog]

The Spectrum By Dean Ornish: How To Reverse Heart Disease

Can chronic disease be reversed?

Absolutely.

Today, I’m going to introduce you to my friend and colleague, Dr. Dean Ornish. Thirty years ago, he bravely made the radical suggestion that heart disease, cancer, and other chronic illnesses can be reversed with diet and lifestyle changes.

That’s reversed — not just prevented or treated.

In his breakthrough book, Reversing Heart Disease, Dr. Ornish explained just how this is possible: Eat a high-quality diet, get regular exercise, manage stress, and connect to a community — and you can actually unclog your arteries.

In fact, he proved that his program works better than conventional approaches like drugs or surgery — and without dangerous side effects.

Now Dr. Ornish has published a new, even more compelling book, The Spectrum — and it’s filled with scientific details about why the program works and how to make it your own.

What’s the secret?

Nutrigenomics.

That’s the name for the way that food talks to your genes and controls your health. When your genes are expressed well, you’re healthy. Disease occurs when your genes are expressed poorly.

And the quality of the food you eat has huge effects on your health.

It matters whether you eat whole, real food, or processed, high-sugar, and high-fat food, for example.

In The Spectrum, Dr. Ornish tells you how and why choices like these can make a difference in whether we’re healthy or sick.

But it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

Dr. Ornish believes — as I do — that the future of medicine is personalized medicine. And in The Spectrum, he explains how to match your genes and your health needs by customizing your diet and lifestyle.

If you were a 25-year-old athlete with no family history of heart disease, your approach would be different from a 65-year-old man who has type-2 diabetes and has had two heart attacks.

He also shows us that there’s a spectrum of choices for being healthy and feeling great. There are no “good” or “bad” foods — it’s the overall way that we eat and live that matters.

Dr. Ornish gets past all of the nutrition confusion out there and tells you the truth: that our genes were meant to be fed a diet of whole, unprocessed foods.

A Groundbreaking Pioneer

He didn’t know it, but Dr. Ornish was the first researcher and practitioner of functional medicine, more than 30 years ago.

He was the first person to suggest that addressing the roots of illness not only helps prevent disease, but reverses it — and more effectively than conventional treatment.

That’s just what functional medicine is. It’s a system that addresses the underlying causes of illness by understanding the interaction between your genes and your environment.

And it’s what Dr. Ornish talks about in The Spectrum.

His roadmap for good health shows us how to increase energy, lose weight, improve mood, feel more connected to your own life’s purpose and meaning, and even have better sex.

It’s a recipe for feeling your best.

I have a lot of respect for Dr. Ornish. He wanted to make his program accessible for everyone, but for that to happen, it has to be reimbursed by insurance.

So he asked Medicare to fund a demonstration project based on the research in major medical he’d already published in major medical journals.

But it wasn’t so easy.

They told him that, before they’d find the project, he needed approval that it was safe.

Of course, Dr. Ornish’s lifestyle plan is much safer than heart surgery or angioplasty or medications with severe, damaging side effects — and much less expensive.

Still, he needed a letter from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute saying it was safe to eat fruits and vegetables, walk, meditate, and quit smoking!

But he persevered and his program is now approved. Dr. Ornish is also creating an international research collaboration to grain even more understanding about why food is the best medicine.

And his book isn’t just helpful, it’s enjoyable.

He shares his story with wit and humor, keen intelligence, and lots of tools for successfully implementing his ideas.

These tools include clear nutrition guidance, guided meditations by his wife Anne (with an additional DVD included), an exercise prescription, and more than 100 wonderful, delicious life-giving recipes by a master chef.

So I urge you to get your hands on The Spectrum now and see what you think. It truly is life-changing.

Mark Hyman, MD is a pioneer in functional medicine, practicing physician and best-selling author. A sneak preview of his book “The UltraSimple Diet” is available. See The UltraWellness Blog for more on Heart Disease.

from Lose Weight http://healthfitnessweblog.us/diets/the-spectrum-by-dean-ornish-how-to-reverse-heart-disease/

[lindafrancois]

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling

Everybody travels.

Whether it’s for business, pleasure, vacation, or world domination, at some point in our lives we all depart from the comfort of our personal “Shire” to visit another location.

It might be a quick trip to the next town over for a business conference or a massive adventure halfway around the world for months at a time.

No matter what kind of trip it is, one thing is certain:

Our normal routines get completely thrown out the window when traveling:

If you work out in a gym, suddenly you might not have access to any equipment.

If you run around your neighborhood, suddenly you no longer have a familiar path to follow.

If you usually prepare your own meals, suddenly you don’t have a kitchen or fridge.

If you’re used to a good night’s sleep, suddenly you’re sleeping at odd hours in different time zones.

We are creatures of habit – while working a normal day job, we can stick to a routine pretty easily (wake up at the same time, eat all meals at the same time, work out at the same time, go to sleep at the same time).

However, when we start traveling, absolutely nothing is familiar and the slightest speed bump can be enough to screw things up.

Luckily, there is hope! 

It’s time to get you a specific action plan that you can take with you on your next trip.

This is the philosophy we teach to all of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients. Many travel quite a bit, so having “worldwide accountability” and a specific plan for travel has been a game changer for these Rebels.

Are you trying to learn a new exercise, lose weight, or build muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? Let us help you – click below to learn more.

Step 1: Make It Your Constant

If you are trying to get healthy but need to travel frequently, I want you to make exercise your constant.

I don’t know if you were a Lost fan, but my favorite episode, “The Constant,” involved a character named Desmond who had to find the one “constant” in his life in order to stay sane.

Something Desmond could focus on as his mind traveled through time.

You had to be there.

I’ve traveled quite a bit over the years: sightseeing countries, sleeping on buses, exploring temples, and visiting a new town seemingly every other day.

During all this chaos: exercise became my constant.

I knew that without a doubt, no matter where I was or what I was doing, every other day I would find a way to work out – no excuses. I might have had to add in an extra day between workouts maybe a handful of times.

What I’m trying to say is this: if you are serious about prioritizing your health, even while traveling, then start treating exercise like YOUR constant.

Make it a reliable, consistent thing in your schedule, no matter where you are in the world.

No matter what.

Sound difficult? Start by asking yourself the following:

“If I HAD to still get my workouts in, even if I am traveling or on vacation, how would I do it?”

Most answers will be something like this:

“If I had to work out, it would mean that I need to wake up SUPER early tomorrow morning to hit the gym before the conference starts.”

“If I had to get my run in, it would mean I could only go for a 20 minute run instead of my normal 60 minute run.”

“If I had to get my workout in, that would mean I need to actually PAY for a day pass at a real gym, because I know hotel gyms are crappy.”

This is the most important question you can ask yourself before your trip: “How do I make this work for me?” 

Then, structure your environment and schedule to make it happen:

Add it to your calendar.

Set up a text reminder.

Plan your schedule around it.

Have your coach or friend remind you.

Research the nearest gym or park.

Again, ask yourself – what if you HAD to work out, no matter what. How would you get it done? What would you need to change?

And then do whatever you can to make it your constant.

“Steve, I can find the time. But What KIND of exercise should I do while traveling?”

It all counts, but if I had to pick one, I’d say strength training.

Studies consistently show that strength training is the best method for weight management – especially when traveling – when coupled with a proper diet (we’ll talk about eating healthy while traveling shortly).[1]

If time is limited on the road, and you’re gonna plan on just one form of exercise, plan for strength training.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck with strength training, especially when compared to a similar amount of time spent doing cardio.

So, if you ONLY have 30 minutes, prioritize strength.

Need some help on starting a strength training routine?

We have a free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, that will show you exactly how to start a practice to grow strong and build muscle. Plus, there’s a section in there on training without a gym, in case you there’s none in sight.

You can grab the guide for free when you join the Rebellion below:

Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

Everything you need to know about getting strong.

Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.

How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

I identify as a:

Woman

Man

Let’s talk some actionable steps exercising while traveling.

STep 2: Plan Your Workout Ahead of Schedule

Whenever I travel, my first mission – before I even leave – is to find a place for me to work out.

In some instances, this means I pay $20 for a day pass at a real gym. 

Yes, that is an absurd amount of money to spend for one day in a gym, especially considering I only pay $30 a month for my current gym membership!

However, I gladly pay this amount every time I travel, and prioritize it in my travel budget.

Because exercise is critical in my life right now.

Because NOT exercising isn’t an option (see step 1).

Because I’m not just paying $20 to use a gym.

Because I’m really paying the $20 to KEEP my momentum going.

Everybody struggles with getting back on track AFTER they come home from a trip.

I am no different.

So, by hitting the gym – even when traveling – I am maintaining momentum, which makes getting back into rhythm when I get home super easy.

No gym anywhere in sight?

No problem, I once spent 8 months living out of a backpack and never once set foot in a gym.

So my “gym” became anywhere with the following: 

A pull-up bar or swing set

A sturdy tree branch

A building or bus stop overhang

I know that as long as I can find one of those three things, I could complete a full workout!

My workouts consist of:

A push exercise (push-ups or handstands),

A pull exercise (pull-ups or rows),

A leg exercise (lunges or squats),

A core exercise (planks or hanging knee tucks).

You can check out our post “How to Build Your Own Workout Routine” for inspiration on creating a training practice in your nearby environment.

Even just one full-body strength training session per week (if you’re on a shorter trip) can often be enough to allow you to maintain your current levels and hit the ground running when you get back.

What’s that you say? Your hotel gym is TERRIBLE?

I know. They all are.

Which is why I work out in my hotel room instead (here’s a 20-minute routine for you to try).

Just remember, plan ahead and make exercise your “constant.”

STEP 3: Nutrition is Still the Most Important part of the Equation.

Despite what you read in Instagram captions, calories on vacation still count.

Every beer.

Every cookie.

Every french fry.

Armed with this information, you can do one of two things:

Path #1: Lament the fact that your body still follows the laws of thermodynamics. Then, eat bad food and feel terrible about yourself when you get home.

Path #2: Plan ahead, STILL eat unhealthy food while traveling, and don’t feel bad while doing so. Come home and not weigh any more than you did when you began your trip.

Everybody picks Path #1.

We’re going to pick Path #2.

I promise you it’s possible.

Personally, I know I am going to eat poorly while traveling. It generally means eating at a Chili’s at the airport, or Wendy’s on a road trip. Knowing that this happens literally every time I travel, I plan ahead!

Here’s what I do specifically while traveling:

#1) I skip meals strategically. I know that if I skip breakfast, it means I can eat a slightly larger lunch and have an extra drink with dinner and STILL come in under my daily calorie expenditure.

#2) I prepare for bad meals. I love me a good steak dinner with a side of mac and cheese and sweet potato fries and dessert and a few whiskeys. When I’m on vacation or celebrating, that sounds like heaven to me.

However, I know if I always eat like that, I’m going to pack on a ton of weight.

So I plan ahead for a big meal so that I can enjoy it guilt-free, and not see the scale budge. I eat protein and veggies for lunch, strategically undereating so that I can overeat for dinner – and not gain weight in the long run.

#3) I never eat 2 bad meals in a row. We have a big “never two in a row” rule at Nerd Fitness. Believe it or not, even being healthy just 50% of the time carries with it the tremendous potential for weight loss and a healthier life. So, if you eat a bad lunch, follow it up with a healthy dinner. Eat fast food for dinner? Cool! Make your breakfast healthy.

This is NOT “100% or nothing.” Every decision counts, every meal counts, so any decision where you are SLIIIIIGHTLY healthier than you would have been otherwise is a win in my book.

Curious on my default diet these days? You can read all about it right here. And here is the specific diet I followed – while traveling frequently – to lose 22 pounds sustainably. 

Tips for Eating HEALTHY on THE ROAD

Since diet is everything, here are some tips for eating nutritiously, airport to airport.

Ask for a mini-fridge. You’d be surprised at how many hotels will have a room with a mini-fridge waiting. You just have to ask for it. Granted, it might be full of junk food they’re trying to peddle on you. Fill it with your own healthy snacks – just make sure they don’t charge you for taking out the other foods! Fruit, sliced veggies, and some deli meat will provide you with some sustenance until you can order a proper meal.

Here is a post with some ideas for healthy snacks you can buy and store in your room.

Travel with a cooler. If you know the hotel can’t accommodate a mini-fridge, or you’re on a road trip, no problem! Bring a mini-cooler or cooler bag. If you use a bag, it’ll fold up for easy packing.

Is it weird to travel with a cooler? Sure. But we embrace weird around these parts.

Bring non-perishable snacks with you. I’ve eaten almonds forgotten in a backpack, months later, and lived to tell the tale.

Lots of dry food like nuts and jerky won’t spoil anytime soon, so store some in your travel bag. It’s a good move to have snacks on you at all times, because who knows when you’ll eat next. Munching some beef jerky is a much better idea than the pizza in the airport terminal. Here are some good almonds to purchase, and here’s some recommended beef jerky for you to try out.

Focus on protein and fiber. When choosing meals or snacks, make sure the foods you pick are full of protein and fiber.[2] This will help keep you full, so you’re not tempted to eat the donuts waiting for you at your work conference.

What are protein and fiber-rich foods? Hard-boiled eggs will store good, and can be bought at many convenience stores. That’s a good protein source. Deli meat, jerky, and nuts will also do the trick for your protein requirements.

Fiber-rich foods? Fruits and vegetables for the win. Always bring an apple with you.

All is not lost if you order fast food. There’s a common belief amongst our coaching clients, that the moment you step foot in a fast food store, you lost. You made a terrible decision by even walking in. Might as well order whatever, because you already failed.

This is 100% not true. What you order will make all the difference. For example, I eat a chicken bowl from Chipotle almost every day. To the point that it’s weird.[3]

Why? Because it’s healthier than anything I’m realistically going to make at lunchtime, given my schedule.

Remember, what you order, is often more important than where you order.

Let’s dive into that last point a little more.

HEALTHY EATING THROUGH FAST FOOD

Let’s outline an entire day’s worth of eating, provided by a drive-thru window.

Most of these can also be found at your average airport terminal.

BREAKFAST:

Location: Starbucks

Sous Vide Egg Bites, Bacon & Gruyere: A great protein source. Go ahead and order some black coffee with it too.

Calories: 310

Protein: 19g

Net Carbs: 9g

Fat: 22g

Location: Dunkin’ Donuts

Sausage Egg and Cheese Bagel (no bagel): Sausage and egg are a breakfast staple. Plus, cheese!

Calories: 370

Protein: 16g

Net Carbs: 3g

Fat: 33g

LUNCH:

Location: McDonald’s

Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad (Use the Balsamic Vinaigrette): It’s mostly greens, grilled chicken and a little bacon. No customization required. Your salad comes in under 400 calories.

Calories: 320

Protein: 42g

Net Carbs: 6g

Fat: 14g

Location: Subway

Oven Roasted Chicken: Grab it with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onion, green peppers, cucumbers, and olives, with oil and vinegar as dressing. Also, feel free to add bacon and guacamole to increase your calories. Your nutrition info will look like this if ordered as above:

Calories: 490

Protein: 24g

Net Carbs: 11g

Fat: 35.5g

DINNER:

Location: Boston Market

Three-Piece Dark: Lot’s of protein, decent fat, and no carbs.

Calories: 300

Protein: 37g

Net Carbs: 1g

Fat: 16g

 Green Beans: Keep it simple.

Calories: 90cals

Protein: 1g

Net Carbs: 4g

Fat: 5g

Fresh Steamed Vegetables: Following our “simple” strategy.

Calories: 60

Protein: 2g

Net Carbs: 4g

Fat: 3.5g

Location: Chipotle

Salad Bowl (with Carnitas): order it with Fajita Vegetables, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Sour Cream, Cheese, and YES for Guacamole.

Calories: 710

Protein: 34g

Net Carbs: 12

Fat: 51g

The above should help give you some ideas on what to order when you’re depending on fast food.

Want some more ideas? You got it.

HOW TO EAT HEALTHY AT THE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

So your room comes with a free complimentary breakfast.

Might as well take advantage of it!

Go ahead and load up on these:

Eggs. We mentioned earlier to prioritize protein with your meals. Just about every hotel continental breakfast will have some eggs. The quality might be so-so, however. If they have some hot sauce around, this can make just about any scramble tolerable.

Sausage. Continuing with our protein theme, if there is sausage at the buffet, grab some. Granted, it’ll often have some sugar in the form of maple syrup included. But we’re going with the best we can here.

Bacon. We love bacon around these parts so much, we wrote an entire post on it. The fat in bacon will help keep you full until you’re next meal. Plus, if the eggs are crappy (the eggs will probably be crappy), you can mix in some bacon to bring up the tasty factor.

Fruit. It can’t all be about meat. Go ahead and grab some fruit for your plate. Apples are relatively high in fiber, which is why they’re my go to. Bananas also have decent fiber, as well as vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.

Are there berries available? Grab some for their antioxidant potential (we talk all about berries and antioxidants in this article).

One final word about fruit. Fruit can be relatively high in sugar, so it’s important to eat some protein (eggs, sausage) with it to help prevent insulin spikes. You can check out this article for a deep dive into the subject.

Toast. I know, I know, we might be attracting the Carb Police on us for this one. But you can do a lot worse at a breakfast buffet than a little whole wheat toast. If you put some eggs and bacon on it, you have yourself a pretty decent breakfast sandwich with some fiber to help keep you full.

Alright, prioritize the above on your plate. Plus, stay clear of the following:

Juice. If I could give you one single piece of diet advice, it would be this: don’t drink your calories. There’s a lot of arguments on diets, but this advice is widely accepted.

An orange has plenty of vitamins in it, plus a lot of fiber to help balance out the sugar. OJ? Zero fiber, which means it’ll wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels.

Skip the juice and eat the whole fruit.

Pancakes/Waffles. Don’t eat these. The batter itself will have sugar in it, plus it’s designed to have more sugar (maple syrup) poured on top.

Stick to toast.

Cereal. A breakfast food often packed full of sugar is cereal. For example, the third ingredient for Cheerios is “sugar.” And that’s Cheerios. Don’t even get me started on Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes.

Again, stick to toast.

The above advice should get you started on loading up properly at a breakfast buffet.

Step 4: Stay Active. it All Counts.

Last but not least – stay active.

I don’t care if you’re walking laps in the airport while listening to Ke$ha during a two-hour layover or jumping rope at a bus stop – if you can find a way to be active, you are winning.

It all counts!

I already told you that eating right will be 90% of your success or failure – that means you need to be “on” with how you eat every day, even on days that you’re not strength training.

Go for a run around the town, go for a hike, toss a frisbee in the park, go swimming in the ocean, etc.

Whatever it is, do something!

Here’s why this is so crucial: on days when I exercise, I eat better.

Something activates in my brain when exercising that says “I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy.”

On days when I don’t exercise at all, I tend to say things like “meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or ‘it’s only one meal” or “it’s only 37 beers” (kidding, Mom).

Want to keep things simple?

Go for a walk – try walking EVERYWHERE. In a big city? If it’s nice out walk instead of taking a cab! Go for a jog around your new surroundings…just stay active.

If you’re on a work trip, consider trying a “walking meeting,” made famous by Steve Jobs. You know, that guy who is responsible for the device you’re probably reading this article on.

Step 5: Practice Antifragility.

Things are going to go wrong while you travel.

Your flight WILL get delayed.

Your only options for food WILL be McDonald’s.

Your hotel gym WILL be crappy.

You’ll forget your kid at home.

It’s going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

So rather than getting flustered and lamenting the fact that things aren’t perfect, prepare for chaos!

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

And what doesn’t break you makes you stronger too. 

This is how we become antifragile.

If you know things will most likely get disrupted, then you won’t be bamboozled when it happens!

This is why I try to live out former president Teddy Roosevelt’s quote: “Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.”

I know I’m going to eat fast food and get stuck doing a hotel room workout.

It’s better than nothing, right?

If I can’t get to a gym…I do a workout in a park.

If I can’t get to a park…I do a workout in my hotel room.

If I can’t do a full workout, I do half a workout.

If I can’t eat perfectly, I aim for “pretty good.”

50% compliance is still 50% better than nothing!

A NOTE ON SLEEP, JET LAG, AND HYDRATION

We need to address a few final points: sleep, jet lag, and hydration.

All of these are going to impact your ability to follow the steps above. 

FIRST UP, SLEEP.

When I’m sleep deprived, I often don’t have the energy to exercise…when the reality is that exercise is often the thing that will give me energy (foreshadowing).

Also, if you’re lacking on shuteye, you’ll get hungrier.[4] When you’re sleep deprived, your brain sends signals for more energy, which means more calories. This is troublesome if you’re trying to hold out until you can order a nutritious chicken salad.

Prioritize sleep.

Two good tools to help with this are earplugs and an eye mask. Some hotels have a way of being bright and noisy.

DEALING WITH JET LAG.

Even being able to go to sleep, is going to assume you are not suffering terribly from “jet lag.”

Jet lag is the phenomenon of traveling from one time zone to another, but still being stuck in the former time.

For example, you fly from New York to London.

It was night when you left New York. It is now morning in London. You may or may not have slept on the plane.

What time is it?

Your body can have some serious trouble getting back on track, because our circadian rhythms (our biological clock) is thrown off from the geographic change.

My solution: work out (Step #4 again).

Studies have shown that a good sweat can help change your circadian rhythm, which might help you adjust to the local time.[5]

If you’re able to, work out as soon as you get settled to help combat jet lag. I’ve personally found this to be super helpful in adjusting to the local time. 

FINALLY, HYDRATION.

Air travel dehydrates you.[5] The cabin’s air is environmentally controlled, with lower moisture than you find here on the ground.

Humidity on the good old fashioned Earth: 30-60%

Moisture in an average airplane: 10-20%

Yeah…that 10-20% is less than the Sahara desert.

On top of that, the pressurization of the cabin itself causes you to expel H2O.

Something something, physics. Something something, less water.

The low humidity and pressurized environment create a perfect scenario for you to lose lots of water. 

And if you’re dehydrated, it can make you tired, which can go back to that whole hunger and calories thing.

Drink water.

Travel WorkoutS and Healthy Eating Resources

I respect the road warrior, and I respect you for wanting to learn how to be healthy while you travel.

Here are some other Nerd Fitness resources you can check out if you want to dive deeper.

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL WORKOUTS:

The 20-minute Hotel Room Workout

The Playground Workout

The Angry Birds Workout

RESOURCES FOR HEALTHY EATING WHILE TRAVELING: 

Healthy Fast Food? Here are 8 Specific Options.

The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting.

The Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating.

Above all else, Preserve momentum!

Whatever you’re currently working on improving in your life, you can continue working on that while traveling.

You only fall off the wagon if you resign yourself to the fact that it’s impossible to stay fit while traveling!

Why not have the opposite mindset, and ask “How do I make this work for me?”

Millions of people manage to stay healthy despite a hectic travel schedule, and I want the same for you.

Here are some final tips to help you while traveling: 

Travel day? Pack some healthy snacks with you in your bag – apples and almonds are my go-to.

Going out to dinner with your company? Find the restaurant online, scour the menu, and “pre-order your dinner” in your mind so you know what to order when you get there. Order the “meat + veggie + potato” option on the menu, and ask for double veggies instead. Aim for something like steak tips, or grilled chicken, salmon, etc.

Traveling with your family? Let them know that you’re making a concerted effort to eat better and that you’d like their support.

Going out with friends? Let’s say you’re going out with buddies, and you have no choice but to eat fried food and drink tons of beer (I hate when that happens).

Compensate by being extra diligent on the days before and after – no drive-thru meals, no late-night vending machine stops, no bad snacks while at the convention.

Pick your battles. Plan ahead. Make eating a priority.

Alright, that should help get you started. Now, your turn:

Do you travel for work?

Do you have a big adventure coming up?  An upcoming vacation this summer?

What struggles do you have while on the road? What kind of questions do you have about staying in shape and traveling?

Leave a question in the comments and I’ll help in any way that I can.

-Steve

PS – I want to again remind you of our Online Coaching Program. If you live from hotel room to hotel room, constantly on the go, there are still some things you can keep constant: your coach!

They can be right there with you, from any part of the world, helping you make sure you hit your fitness goals.

Click right here to learn more.

###

All photo citations can be read right here.[6]

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

You can check out this study, and this study, and this study on the benefits of strength training.

You can check on this study on protein and satiation, and this one on fiber.

Again, embrace it.

Here’s a study on sleep and appetite for you to check out.

You can check out this study on exercising and circadian rhythms.

The LA Times has a great article on the subject.

Backpacker, Decathlon, Good Party, Newtonmas, Apples, Model Train Display, Califonia Dreamin, Angry Hulk, Dirt Bike.

How to Stay in Shape While Traveling published first on https://dietariouspage.tumblr.com/