How I Stay on Track While Travelling Without Stressing About It
By the time you’re reading this, I’ll have been in Japan snowboarding for a week.
It’s one of my favourite ways to take a break while staying active, and over the years, I’ve learned how to balance enjoying a holiday while still feeling good in my body. If you've ever worried about losing progress while traveling, you're not alone. I used to stress about it too—until I realised that what I do most of the time matters way more than what happens during a short trip. After five years of consistency, I’ve learned that I can travel, enjoy myself, and stay on track without stressing about every meal or workout. Here’s how I do it.
Nutrition – Keeping It Simple
I take an absolute flexibility and balance approach when I travel. Since I track my food and train consistently year-round, a short trip where I’m more relaxed about it makes virtually no difference. That said, I still keep an eye on protein intake to make sure I’m fueling well—especially for an active trip like snowboarding.
Biggest Challenge: Getting Enough Protein
Japan has an amazing food culture, but one challenge is that restaurant meals often lack enough protein while being heavier in fats and carbs. Plus, a lot of traditional Japanese cuisine is plant-based, which is great for food diversity but means I have to be more intentional about protein.
Solution: Prioritising Protein Early
I start every day with a protein shake because I assume restaurant meals won’t provide enough protein.
I always pack some protein powder and jerky for easy, high-protein snacks.
If I overshoot my protein target, it’s not a big deal—overshooting protein isn’t going to make me gain fat.
Training – Prioritising Enjoyment
I won’t be setting foot in a gym while I’m in Japan. Why? Because my priority is to spend as much time as possible on the mountain. Snowboarding is a full-body workout, and after five years of consistency in the gym, I know that skipping structured workouts for a couple of weeks isn’t going to erase my progress.
In reality, snowboarding is leg day every day. If you’ve ever spent hours on a mountain, you know exactly what I mean!
Mindset – Progress Looks Different on a Trip
Old Mindset: I used to stress about losing progress while traveling.
New Mindset: Progress doesn’t disappear overnight. Muscle loss doesn’t even start until you’ve stopped training for at least two weeks. Plus, staying consistent 99% of the time means I have the freedom to be flexible without guilt.
Instead of worrying about body composition, I shift my focus to different goals on a trip:
Practicing intuitive eating instead of tracking every gram of food.
Testing how well I can guesstimate my protein intake without logging it.
Setting non-body composition goals—like improving my snowboarding skills or learning new tricks.
Travel Hacks That Keep Things Simple
If you want to stay on track while traveling without being obsessive, here are some of my go-to strategies:
Choose active holidays – Snowboarding, sightseeing, hiking… anything that keeps you naturally moving.
Bring protein snacks – A small bag of protein powder and jerky can make a huge difference.
Let go of all-or-nothing thinking – A short trip won’t make or break your progress. What you do the majority of the time matters most.
Final Thoughts
If you’re someone who stresses about staying on track while traveling, here’s my best advice: relax. If you’ve been on point most of the time, a short trip is not going to ruin your progress. Be grateful that you’re in such a good place that you can afford to loosen the reins a little.
Enjoy your travels, eat the amazing food, and move your body in ways that feel good. That’s what balance looks like.
