On Nutrition, Traveling Abroad, and Finding Clarity
This one’s for all those health enthusiasts out there who take their nutrition seriously, even while on vacation.
Last month I had an opportunity to travel through Italy, a country that was at the top of my list as far as travel destinations go. I had a lot of worries of course, like what to pack in my one backpack, staying within budget, where I was going to go and how to get there, and what was on my priority list. However, the worry that was getting to me most was what I was going to eat and how on earth I was going to stay on track.
As someone who takes competing in CrossFit pretty seriously, I have been tracking my food and staying within certain macro goals for a little over a year. It has helped my performance in the gym and energy levels through the day in an incredible way. Meal prep, packing and cleaning my Pyrex bowl collection, and logging my food have become a normal part of my daily routine. Not only was I going to have a tough time meeting all my goal numbers and keeping track, but I was going to be surrounded by pasta, cheese, wine, and gelato for 10 days straight! This should have been totally awesome and exciting, but for my body composition goals, a bit scary.
By the way...Florence is AMAZING!
Friends and teammates had reminded me that it is good for someone to go off their diet sometimes, that this was a chance of a lifetime, and not to worry about it. I was a bit skeptical, but I decided to take their advice. I ended up eating more bread, pasta, cheese, and wine then I think I had in the last year combined. I tried new foods, I had desert almost every night and I didn’t track a single carbohydrate, protein, or fat. I reminded myself that this is my one life, and I wasn’t going to spend this trip stressing about it. I got my fruits and vegetables in where I could, made a few meals for myself when I had a kitchen and never went too overboard, but otherwise just rolled with each day.
It's a good thing to get out of your comfort zone, whether at a competition or on vacation.
On my flight home, exhausted and full of food and new experiences, I texted a friend…“I’ve been thinking a lot about how balance in life is the key to happiness.
Being forced out of routine and your comfort zone sometimes is okay, and actually such an amazing thing.
Even when it makes you anxious, uncomfortable, frustrated and worried, it opens the doors for so many other possibilities; things to see, to do, to try. I don’t put myself in those situations enough anymore, and I can’t wait to do it again.”
Happy trails friends, hope to see YOU out of your comfort zone soon too :) FYI, I'll be leading the Iceland trip this July, will YOU be on it?
Email me with questions (or for a promo code) to contact me below! Ashley@VoyEdgeRX.com
Next on my list? Iceland in July, 2017. You comin'?
ICELAND July 16th-22nd, 2017. Will you be coming with me?
TRIP CALENDAR
