How I Maintain my BLE Habits When I Travel

The other day, I read a great article by Zdravko Cvijetic about “How to Maintain Your Habits When Traveling.” He’s interested in habits in a broad sense — things like exercising or reading every day — and how to ensure you don’t drop those habits when you travel.

But the article struck me as totally applicable to Bright Line Eating habits. So powerfully, in fact, that I decided to see if I could adapt/refocus/rearrange his approach to work for my food habits.

So here goes:

If is one thing I’ve learned since beginning a no-sugar, no-flour, no-snacks food plan (Bright Line Eating) in October 2016, it’s that sticking to the plan when you travel can be challenging. Not for everyone, but for sure for me.

It doesn't matter whether it’s a vacation or a work trip. When I leave the safety of my own home and kitchen, and change my environment, a lot of things suddenly leave my control. It’s hard to be consistent and stick to the tools that work.

Part of it — a big part of it — is just not being able to control my food. You often can’t cook or even grocery shop when traveling. That’s fundamental, and in the bootcamp for Bright Line Eating, dealing with the details of food (what to eat, where to eat, what to buy) while traveling gets covered in beautiful detail.

But there’s more to it. A lot of other things also leave my control:

— Interrupted sleep (jet lag, early flight departures, trouble sleeping in a strange bed)

— Forgetting crucial items, like batteries for my food scale or the phone number of a buddy.

— Being on the go all day (not enough down time to recover and restore)

I could go on, but you get the picture.

It’s stressful when you can’t keep up with the things that have become part of your daily routine and are essential for success on this journey. And the really critical problem is that once I’ve delayed or skipped a certain tool, it’s harder and takes much longer to go back to it once I’m home again.

So what can I do to make it easier for me to stick to my routines and tools? How can I do everything possible to ensure I don't break my habits even though I'm traveling?

1. Make a plan.

Susan Peirce Thompson, the guru of Bright Line Eating, uses the great quote, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

So when it’s time to travel somewhere, remind yourself that you'll need to do certain things to maintain your habits. Then, make a plan for how you'll do that.

Say, for example, meditation is an important tool for you. How can you ensure you’ll meditate? Maybe you will download a ten-minute guided meditation and set the alarm for 6:30 every morning to do it. Or, if you don’t know your schedule, make a commitment to yourself or a buddy that you will do a short 4-minute meditation every day, no excuses.

Do the habit, even if it’s for a shorter duration than you usually do at home.

2. Prioritize your habits.

Now, take some time to really look at the habits you do every day to keep your healthy eating plan going. Write down the 4-6 habits that you do every single day. Can you pinpoint the 2-3 that have the most significant impact on your life?

Make a commitment to do those 2-3 habits every day, no excuses. If you can do the others as well, great. But those 2-3 are non-negotiable.

Sometimes, it’ll be possible to do 6 of your regular habits while traveling, sometimes you’ll only be able to do 4. Or 3.

You don’t have to beat yourself up if you can’t commit time to all your tools. But make sure the most significant ones get done.

3. Create a travel habit kit.

Pull together whatever you need to maintain your habits. If a habit is to meditate, pack your favorite meditation bench or make sure your iPhone has your favorite meditations downloaded in case the hotel wifi isn’t working.

If an important habit is to call a buddy or two, make double-sure you have their phone numbers and email addresses. If it’s important that you weigh your food, pack your scale and bring extra batteries. If you have trouble saying no when friends encourage you to join them for a quick drink in the evening, brainstorm what you’ll say and commit that you will say it.

For me, an important habit is getting 7-8 hours sleep, so I do not, under any circumstances, schedule a flight for too early or too late in the day. I pack an eye mask,  some soothing fall-to-sleep music and ear plugs.

Do this for every habit, whether that habit is non-negotiable or not. Do whatever you need so that you have all the available resources to maintain your habits. Otherwise, Wolfie will jump in and tell you why you don’t need to do it (“oh, your batteries died and you have no extras and the motel has no shop and there’s no store in walking distance?  Just skip weighing your food for the rest of the trip.”)

Last Thoughts

I have a 10-day trip coming up. Ideally, I'll be able to travel and still stick to all my usual habits. That is the best-case scenario and what I always aim for when I travel. But circumstances change and it’s not always possible.

It is really easy in those moments to give up, skip a habit and lose momentum.

Consistency is what you’re aiming for. Even if you can only achieve it minimally.

Momentum can be very hard to achieve. So do whatever you can to keep the momentum going. Even if it means meditating for 1 minute rather than your usual 30. It’s all about consistency and momentum.

[Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Bright Line Eating or Susan Peirce Thompson, and the thoughts here are my own].