I must say that after my endeavours in Europe this summer it took me a long time thereafter to get back to my regular exercise routine and not to mention my weight after (All those carbs tend to catch up with you). As my all my highschool friends get ready to reunite one last time before we graduate college this next week for fall break I have to say that I think I have the perfect routine so I can keep my mind at ease and assure that I’ll be just as fit as when I left, and in some ways even fitter — I can do more pushups and walk farther and longer, for example or I can be prepared to eat all egg whites and salad for every lunch and dinner but knowing me my eating probably won’t be perfect. Regardless of what you are prepared to do make sure you are truthful with yourself and keep in mind the following advice and you are sure to have a better more balanced mindset.

1. I try to be mindful, and not overeat. To be honest, the foods I’ve eaten haven’t been that healthy — pastas, pizzas, French breads, vegan gelato. I’m OK with that — in the past, I’ve stuck to a healthy diet while traveling and it wasn’t as fun. So this trip, my goal is to eat mindfully, and not overeat too much. I’ve only been somewhat successful — I have definitely overeaten more than I’d like, but less than in the past. Still, I think for the most part I’ve been pretty good, and the times I’ve overdone it, I think it’s been balanced by the exercise.
2. I walk a bunch! Eva and I all walk a lot, every day. Usually for hours. That’s way more than we walk at home, so we’ve gone from walking wimps to walking gods in just a few weeks. Sure, we take breaks and stop for gelato and lounge around in public squares … but most of the time we’re walking through winding, cobbled streets and just admiring buildings, statues, cafes and the light softly illuminating a city that’s old but new to us.

1. I don’t give myself a choice. This is probably the biggest change for me this trip — usually I procrastinate on exercise, probably because I my usual travel workout routines have 4-5 different exercises and seem too difficult. This time, I’ve simplified it to just one exercise, so I don’t procrastinate. And turning this trip into a Grand Experiment, where I have to report back to all of you, turns up the accountability so that I don’t want to fail. So every morning, I meditate for a few minutes, I do an hour’s worth of work (writing and email), and I do my one bodyweight exercise for the day, no excuses. That routine works really well, if I don’t let myself off the hook.