I’m continuing to push on with my goal of being location independent with my business, and my trial run in Malta earlier this year shows that I can be productive working in a hotel room, and resist the pull of the pool to meet my deadlines. The part that seems to elude me, though, is being healthy and eating properly. I’ve been to Glasgow with my husband, Mark, a couple of times for poker, and the tournaments were at a casino based on a retail park.

How do You Stay Healthy?

It made sense to stay in a hotel on the same park, which saves on late-night taxis and enabled me to join him during the breaks. The issue was finding places to eat. The casino has a limited menu of mostly burgers and sandwiches (although noodles were available). There was a Chinese restaurant next door, plus a Burger King, a Frankie and Benny’s and a Harvester. Not a great range for breakfast or dinner.

I was lucky, though, that there was a gym across the road from the hotel, which let me sign up for a five-day membership. I’ve discovered that I’m not very good at exercising in the room, even though I have plenty of bodyweight workouts I can use and improvise.

The random hours of the poker games, combined with not being familiar with the area and the lure of the players’ parties also make planning difficult, although if I had more willpower, that would help! As I said in my blog about Malta, I need to go out and find food by myself rather than waiting for Mark.

Eating healthy food and making sure I eat regularly is something I need to get right, particularly as I’m not always in the best of health. It’s nothing major, but it’s something I need to be more aware of than most people. I’ve started to look online for advice, but I think it might be an ongoing project for me.

My Healthy Plan

I’m not clear, for instance, about what foods you can put in your suitcase, and take to which countries. If we’re staying somewhere without a fridge, or somewhere I can’t empty the minibar for the duration of the stay (for storage, not drinking!) what can I buy that won’t perish and I can supplement with fresh foods?

I’ve started a spreadsheet to track any information I gather as I travel about, and with some research before we go on a trip, I should be able to populate it with enough to get by. It’s obviously going to be an ongoing project, though, and I think the key will be to be committed to looking after myself and making healthy choices more often than not.

I might report back on my progress over on my personal blog, which is more focused on travel and food, but if anyone has any tips, advice or useful resources, please let me know!