How to Stay Fit as a Digital Nomad
So, you work remote. You’ve packed your bags, sold all your worldly possessions, and embarked on the digital nomad lifestyle. Then, while sipping your Leo on a warm night in northern Thailand, you grab your newly formed belly roll and realize that you’ve been enjoying the life a little too much. Hopping around the world has its perks for sure, but one of the downsides is that staying fit is harder. Luckily, there are plenty of ways and habits that can make it easier as a digital nomad.
Do the local activities. Every destination has some fun physical thing you can do that’s unique to them. Here in Thailand we have muay thai. In Hawaii, there’s surfing. In Spain there’s flamenco dancing. Or the Running of the Bulls if you feel like possibly getting perforated. You get the idea. Find something cool and fun that involves moving around. It’ll help you stay in shape, but even more important it’ll help you meet people and get to know the local culture a little bit. You wanted to see the world and meet people, right? Well, here’s your chance to really get into it.
Cut back on the alcohol. Yes, I understand that in Vietnam beer is cheaper than water. However, if you’re trying not to become fat enough to have your own zip code, cutting alcohol down is important. It’s not so much the alcohol itself as much as it’s the breaking down of inhibitions. It’s way harder to say no to roti with chocolate sauce when you’re drunk than sober. On top of that, while beer is tasty, it turns out it’s a liquid. And liquids don’t make you feel as full. Which leads us to…
Cut back on liquid calories. The abundance of fruit smoothies here in Thailand is legendary. And they’re delicious. Just like the coffee, with all its condensed milk and caramel and chocolate syrup and…you get the idea. The drinks here are tasty and they are everywhere. Sadly, while drinking a bunch of calories might make your heart happy, but it doesn’t make your stomach full. This makes it easier than ever to eat too many calories and expand your waistline. Sticking with water is ideal here. For the caffeine-addicted (like me), coffee and tea without sugar are best. If you crave the sweetness, a bottle of stevia is your friend.
Find a local gym. Most digital nomads go to a place for weeks or months at a time. If that’s you, then it’s time to find a gym. Places like Chiang Mai, Thailand are loaded with them. Fitness has really taken off worldwide and gyms are popping up like mushrooms after a rainy week. You don’t need one with all the fanciest gear either. There are plenty of ways to get a great workout with a suboptimal gym. Sending pictures of your gym and having a trainer write your program online is a great way to take all the guesswork out and make sure you stay on track. (Shameless plug: I do this. Send me an e-mail to start.)
Get enough sleep. I know, I know. Boring. You live an exciting life filled with adventures traveling the world and hustling. You’ve worked hard to get to this level of freedom and want to take advantage of it. You want to go to full moon parties or dance the night away in Barcelona or hang out on the beach in Bali by a bonfire. At the same time, missing out on sleep interferes with nearly everything. You don’t function as well cognitively, you burn less fat and more muscle when you diet, your performance suffers in the gym or on the mats (I know some of you do jiu-jitsu). For you gentlemen, it also makes your testosterone drop. True, it comes back when you get enough sleep for a couple of days. But if you’re underslept night after night, it’s not getting a chance to come back up. Try getting to bed at a reasonable hour and sleeping seven or more hours a night. You might be amazed at the difference after a week of that.
Have some quick and dirty rules for eating. These are up to you, but my recommendations would be: avoid deep fried things, avoid liquid calories, stick to lean cuts of meat, and avoid things covered in syrups/condensed milk. You don’t have to follow the rules 100% of the time. Following them 80-90% will get you good results. Let’s be serious, you didn’t become a digital nomad so you could have to avoid eating all the amazing food that the places you’re traveling to have to offer. Eat the street food and enjoy mingling with the locals. Just put a cap on how much of the decadent stuff you eat.
Traveling and working around the world is fun and exciting. That doesn’t mean it has to blow up your belly. Watch what you’re eating (and how much), stay relatively active, and sleep enough. If you keep all that in order, you should be able to stay lean while still enjoying the digital nomad life. It’s a hard life, but sure as God’s got sandals it beats fighting dude with treasure trails.
