I’ve been

Big scary plane

traveling while trying to get in shape, and I’m not convinced this was the best plan. On the one hand, it’s good to keep the body active and moving while traveling, right? On the other hand, starting up a fitness regimen the same week that I go to a work conference is probably not going to work out well for me.

Today was the last day of the conference. In fact, I’m sitting around, killing time and waiting to catch a flight that’s already been delayed once. It’s as good a time as any to check in and report on my progress.

I’m pleased to report that I did make it to the gym. I’m less pleased to report that I made it to the gym exactly once. I felt weird going down to the gym in my workout gear. Also, people gave me some very odd looks as I got onto the workout bike with my Texas-sized self.

This is a large part of the reason I stopped going to the gym at home, actually. People didn’t want to use workout equipment near a fat person, and they let me know it. I don’t know if they thought I was contagious or what, but I guess that’s a post for another day.

Anyway, I still packed gym clothes for the trip, and I used them, so I’ll count that as a win. I also made a concerted effort to eat better while I was traveling. Those results were more mixed.

I didn’t have a car, or a kitchen. Control over my dining options was limited. The hotel did have a pub, and that pub did have a salad I enjoyed. I ate that salad, sometimes accompanied by a beer cheese soup, for at least one meal per day. Sometimes I ate it for two meals per day. And I didn’t feel particularly hungry, either, which is good.

At home, though, I eat a mostly vegetarian diet. Here, that would have eliminated almost all of my protein options. I also don’t cope with dairy well, but ate the beer cheese soup every day to get some protein.

At home, I drink my coffee blacker than a Goth girl’s wardrobe. Here, the only coffee option was Starbucks. They do offer plain coffee, but I’m pretty sure they filter their coffee through used gym socks. A person pretty much has to get a Froofy Coffee Drink ™, which means I wound up consuming a lot more sugar than I’m used to. Fortunately, they offer almond milk as an alternative to dairy in most of their Froofy Coffee Drinks ™.

Sleep was a little bit of an issue here, although I think I got more sleep here than I do at home. I needed more sleep here than I do at home. Being around so many people, and being part of the attraction instead of being a guest, was difficult for someone with my level of anxiety. That took a lot out of me. Still, I was able to make sure I got more than six hours of sleep every night.

Of course, the whole sleep schedule didn’t take into account traveling here, or traveling home. I didn’t sleep the night before I got here, and I’m not likely to sleep on the way home. I think Monday’s going to be pretty useless, but we’ll see.

Either way, I love traveling. I’m looking forward to my next trip, when my fitness routine will be more established. I’m going to try very hard not to judge myself too harshly no matter what my results are from this week, and I’ll look forward to being better able to focus next week.