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How to Lose Fat while Travelling

Vacations are for fun and relaxation.

But if you really, really want to, you can actually improve your physique while travelling. You can lose fat and return leaner than you left.

There are 3 things you need to do:

  1. Stay in a deficit eating only high calorie foods
  2. Get sufficient protein to maintain muscle mass
  3. Train with weights or bodyweight as efficiently as your location allows

Let’s address them one by one.

How to create a calorie deficit eating high calorie foods

If you’re in a calorie deficit you’re going to lose fat no matter what foods you eat. This means you can still try the local foods and enjoy high calorie meals, you just need to make sure you stay in a deficit.

The simplest way to do that is to save all your calories for 2 meals in the second part of the day using Intermittent Fasting. Here is the diet structure I recommend you use:

  1. Fast 4-8 hours after waking up
    Short-term fasting actually has appetite suppressing effects. This is probably because adrenaline and nor-adrenaline levels go up. During the fasting hours most people don’t feel hunger at all and their concentration and mental alertness goes up.
    In the morning it’s best to drink water and a cup of black coffee to further blunt your appetite. Sparkling water can also contribute a little to blunt your appetite because it fills your stomach.
  2. Have a huge meal around 4-6 PM
    Don’t worry about the macros, just stay around 1000kcal
  3. Have another huge meal around 8-10PM (+ drinks if you want)
    Make sure you get some form of protein in this meal and you get around 1300kcal

Saving most of your calories for night time is the key to eating out. Almost all social events happen at night: dinner at a restaurant, going out to a club, meeting friends for drinks, etc. This way you get to enjoy these events while still staying in a deficit.

How to get sufficient protein

Most studies show that you need around 1g of protein per pound (2g per kg) of BW in order to maintain muscle mass in a deficit.

However, for a few days you can go lower in protein without muscle loss. Around 100g of protein per day will be sufficient for when you’re on vacation. A lot of people assume that protein intake is like an on/off switch: if you get 1g per pound you maintain or build muscle but as soon as you fall below that you start to lose muscle or not grow at all.

This is not the case. You can build or maintain muscle with a suboptimal protein intake. You just won’t maximize the rate of muscle growth or muscle retention.

Getting sufficient protein when eating out 

In order to get around 100g of protein per day you must make sure that all your meals include a protein source, usually meat or cheese.

In addition to the trace proteins you get from carb sources (such as pasta, bread, potatoes, etc.) you should get to around 100g.

How to maintain muscle with minimal training

Studies and observations show that in novice/intermediates lifters muscle size and strength barely goes down if you don’t train for two weeks.

However, the closer you are to your genetic potential, the faster you will lose size and strength if you don’t train.

Most people can go 7-10 days without any training and not notice a difference in muscle size or strength. For example I came back stronger from my trip to Italy even though I didn’t train there at all.

But if you can train, by all means do.

If you can get to the gym regularly do your normal routine.

If you have time for only one workout a week, do a full body workout:

1 Day a Week Training Routine

3 sets of Weighted chin-ups/pull-ups
3-5 sets of Bench press/Incline Bench press – 5-8 reps
3 sets of Standing Press – 5-8 reps
3 sets of Deadlifts/Sumo Deadlifts – 5-8 reps
3 sets of Squats/Leg Press – 5-8 reps

The training stimulus crated by this routine will maintain muscle size and strength very well. Novice lifters will actually make gains with this routine. 

If you can’t get to the gym at all, do bodyweight training. I’ll give you two sample routines from Greg’s Bodyweight Mastery Program:

BMP: Level 3

Workout A
Assisted One Arm Feet Elevated Push ups: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Forward Lean Dips: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Pistol squats onto a box: 3 sets of 6 reps per leg
Explosive Pull ups (bar to sternum): 3 sets of 5 reps
Back Bridge Hold: 2 x 20 seconds
L-sit Hold: 2 x 10-30 seconds

Workout B
Pull ups: 3 sets of 6 to 12 reps
Feet on Chair and Hands elevated Pike Push ups: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Squat Jumps: 3 sets of 6 reps
Hanging Leg Raises to 90 degrees: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Back Bridge Hold: 2 x 20 seconds
L-sit Hold (below 90): 2 x 10-30 seconds

BMP: Level 4

Workout A
One Arm Push ups: 3 sets of 5-10 reps
Feet Elevated Assisted One Arm Push ups: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Pistol squats (assisted): 3 sets of 6 reps per leg
Muscle ups: 3 sets of 3 reps
Back Bridge Hold: 2 x 20 seconds
L-sit Hold: 2 x 10-30 seconds

Workout B
Side to Side Pull ups: 3 sets of 3-6 reps per arm
Handstand Pushups Against Wall: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Squat Jumps: 3 sets of 6 reps
Hanging Leg Raises into a V: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Back Bridge Hold: 2 x 20 seconds
L-sit Hold (below 90): 2 x 10-30 seconds

Depending on your strength level choose the routine that’s challenging for you. The training frequency goes like this: Workout A, day off, Workout B, day off, Workout A, day off, Workout B, day off, and so on.

 

What’s your take on maintaining your physique when you’re on vacation? Do you have any question? Anything to add? Let me know in the comments! 


 The Aggressive Fat Loss Program

This is the fat loss program I use right now. All the tips that I recommended in this article

  • fasting 4-8 hours in the morning
  • black coffee during the fast
  • sparkling water to fill you up
  • fruit snaking to delay meals
  • splitting your protein and carbs in your big meal to maximize satiety

come from this program. It’s the best I’ve ever found. I highly recommend it!! You can learn more about it here.

8 Comments

  1. Roxana on February 29, 2016 at 9:58 am

    Buna!
    Am o nelamurire in legatura cu cantarul care cateodata ma demoralizeaza!Asta vara cantaream undeva la 55,5 kg dar nu puneam atata accent pe fiecare grupa musculara(la un antrenament imi lucram tot corpul)!De ceva timp am inceput sa imi lucrez corpul pe grupe,ceea ce in timp au inceput sa apara si rezultatele,dar am ajuns sa cantaresc acum 57,5-58 kg,dar vizual arat ca asta vara doar cu muschii proeminenti!Spune-mi te rog m-am ingrasat sau e masa musculara?Felicitari ptr pregatirea pe care o ai in acest domeniu si iti multumesc pt promptitudinea de care dai dovada!

  2. clay cox on February 29, 2016 at 1:59 pm

    Hey Radu!

    I have binge watched all of your videos since you started producing them in English. I have a few questions i think you’ll be interesting in. (I posted this before but it didnt post)

    My workout routine
    8am/9am gym 40 minutes to 1 hour
    3pm/4pm gym 30 minutes to 1 hour
    (this is 5 times a week)

    6/7pm rugby league training 1/1.5 hours
    (this is 2/3 times a week)

    Nutrition
    3/4pm Break my fast with vegetables

    7/8pm High protein meal

    9/10pm High Carb with an unhealthy snack & a smoothie

    However i want to change my workout to

    Mon: Chest/Triceps
    Tue: Legs/Shoulders
    Wednesday: Back/Biceps
    Thursday: Legs
    Friday: Shoulders/Chest

    (split into morning & afternoon workouts with the basic compound movements using reverse pyramid training. However i have a question about shoulders which is later on in the email)

    I usualy have a cheat day, but will try and avoid having one because i want to cut down to the warrior body type and then lean bulk. My results went from 35.5 to 33.5 in 3 weeks on my waist (inches) but recently results have slowed down. What do you think the problem is?

    However i think i may have set my calories too low.I am cutting on 1307 calories, So my maintenance is 1807 according to BMR calculators. However in your videos it says i should times my body weight (76kg) x 33 which is 2,508. however i can not jump straight into 2,000 calories because i will gain fat wont i & how will i get my maintenance to 2,500?

    I have done the calculation i am 5ft 11 and have a 33 inch waist so i will need to get to a 27/8 inch waist to have abs, is this correct?

    You also say that the key to muscle gain is strength gain, but i don’t want to lift too heavy over my head as i am 17 and don’t want to stunt my growth,i don’t like lifting over 15 kg over my head because i get scared of stunting growth, what should i do?

    I also live at home with parents and they don’t buy enough protein so i only get 70-90 grams of protein a day,I usually eat chicken/eggs/tuna.I also dont count macros i just aim for my body weight in kg for protein. I also don’t want protein shakes because they are high in sugar and i don’t want to increase my spots due to high sugar as i am in the age of getting spots. (don’t like cheese) because this is what we have in the house Is this a problem?

    This is my current physique​
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    I want to concentrate on shoulders & chest as these are my weakest areas. However im worried about lifting heavy over my head
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  3. Gustavo on March 1, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    Hey Radu greetings from Brazil!

    I have a question, what are the differences between doing weighted chin-ups and lat pulldowns? My gym doesn’t have a belt and chain to attach weights. 🙁

    Thx for always providing good advice.

  4. Vlad on March 3, 2016 at 11:27 am

    Salut. M-am gandit ca poate imi poti raspunde la urmatoarea intrebare. Eu nu in fiecare zi ma trezesc la ora 7 (doar in zilele cand am stagii ,deci undeva la 3 zile pe saptamana) iar in restul zilelor ma trezesc ba la 9 ba la 10. Problema e ca nu stiu cum e mai bine sa fac.sa am prima masa undeva la +5/+6 ore dupa ce ma trezesc sau sa iau prima masa la aceeasi ora in fiecare zi ?

    De exemplu, luni ma trezesc la 7 dar prima masa e undeva intre ora 12-13.Urmatoarea zi ma trezesc mai tarziu,sa zic un 9 ..ar fi bine sa mananc tot dupa 5,6 ore..adica undeva pe la 14-15 sau sa iau prima masa tot in jur de ora 12-13? Cam asta e dilema mea,sper sa imi raspunzi 😀
    Multumesc aniticpat !

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