189: How I Eat and Train While Traveling

0:05Nick Bare:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. Today's episode is titled How I Train and Eat While Traveling. Now, this past month for me has been a marathon of travel, to say the least. And yesterday, me and the family just got back from completing the marathon. Some of this travel was family vacation in Florida. I had some travel that I needed to do for work. Earlier last week, I was in Fargo, North Dakota with a BPN team visiting one of our retail partners, who is Shields. And then I got back from that Shields trip, had a day in between. And then me and the family went back to the airport.

1:01Nick Bare:We flew to Michigan. We spent a few days in Michigan with Steph's family because that is where Steph is from and her parents still live in Michigan. And we got back last night. Like I said, August, 2026. It was full of travel. But I stayed on top of my nutrition. I stayed on top of my diet. I stayed on top of my training and my workouts. And I just want to share with you guys how and why. I mean, why? Because it matters to me. My health, my fitness, my performance, it matters to me. staying in shape, hitting my workouts, fueling my body. I show up better, stronger, more energy. And I believe I'm a better leader.

1:57Nick Bare:I'm a better father. I'm a better husband. I'm a better contributing member of and to society when I am training, when I am pushing my body when I am eating healthy foods. That's the why. Now, the how, how do I train and eat while traveling? And before I get into some of the tactics, there's a few things I want to say. First off, we have to, I have to set realistic expectations while traveling. And I should also say that what I'm sharing, this is how I eat and train when I travel. I'm not saying you have to do this. You know, I want to share what I do and hopefully it helps some of you guys out.

2:56Nick Bare:But if you don't agree and you don't want to do any of this stuff, you don't have to. This is all personal preference. So when it comes to travel, I set realistic expectations and I look at travel very differently. I ask myself, what is this travel for? Is it for business? Is it for a normal course of life event? Or is it for vacation, leisure, pleasure? the way that I approach a vacation with my family in terms of training and dieting and nutrition is very different from the way that I may approach a work trip where I fly in, I'm there for a few days and I fly out. Or if we travel somewhere for a wedding or a birthday or anything like that, I will approach that travel, those events differently.

4:03Nick Bare:So I approach and plan accordingly. Because one of the things that I've been beating a drum on for quite some time is that responsibilities should always outweigh routines. The main problem with being unable to break your routine is that the rigidity can cause high anxiety, stress, decision fatigue, and an inability to adapt when life changes unexpectedly. When I go on family vacation, for example, my family, my kids, my relationships, my wife, my partner, that is my responsibility. Being present, being there, making memories. My routines become flexible and they have to adapt, but I'm not going to prioritize my routine over my responsibilities, at least not anymore.

5:11Nick Bare:I've done this at one point in my life and I can tell you it didn't provide the joy and satisfaction and enjoyment that I thought it would. It made things worse. It came with, as I mentioned, high levels of anxiety and stress and decision fatigue and an inability to adapt to life changes, routine changes. When we prioritize responsibilities over routines, we build structure and not cages. There's a looser framework that allows us to keep making progress and to succeed. I shared this quote in a podcast months back and I'll come back to it because I think it's really good. The mind makes a great servant, but a terrible master.

6:10A servant is problem solving.

6:15Nick Bare:It sets and maps goals. It focuses energy. That's what a servant does. The mind makes a great servant, But when it becomes a master, the reason it's terrible is because when the mind is a master, it replays the same routine, even when that routine stops serving you. It steals your peace, your rest, your joy, and enjoying the present. So the key takeaway that I want to share with all of this and setting realistic expectations is know when to be strict and rigid with your routine and when to allow for flexibility and to adapt based off of the type of travel that it is.

7:04Nick Bare:Again, I've shared this story before, but I've allowed routines in my life and I still do occasionally. I'm not free of those chains sometimes, but I remember when Steph and I just got married and we were on our honeymoon in Cabo and I just entered an Ironman prep. And in the morning when Steph was waking up slow and going to get breakfast and heading to the pool to relax, I was on the treadmill logging 14 to 20 miles in the resort gym. And I look back thinking, stupid, stupid, stupid. You prioritize your routine over your responsibility. Your responsibility to your new, loving, beautiful, caring wife.

8:08Nick Bare:Some of my best vacations, best travel is when I just loosened the grip a little bit I was flexible. I was adaptable. So I share that again. I reiterate, I share that because what I'm about to talk about is not to make you feel guilty for going on a family vacation and enjoying some food and taking time away from the gym or your running, your training. There is a time and place for that. I encourage that. peace, rest, joy, satisfaction. But just because you travel, and here's where I'm going to hammer it home, just because you travel does not mean your systems, your habits and your routines have to go out the window.

9:09Nick Bare:Just because I was traveling to Fargo, North Dakota early last week doesn't mean that my habits, my systems, routines, they get put on pause and I resume when I get back to Texas. There are seven days in a week, not just five. If you're traveling on a weekend or you're treating your weekends like a vacation, you will never make consistent progress. You will limit yourself. There's seven days in a week, not five. Saturdays and Sundays, they still count and they always will. The way that we succeed, achieve, win, progress is learning how to become resilient and adaptable. It is the most adaptable to change.

10:14Nick Bare:The one that is most adaptable to change. It always blows my mind when I'm traveling and I'm in the airport. I'm not judging by any means, but I'm observing people's behaviors. If you want to experience some of the world's most selfish encounters and behaviors, you just got to spend not even a few hours, but a few minutes in an airport. Everyone is concerned with themselves, getting to where they need to be, running other people over. it is a pretty magnificent experience to witness. Got a lot of zombies who are just walking, like staring at their phones two inches from their face. But I'm always intrigued by watching people's nutrition and food choices while in an airport.

11:21Again, no judgment.

11:23Nick Bare:Because the reality is that for many people, they just don't know any better. they're not educated on what they should eat how they should eat, when they should eat now sitting next to this this kid he's probably 16 years old a few months ago when I was coming back from the Pittsburgh Marathon and his head was down his shoulders were sunken he was overweight he looked insecure. Maybe not, maybe so, but from my observation, he looked insecure and he was drinking a massive full sugar Mountain Dew. He had two bags of like the dessert Chex mix. between the soda and those two bags, it was probably 1 ,200 calories.

12:32Nick Bare:And I think he just didn't know better. And I thought to myself as I was watching him, this was one of those moments in life where I'll remember it forever. Because I was watching this kid eat these foods, drink that soda, shoulders slouched, head looking down on his phone and I just wanted to help him. I just wanted to like take him under my wing and be like, dude, let me speak some life into you. Let me introduce you to the gym and working out and eating healthy and building your confidence back up. Where when you sit in that chair, your shoulders are back, your chest is up, you're proud of the choices you're making on a daily basis you're pushing yourself forward always remember that moment in that airport with that kid

13:31Nick Bare:and that's normal unfortunately those are the decisions that people make on a regular basis this past week I was traveling it's 7am and people are drinking a beer. It's 9 a.m. and people are eating ice cream cones. Like what in the world is going on? I could imagine. But again, they may not know better.

14:09Nick Bare:Ignorance. So how do we get this information out there? That's my goal with the podcast and YouTube videos. Man, I've had this conviction on my heart recently for a long time, but it's been really strong recently. This is why I've created content for years and years and years. But these last couple of months, it's pulling at me, it's pulling at me, it's pulling at me. There are so many people who just, they want help, but they don't know where to get started. And I want to help those people. Maybe you're some of those people, but maybe you're not. Maybe you know a lot of this. Well, in that case, maybe you can be the brother or sister that pulls a peer out from the darkness of what they're struggling with and helps them improve.

15:11Nick Bare:I treat travel like a military mission or operational plan. And I never have really thought of it that way, but as I was preparing this episode, just thinking about the way that I approach travel, no matter where we're going, vacation, wedding, business trip to Fargo, North Dakota, Pittsburgh Marathon weekend earlier this year. The way that I approach my travel is based off of the principles and strategies and tactics that I learned while I was in the military. Mission and operational planning.

16:05Nick Bare:First, we plan the travel. then I recon the travel. I see what's available in that area, what gyms, what run routes, what grocery stores, what restaurants. I recon the travel. Then I make the plan or in the military terminology, make the order. And then I execute and then evaluate and assess. So after I go through my travel, I sit back and I think, what worked, what didn't? I then refine for the next time I travel. I learn every time I go out and I travel and what worked and what didn't work. And a lot of these systems and habits that I'm sharing are what I've learned through the plan, the recon, the order, the execution, and then the evaluation and assessment.

17:12Nick Bare:Treat your travel like a military operation. And I can guarantee it will be successful. You will increase your chances and likelihood of success in sticking to your plan if you treat it this way. Plan the travel, recon the travel, make the plan, execute, and then evaluate and assess. So I'm going to break this up into two sections, how I eat and then how I train. So let's talk about eating first.

17:52Nick Bare:I'm sure this quote is no stranger to you. If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail. and I think the rebuttal to that might be, yeah, but we're supposed to be flexible and adaptable. Being able to be adaptable and flexible does not mean that it doesn't require a plan. If we take it back to military planning, operational planning, mission planning, there is always a plan. There is always a backup plan. always. And in the event that plan A doesn't work and plan B doesn't work, then you become adaptable and you pivot and you're flexible. You lean on your systems that you know do work. So I like having a plan.

18:56Sometimes that plan gets thrown out the window. In most cases it does, but I have systems and habits that are foundational

19:03Nick Bare:that allow me to be adaptable and pivot and be flexible. So this is all about planning, preparing and setting yourself up for success. This might seem like a lot. And in some cases it is. It's like, dude, I just want to wake up, pack my bag, hop on a plane, get to where I want to be and then figure it all out. And if that's your approach and your agenda and it works for you, go for it. I got nothing against it. But I like to prep. I like to plan. I like to prepare. It brings me joy and happiness and fulfillment. So it's just, it's what I do.

19:54So eating.

19:55Nick Bare:prior to travel. Some of the things that I'll do. As I talked about, the recon. If I know where we are going, I will look at what restaurants are around where I'm staying. Grocery stores, readily accessible food options. Eating healthy while traveling is relatively simple. Is it easy? Depends on the person, but it's simple. I mean, nowadays you have Chipotles in every city. You got Cavas all over the place. You got Starbucks. You got Chick-fil-A. You got In-N-Ounce. You have fast food, bowl spots, grocery stores. there's no excuse, literally zero excuse not to be able to eat healthy and stick to your diet and your routine while traveling.

21:06Like some of the things that I'll do or look for, if there's a Chipotle close to where I'm staying, that's easy. Beef and rice, chicken and rice. If there's a bull spot, like when we were in Fargo last week, There was a bowl spot that we stopped at. One of those spots where you walk in and you can make your own bowl or salad where I added rice and greens and chicken. Now I had to get a triple serving of chicken because their single serving of chicken was like two ounces. You end up paying for it, but you got to get the protein in.

21:49Nick Bare:And then I added veggies. So it's olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, purple cabbage, pickled onions. You can add pumpkin seeds and really beef these bowls up that are packed and dense in protein, carbs, healthy fats. You can add avocado on top and then micronutrients, fibers. They're all over the world and especially all over the United States. I will look for these spots prior to my travel. And it doesn't take that much effort. On Google Maps, I'll pull up the Airbnb or the hotel that I'm staying at. And then you can see restaurants around where you're staying. And I'll just make notes, mental notes.

22:42Okay, I know there's a Chipotle here. I know there's a Starbucks here. Starbucks for me is a great place to go grab breakfast. I always carry protein powder with me. So I'll wake up, I'll have a protein shake, I'll go to Starbucks, I'll get some fruit, maybe a fruit cup or a banana, and then their oatmeal. Their oatmeal is really good. It's quick, it's cheap, it's convenient. I don't add any of the extra toppings to it. I can go to Chick-fil-A and get a bunch of the grilled chicken nuggets. the options are endless at this point. So I will do my recon prior to travel just to see what's in the local area of where I'm going to be staying.

23:29And then I will look at my travel times

23:32Nick Bare:for the day of travel itself. And I'll identify what I need to pack or prepare. the night before travel, I will sort out and pack all my supplements in Ziploc bags. For example, if it's a quick trip, like the Fargo trip last week, it was in and out. I was in Fargo for two full days. I will pack a few Ziploc bags and each Ziploc bag has two scoops of whey protein in it. In my Ziploc bags, I'll have my vitamins and minerals for the day. I'm packing my BPN Strong Multivitamin, BPN Strong Joints, BPN Strong Omega, BPN Endurance Essentials, my creatine. I'll put everything in Ziploc bags. And then in the small Ziploc bags, I'll throw all of those in a big Ziploc bag.

24:36But I'm doing this the night before travel. like Steph can always find me the night before travel. I'm in the pantry and I'm packing up my supplements and my powders. That way I don't have to travel with the full serving size containers. Now, if we're going on a longer vacation, like when Steph and I go to Florida with a family every year and we're checking bags, yeah, we'll take full size containers of whey protein and reds and greens and creatine and even G1M Sport or pre and pump because we have the room and we need many serving sizes. When Steph and I go on vacation for a week between the both of us, we'll go through a whole two pound container of whey protein because we both prioritize our protein intake.

25:33So prior to travel, it is planning, it is recon, it is preparation. it's identifying where we're staying, what's in the area, having options available, just mental notes, not planning every meal by meal, but just mental notes. I know there's a Chipotle here. I know there's a Starbucks here. I know there's a Whole Foods here. There's a grocery store here. I know generally we'll all be able to source some of my food and nutrition from. And like I said the night before, we will pack and prepare. supplements, powders, anything else we may need. Now the day of travel, this is where it gets fun. We just filmed a YouTube video and I shared this.

26:27And it always blows people's mind. My lunch every day is 300 grams, jasmine rice, eight ounces of ground beef, some Primal Kitchen's buffalo sauce and pickles topped with some ketchup. I love it. I just had that meal before recording this podcast and it never gets old. I like sticking to consistent eating patterns as much as possible. So what I do when we travel the day of is the night before, I'll prepare my lunch. I have my 300 grams of jasmine rice, eight ounces of ground beef, Primal Kitchen's buffalo sauce, pickles, ketchup. But instead of putting it in the Tupperware that I always use and the meal prep containers that I use, I get this question all the time.

27:25They're from Carraway Home. They're the medium storage containers. They're expensive. It is an investment, but they have been the best that I have found. And that's not a paid endorsement by any means. We buy our own Careway Home food storage containers. I've been buying them for the last couple of years and I love them. But when I travel, I add that meal to a Ziploc bag, a gallon Ziploc bag. And I close all the air out of it, zip it, put it in another gallon Ziploc bag, pull all the air out of it, close it because I don't want any leakage. And then I have this little cooler, like handheld cooler that is super low profile.

28:15It's easy to carry on travel. I can fit in my backpack. I will, the day of travel, throw that bag of beef and rice in that cooler, add a cooler pack with a spoon and take it on my travels. Now, sometimes depending on the day, the time of travel, how long that meal is going to be in my backpack until I eat it. Sometimes I don't need the cooler and I'll just throw the meal in my backpack. And once I get into security, I'll eat it. Once I get on the plane, I'll eat it. The smell isn't the most pleasant on the plane. So I prefer if possible to eat it in the airport before getting on the plane. sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, but you can travel with food.

29:06So I will always travel with a meal. I'll always travel with a bag of beef and rice. Steph can attest to this. We were traveling back from Michigan yesterday. And the way that our seats were set up on the plane is there's six seats in an entire row, but it's split up by the aisle. So it's three on one side, three on the other. And we booked these flights a little bit later so we couldn't get the whole family in the same row. So Nico and I were next to each other and then Steph and Charlie were next to each other but in a row before us, in front of us. So I would eat my bag of beef and rice because it was a longer flight mid-flight next to this stranger.

30:02And I just kept getting these looks. Here's this guy with his two-year-old son pulling out a Ziploc bag of beef, rice, pickles, and ketchup, eating it with a spoon like an animal, like a caveman. But there's no shame. I like sticking to the plan. I like staying on top of my nutrition. But you can travel with food. You can travel with food. This surprises a lot of people, but you can. I always travel with a meal. And I always pack food that doesn't have to be kept cold.

30:38Nick Bare:So in my backpack while I'm traveling, you can always find protein powder in Ziploc bags, bars, protein bars, go bars, dried fruit. I'll travel with dried mango, which is some of my favorite, dried figs. As you guys may know, my favorite, love dried figs. Great source of fiber. I will travel with slices of sourdough. In some cases, a whole loaf of sourdough. There was this flight a few months back. We were traveling back from Nashville and we stopped at this bakery before leaving Nashville to head back to Austin in Franklin, Tennessee called Perrin. and I picked up a freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread.

31:30I had them slice it there and I threw my backpack and while we were on the flight back from Nashville, I pulled this bag of sourdough out and I'm just eating a loaf of freshly baked sourdough and it was delicious.

31:44Nick Bare:But I was getting all these looks on the plane. I'll travel with nuts and seeds, beef jerky. like my backpack always has food in it. And this may not be your thing. You know, the other option is before travel, I know a lot of people do this, they'll have a huge meal, they'll fast while traveling and then when they get to location, they will resume eating. And that's perfectly fine. That works too. But as I mentioned, I like having these consistent eating patterns. It provides me a steady source of energy. I don't like getting hungry because when I get hungry, I end up becoming hangry and it's the last thing I want while traveling.