So I am lying on a pebble beach sunning my backside with my toes just touching the lapping water. I am in Kotor, Montenegro without a care in the world. Nowhere to be. Nothing to be done (we do have a load of washing in our apartment going on at the moment… thanks to Rob) and no one to attend to. It has been 2 weeks since we packed up our lives into 16kg and lugged it to our backs flying half way across the world. We have already seen so much and traveled so far and home is a word just as foreign as Ciao. With the unemployed extra time on my hands, between eating and sightseeing I have decided to get back into writing (does this make me a full time blogger now?)

Well I better start blogging about something of interest then. Let’s start with health. Staying fit and healthy whilst traveling is easier than it might seem. Yes at first you are drawn in by the local street food, the copious amounts of gelato on display and the cheap and not so healthy food at arm’s reach. This food is okay when you are holidaying for 2-3 weeks at most but when you are ‘traveling’ indefinitely there is only so much your body can handle.

I love ice cream so without depriving myself of this international craze I make simple rules. 1 gelato per country (except Italy – there are no limits when it comes to gelato) and that way I can justify my gelato intake down to ‘research’ and taste testing for the blog of course. Oh and by one gelato I am not specifying the quantity or serving size but rather the occasion. Yes 4 scoops/flavours is still one gelato!! A girls gotta make sure she tries them all.

Now when I say ‘easy’ there is some fine print, always. The biggest thing about traveling is losing routine and if you were anything like me in my previous try-hard corporate life you run on routine like clockwork. Eating every 3 hours and waking and sleeping around the same minutes per night. So yeah, I said goodbye to my routine the minute I stepped on that plane. Yesterday we woke up at 4.30am after going to sleep after midnight to catch a plane and today we slept in until 9.30 after going to sleep at …. Well around 9.30.

Now because I can’t eat as regularly and healthy as normal I always make sure I have snacks on hand. Fresh fruit, nuts, muesli bars, crackers, roasted chickpeas, dried fruit and knowing I can always whip into the corner mini mart for some yoghurt or hummus. I also brought a bag of chia seeds, cacao nibs, oats and Bare Berries / acia powder from home (yes my bag was 12kg clothes and 4kg food) so I can make chia puddings or my ultimate fave soaked oats whenever I please. I can even get artistic with some fresh fruit and take an insta snap – birds eye view of course. A huge breakfast always starts my day off the best way possible and makes me feel great – much like home and i try to eat as wholesome as possible whilst enjoying the local cuisine. Oh but my daily dash of bonsoy long black in a take away cup has been replaced by an instant (oh yes i said it) coffee with goodness knows what milk in the smallest handled little white tea cup ever. Ok lets move on before I realise what i just said.

Most places we have stayed have offered a free buffet breakfast and thankfully the European breakfasts so far have been predominantly jam, bread and boiled eggs. We take 4 extra boiled eggs from breakfast for snacks throughout the day or to have with lunch because they are easily transportable and don’t require icy refrigeration.

As far as eating healthy at cafes, salads are on every menu and you can always request added chicken or other animal proteins and if you please no dressing. And eat everything in moderation. Life is about enjoying yourself at the end of the day so don’t restrict yourself of something you love. Remember how bad guilt can be for your stress / cortisol levels and weight gain? Blog post on unhealthy disordered eating and guilt. >> HERE

Yes have that burger or pizza but just don’t eat 3 a day or 1 a day for 30 days. Enjoy your carb heavy dinner then have a lighter yoghurt and fruit for breakfast. And where possible – add something green. I think I went the first 6 days without eating ANYTHING green.  (Seriously…. do green olives count?) And so I made sure I loaded up on the random European cucumber slices or at the spinach/parsley garnish everywhere possible.

Yes I have said goodbye to my white girl 6 pack and am beginning to embrace my ethnic 1 pack. But that aside I am experiencing the world and having the time of my life. My poor attempt for a 6 pack is only one routined lifestyle away but for now it doesn’t belong in my pebbly butt sunbaking, toe dipping lifestyle and I am cool with that.

Ciao from Kotor.

P.s My unemployed ‘care free’ lifestyle doesn’t include spelling, grammar or photo editing. Keepin’ it real butt shots and all! I’m off to get another gelato!