Weight loss : How I lost 28 pounds in 3 months While Traveling the World

How I lost 28 pounds in 3 months While Traveling the World

The summer before, I had traveled to Thailand and Korea. I indulged myself in so much delicious food, the weight kept on adding on and before I knew it, I had gained 35 pounds!

I saved half of my paychecks while working in college to save up for traveling after I graduated.

New York, Chicago, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Taiwan were on the summer travel itinerary and I was determined to lose the extra weight during my post-grad traveling.

3 months later when I returned home from traveling, I weighed myself and I had lost 28 pounds!

I want to pass along the steps I took to lose 28 pounds while traveling the world.

Here is how I did it while traveling the world.

Step 1: Cut out the Carbs and Sugar

Watching what you eat is hard.

Watching what you eat while traveling through different parts of the world is really hard.

Of course, I made exceptions to try dishes for the experience while I traveled but I started off my weight loss journey by watching my intake of carbs and sugar. I avoided french fries, burgers, sodas, chips, and deserts. There are a ton of benefits when you cut out carbs.

If carbs are present in the body, they are burned by the body first before fat.

Circulating glucose and insulin inhibit fat burning. This is good for evolutionary reasons. If you can get accustomed to eating fewer carbs, your body will start to focus on burning the fat!

Step 2: Stick to Lean Meats, Fish, and Vegetables

I did not count calories through my weight loss journey.

1000 calories of chips are completely different than 1000 calories of lean meats and vegetables. I stuck to eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, salmon, green vegetables, nuts and did not worry about meticulously counting my calories.

Whenever I tried a new restaurant, I would always order the fish, chicken or vegetable meal. By adding more protein to my diet, I was a lot fuller throughout the day and I had fewer cravings. I would recommend increasing your protein intake.

Step 3: Hit the Weights to Lose the Weight

I was sure to book my AirBNB bookings near a gym or workout area.

After I was accustomed to my new kinds of foods I habitually ate, I started to lift weights about 6 or 7 times a week. I would usually lift in the mornings before I went out and explored the various cities during the day. The first two weeks were a dread because of how sore I would get. After those two weeks, I would feel great! I started to get more energy throughout the day.

There are a ton of trainers who post free videos on YouTube that will instruct you on how to properly lift weights. Start watching some videos on how to properly lift weights and then get up and get out there!

Step 4: Add the Cardio

I hate cardio.

I don’t enjoy it all.

If you saw my ‘chicken legs’, you would know why! I was determined to shed the weight so I started to add cardio to my workout regimen. I began by just doing 10 minutes of jogging to ease myself into running. After I got accustomed to 10 minutes, I increased it to 15 minutes and then 20 minutes of running every day.

My friend recommended I try high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and I thought I would give it a shot. HIIT is a type of training in which involves short periods of high-intensity exercise combined with less-intense recovery periods.

HIIT is supposed to creep your metabolism long after the running session is over. Which burns more fat overall. While slow paced long jogs burn more during the actual run. I implemented HIIT after all my weight lifting sessions.

Step 5: Drink Coffee and Tea

It was nice to explore the various coffee and tea shops in the various cities.

Coffee and tea have great weight loss benefits. The caffeine in tea and coffee jump-starts your metabolism to burn fat. Not only does caffeine increase your metabolic rate, it gives you more energy to exercise.

Several studies have suggested that the flavonoids and caffeine in green tea can help elevate e fat oxidation and even improve insulin activity which burns more fat.

I would like to warn you to AVOID the sugary coffee drinks like the caramel frappuccino.

Stick to black coffee and green tea 🙂

Step 6: Get Some Sleep (No Late Night Snacks!)

Sleep is really important for a variety of reasons.

There are a lot of psychological and biological reasons for why getting more sleep helps with weight loss. A consistent sleep and wake cycle helps your hormones stay balanced. You will be psychologically able to choose the best healthy foods throughout the day if you are well rested.

If you are well rested, you will also be able to deal with stress and emotions better (ever heard of emotional eating?). You’ll be able to put more effort into your exercise and be more efficient when well rested.

In short, sleeping more helps with weight loss. Get some shut-eye!

P.S. Stay away from eating those late night snacks! (after 8 pm)

Step 7: Stand Clear From Beer

Cutting out beer was challenging especially on nights out enjoying the nightlife in a city.

I limited my intake of hard liquor and stood clear from beer. There are a ton of detrimental weight loss effects when you consume beer or alcohol in general. According to WebMD, a typical beer has approximately 150 calories. It is pretty easy to sit and down several beers in one sitting. You can end up with serious calorie overload!

And don’t forget calories from the foods you wash down with those beers. Alcohol can increase your appetite. When you drink alcohol, you stop burning fat. Late night drunchies can be catastrophic to your weight loss goals!

Step 8: Portion Control

When I started to see the results from the previous steps, I started to fine tune my weight loss efforts. I started to control my portions and snack on healthy snacks more (thank you hard boiled eggs!). I would drink a lot of water before, during and after my meals to help with how full I felt and I would eat about 25% less than I normally do.

I realized that if I ate slower, I would get full faster!

I know all these steps might feel overwhelming at first, but if you implement them one step at a time and stay committed, you will build momentum and the other steps will come easier!

Brandon Leuangpaseuth is a writer from San Diego, CA that helps various law firms such as Orent Law Offices, PLC across the country with their public relations. You can connect with him on LinkedIn @ bleuangpaseuth

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