Fall Bulk Day 21
We embarked on a cross-country road trip for the holidays. See how I balance travel time and eating healthy during the bulk.
My wife and I hit the road at 4 am this morning to drive from Wisconsin to Georgia to spend a week with her family for Thanksgiving. It was a 14-hour drive, but with rest stops, we didn’t arrive until 10:30 pm.
Eating well on the road can be challenging, so we brought plenty of healthy snacks. We also made turkey and cheese sandwiches while we stopped to fuel up. There may have been a bag of Laffy Taffy candy involved as well.😏
Even without meticulous tracking, I balanced my calories and broke even. I would have liked to get more protein and typically do fewer carbs on a rest day, but it wasn’t bad overall.
Here are my nutrition numbers from the road trip day.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Protein | 152 g (27 %) |
| Carbs | 149 g (26%) |
| Fat | 118 g (47%) |
| Calories In | +2,266 |
| Calories Out | -2,292 |
| Calorie Surplus | -26 (0%) |
The lack of sleep was the more challenging part of driving across the country. The night before, I got less than 5 hours, so my resting heart rate was somewhat elevated.
As a result, my Oura ring “readiness” score was very low for the day. However, my heart rate variability (HRV) was slightly higher than average, indicating I recovered from the previous day’s workout.
| Recovery Metric | |
|---|---|
| Total Sleep | 4h 50m |
| Resting Heart Rate | 56 bpm |
| HRV | 88 ms |
Believe it or not, I planned on bringing our bathroom scale to the in-law’s house to keep up with the daily weigh-ins. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack it as we left this morning.
I could weigh myself on their scale, but I would have no idea whether it is calibrated like mine. So, I decided to skip the weigh-in for a few days.
As I’ve explained, I like to weigh myself daily to have as many data points as possible. However, it’s not a requirement, and a week away from the scale won’t hurt my bulking progress.
Related: What I Learned Weighing Myself Daily for 14 Years
Without the usual meal prep routine, accurately tracking calories and macros will be more challenging. But I will still be doing my best to estimate using MyFitnessPal.
This will be a more laid-back week, and I may skip some check-ins. Still, I will not fall off the wagon entirely and make sure I’m at least hitting maintenance calories daily.
I’m sure the holiday weeks are just as chaotic and challenging for you. So stay tuned to see how I navigate and make it through!
