Family Adventure…

The weekend just gone I spent 3 days in Krakow (Poland) with Dad (Mark) and sister (Meggy moo!). The Polish city is rich in castle architecture and absolutely beautiful…

We had the most amazing time! The food was tasty (and cheap!), the people were warm and friendly.  The best part was spending 3 days with two of my favourite people on Earth (Dad & Meg!). I also lost a 1lb in weight (high five!)

As always I love to share my mini stories and adventures, whilst finding ways to incorporate health and fitness related themes (after all that’s what this website is all about!). Anyhow here’s Krakow in a nutshell…

Rush Hour Trains Are Never A Good Idea…

After completing my morning personal training sessions on Friday, I took a taxi to Sheffield train station in the afternoon and jumped on the busiest train ever! Thankfully luck was on my side as the incoming train pulled up perfectly, the train doors right in front of me. I was the first to hop on and luckily I found one of the very few seats left!

After meeting Meg and Dad at Manchester Airport I tucked into a relatively healthy and pretty damn tasty chicken Katsu curry with a diet coke. I was pretty chuffed with myself because in the past i’d have polished off a MONSTROUS burger and 2 double whiskey and cokes!

Poland!

After a smooth flight to Poland we jumped off the plane (very cold!) and headed over to our hotel called Puro. The hotel was fancy, with lots of gadgets, in fact everything in the room was controlled by an IPad, the lights, the TV, under floor heating, you name it! We got there late (around 11.30pm) so quickly unpacked and fell into a deep sleep.

Castle & Sausages!

On Saturday we explored Krakow. Like typical tourists that stick out like sore thumbs – we had backpacks on, and took the camera out for plenty of snaps and selfies!

We saw some of the beautiful sights that Krakow had to offer, caught up on old times as we strolled through the city and ate out in a restaurant. The food out there was delicious, it was easy to eat low carb: for breakfast I had pretty much every type of sausage available on earth and eggs! For lunch I had a chicken and halloumi salad (buff!)

Auschwitz & Birkenau…

On Sunday we headed out to the famous concentration camp Auschwitz, a harrowing place where over 1 million people (men, women and children) were murdered by the Nazis during World War 2. I had no idea what to expect. The place was completely fascinating, but left me feeling numb and disturbed as I listened to depressing stories of Jewish, Polish and other ethnic groups being mistreated, tortured, abused, and exterminated in gas chambers.

After Auschwitz we cheered ourselves up by going for a pizza and chips! In the evening we headed over to a bar, watched some drunk plonkers singing on the Karaoke machine, whilst enjoying a couple of alcoholic beverages (I bet you can’t guess what I had to drink?)

Salt Mine…

Monday was our last day and we headed to the salt mines, where we went 120m underground to learn about the history of the Polish mines and witnessed an underground cathedral built from salt (it was crazy!).

I must admit I wasn’t that excited about going to the mines, in fact in the taxi there all I was thinking…. this is going to be like watching paint dry! In actual fact we had a great time!

Losing Weight…

Whenever I used to go on holiday I’d always come back heavier, sometimes a stone heavier (especially if I’d go away for 2 weeks or more!). I’d always see holidays as a major blow out, a chance to stuff my face and overindulge! The problem was that i’d always come back feeling groggy, chubby and depressed!

Recently i’ve struck the perfect balance between letting my hair down and enjoying treats without overdoing things and stuffing my face like Augustus Gloop!

Whilst in Krakow I had pizza, and about 6-8 double whiskeys, the rest of the time I ate salads, diet coke and plenty of low carb foods like sausages and eggs. I didn’t feel restricted or deprived at all and have found a great balance which I try and teach to clients as well. You can still go on holiday and stay trim, by building healthier relationships with foods and making different choices whilst away.

We were also completing on average 20,000 steps per day, so output was high. Call it obsessive but there’s always an awareness of what I’m putting in my body. I know that when I feel fit and healthy and watch what I eat I feel better. When I eat junk…well…I feel like junk!

A Fab Time & Life Long Memories…

I’m becoming more and more fond of mini breaks with the people I love. Over the last year I’ve been fortunate enough to go to London, Edinburgh, Paris, Sorento, New York and Krakow.

It’s been great to explore new cultures, and spend time with friends and family. Although I’m only 28 years old (god that actually sounds quite old!) I’ve realised that life is short, and time is precious.

Although another family trip has come and gone, I know that the happy memories will bring a smile to my face for many years to come.

Until the next mini Adventure…

Nick