2025-W46 — Fasting Through Airports:

2025-W46 — Fasting Through Airports: My Travel-Day Protocol for Real Life

What happened this week

This week was a business travel week to Casablanca and Valence. I left home at 3:45am for a 6:00am flight from Leipzig to Casablanca, routing via Frankfurt and Lisbon.

I traveled fasted and kept it simple: water, mate tea, and coffee. My plan was to continue the fast until I arrived at my hotel in Casablanca.

Somewhere along the way, I did what I always try to do on travel days: I walked the airport intentionally to get steps in, used my frequent flyer access to grab coffee and water in the lounge, and used pockets of time to create content—TikTok videos and the draft of a LinkedIn post.

The travel + wellness thread

Airports are built to break routines. Food is everywhere, sleep gets weird, and the schedule turns your brain into a bargaining machine.

For me, fasting on travel days isn’t about discipline theater. It’s about reducing decisions. The more decisions I remove, the easier it is to stay consistent.

Walking is the other part of the equation. It’s not a punishment. It’s a reset button—especially when you’re sitting for long stretches and your nervous system is running “alert mode” from the travel logistics.

A small human moment in transit

On the flight to Lisbon, I met a Japanese man who works for the beverage company Suntory. We had a great conversation about trade shows, family, and the strange rhythm of frequent travel. He has a four-year-old son and travels a lot too.

It was one of those brief encounters that makes travel feel less transactional. You realize there’s a whole population of people living in motion, trying to do a good job at work and still be present for their families.

What I learned

This week reinforced a simple truth: travel doesn’t need a perfect routine. It needs a default routine.

My default is uncomplicated:

• hydrate early,
• walk on purpose,
• use “calm zones” (lounges, quiet gates) to reduce friction,
• delay food decisions until I’m settled.

That last one matters most. Airports are not where I make my best choices, so I don’t ask myself to. I decide later, when I’m stable.

Next week’s tiny focus

Create one sentence you can reuse on every travel day: “Water first, walk on purpose, decide food only when settled.”Save it where you’ll see it.