Synthèse — 2026-W06

Week starting 02.02.2026

(Wellness by Michael Tomasini — Executive Field Notes)

This week started with candles and cake, then ended with airport delays, a right-hand-drive rental car, and a night view over Dublin from a hotel room that felt like a quiet exhale.

If there was a single theme running underneath everything, it was this: reliability beats perfection. I kept choosing the plan with the lowest failure probability—whether that meant bringing a keto “escape hatch” to a dessert-heavy birthday, skipping a risky city run in Istanbul because Friday traffic could have cost me my flight, or accepting an airline delay because they took the time to replace a faulty navigation component instead of gambling with safety.

Monday — Birthday energy, dessert culture, and a changing palate

Monday was my second son’s birthday. He turned 14, and we had a full house: in-laws and extended family who had arrived over the weekend to go skiing. During the day, life ran in parallel tracks: I worked from the home office, my wife went to work, and the boys were at school. Meanwhile the kitchen turned into a bakery.

It hit me again how normal sugar is in our culture—not just present, but celebrated. Multiple desserts appeared: chocolate muffins, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake, and the kind of powdered-sugar-on-top-of-sugar situation that used to feel standard.

The saving grace—and honestly the more interesting story—was that we had options. My wife made a keto version of a pecan pie for the birthday, and we also had a big plate of fruit and nuts. The classic desserts were still there, but something had shifted in me (and even more in her): after months of greatly reducing sugar, the “normal” desserts tasted overly sweet. Not “a little rich”… too sweet. That’s one of those small moments that quietly confirms you’re rewiring your baseline.

A few days earlier, on Saturday (January 30), we had done a different kind of sweet experiment as a family. The boys wanted to make chocolate from raw ingredients, but we couldn’t find cocoa butter anywhere. So we pivoted: confectioner’s chocolate and a pile of “what if we try this?” ingredients. They melted and poured chocolate over nuts, marzipan, homemade cookies, and whatever else seemed like a good idea. It was chaotic in the best way—family bonding disguised as kitchen science.

Monday evening, one guest started feeling ill and needed recovery the next day.

Tuesday — Snowy roads and fasted Zone 2 as a pressure valve

Tuesday, the in-laws went up to Oberwiesenthal / Fichtelberg for mountain time. I used the window for what has become a reliable anchor: a fasted Zone 2 lunch-hour run.

When they returned, they reported the roads were extremely slippery and that they narrowly avoided an accident. That detail matters. It wasn’t theoretical winter—it was “this could have gone sideways” winter.

Wednesday — Shoveling, delays, and Istanbul

Wednesday was the transition: shovel the driveway, weave past parked cars, and head to Leipzig airport for a business trip to Istanbul. Weather caused a delay from Leipzig to Frankfurt. I made the connection—but only just. One of those “I’m technically calm, but my nervous system disagrees” travel moments.

That night in Istanbul, I had a grill platter—simple, hearty, and very “travel body wants calories” energy.

Thursday — Client meetings, portion control, and hill intervals

Thursday was full work mode: client meetings, and a lunch that was too big. Instead of letting that turn into a full-day food spiral, I did something that sounds boring but is actually elite travel behavior: I saved part of lunch for later.

Meals stayed protein-forward and practical:

• A cheese platter and a Caesar salad
• Dinner: a salmon salad

And despite being in a new city with a packed schedule, training still happened. I ran hill intervals nearby and captured a Strava flyover—one of those “I was here, and I still did the thing” receipts.

Friday — The disappointing finish (and the hidden win)

Friday was a disappointing end to my first Istanbul trip—not because Istanbul failed, but because the schedule did. I was blocked from visiting the city by dedication to work: I needed to get out an offer for a client and finish my meeting presentation for Monday in Ireland. With Istanbul traffic on a Friday afternoon, a city run felt like gambling with my flight.

So I chose the low-risk plan: a bit of souvenir shopping for the family, then the airport. That produced a funny side effect: too much time and thousands of steps walking the terminals. Istanbul’s airport is huge, with multiple security layers. It’s the kind of place where “I’ll just pop in” becomes a fantasy.

The return to Germany was the same story in reverse, but weirder:

• Delays on arrival in Frankfurt
• Passport control at the gate
• Security coming out of Zone Z
• Another passport control
• Another security check

At that last security check, they were very concerned with my selfie stick—treated like a potential weapon. Bundespolizei inspected it, photographed it, and documented my passport and ID card. Then, as if reality wanted to turn surreal, the security staff became interested in my TikTok account. Bizarre is the correct word.

Frankfurt to Leipzig was also delayed—this time due to a failure in the flight computer responsible for navigation. Here’s where the week accidentally gave me a perfect analogy: a critical piece of equipment failed, and Lufthansa took the time to replace the faulty part rather than send us on our way with something questionable. The flight was delayed, but we got to Leipzig safely.

That decision mirrored my own pattern all week: choose reliability over speed.

People were sprinting to catch train connections. I had my own small deadline: my parking spot was only paid until midnight. We landed just before 23:30, and I got to my car with enough time to exit before the parking would have expired. I arrived home shortly before 01:00 on Saturday.

And home was still “birthday alive”: my eldest son was out at a friend’s house, and my youngest was still awake playing video games with friends as part of his birthday celebration. After airports and security lines, it was oddly comforting to step into normal teenage chaos.

Saturday — Pancakes, trip-chaining, a safer hobby room, and recovery rituals

Saturday morning we had breakfast together: my wife, my son, and three of his friends. Classic Tomasini pancakes. The kind of meal that isn’t “optimal,” but is absolutely family.

Then I went into housekeeping mode: glass recycling, filling the car (the gas station had mysteriously been closed the night before), and because we’ve had a lot of slippery snow this year, I combined the loop with picking up salt and sand from the home improvement store.

I was trip-chaining. It’s not glamorous, but it reduces friction—future problems pay interest if you ignore them.

Saturday also included a quiet proof moment: my wife proudly showed me her glucose and ketone readings from her Keto-Mojo reader. She’s been tracking and adjusting her feeding behavior accordingly—real feedback-guided change, not vibes.

In the afternoon, my youngest son and I cleaned up the hobby/tool room in the basement. I’d been putting it off because of higher priorities, but he’s deeply interested in electronics—and his birthday gift was a new soldering station. Cleaning the space was about more than organization; it was about giving him a safe, functional setup. We reorganized, cleaned sawdust and leftovers from older projects, and reset the room for the next season of building.

Dinner was udon noodles and chicken—then a recovery ritual that actually happened: we set up the massage table, I gave my wife a massage for her long week, and she returned the favor.

Sunday — 05:30 lifting, firelight, and Ireland travel begins

Sunday morning I got up around 05:30 for a weightlifting session. Then I started a fire in the fireplace, cleared the dishwasher, said goodbye, and drove to Leipzig airport.

Security was easy. They didn’t even notice my selfie stick—the same object that triggered concern and police documentation in Frankfurt days earlier. A good reminder: travel friction is often random.

The flights Leipzig → Frankfurt and Frankfurt → Munich were smooth. I broke my fast intentionally: Unicity Balance first, then meatballs and Parmesan cheese. I also used the travel time to look for birthday presents for my wife.

Munich → Dublin started with a 20-minute delay due to a drone sighting near the airport. The total delay ended up being almost an hour, but I made it to Ireland fine.

A colleague didn’t. He neglected the fact that he needed a visa to enter Ireland and was denied boarding—so he’ll join Monday via MS Teams. The lesson is brutal and simple: the biggest travel failures aren’t always fitness or discipline—they’re admin.

I picked up the rental car and it was blocked in by another vehicle, which gave me an unexpected gift: a moment to get oriented. Right-hand drive and stick shift—new inputs—but I made it to the hotel in downtown Dublin without issue. The hotel was a little hard to find, but I found it and got lucky with a parking spot on the street nearby.

After checking in, I had a chat with my family, then headed out for a protein-forward beef-based dinner in the old town. I finished the night with a walk to explore Dublin’s nightlife before heading back to the hotel.

And from the hotel room: the city lit up under a dark sky—church spire cutting the horizon—quiet enough to feel like the week finally gave me a pause.

What this week taught me (without the motivational poster energy)

1. Your palate adapts faster than your social environment.
   What used to be “normal sweet” can become too sweet. That’s not deprivation—it’s recalibration.
2. Reliability is a wellness strategy.
   Skipping the Istanbul city run wasn’t failure; it was risk management. Same with an airline replacing a critical navigation component instead of “hoping it’s fine.”
3. Small systems carry the week.
   Trip-chaining errands, protein-first meals, fasted training windows, a 05:30 lift, and a simple recovery ritual at home—none of it is flashy. All of it works.

FAQ

How do you stay healthy during business travel?

I use a simple system: fasted training windows when possible, protein-first meals, and “buffers” (time margins) to avoid rushed decisions that create stress and bad food choices.

What should you eat at a hotel breakfast buffet?

I build one plate around protein and satisfaction: cheese, eggs or fish, olives, olive oil, and vegetables when available—then stop. It prevents the sugar crash and constant snacking.

How do you train when traveling for work?

I aim for one anchor session (weights or intervals) and one easy aerobic session (Zone 2). Short sessions that happen beat perfect plans that don’t.

Want my travel routine in one page?

Download the Keto Week-1 Travel Checklist (Busy-professional version) on the website and keep it on your phone for your next trip.