The System: Food, Travel, Training

I didn't out-will cravings. I out-systemed them. I didn't survive travel by white-knuckling it. I built a protocol. And I didn't become a hybrid athlete by adding random conditioning to my lifting -- I rebuilt the week from scratch.

This is the operating manual. Three domains, one principle: systems beat willpower, every time.

Part 1: Food

Targets that actually move the needle

Protein controls appetite and preserves muscle. Carb timing fuels better sessions without triggering binges later. That's the whole thesis.

The template (boring on purpose)

Structure: 3 meals + 1 snack "closer"

Breakfast (30-40 g protein, 40-60 g carbs)

Lunch (35-40 g protein, moderate carbs)

Snack -- "Protein closer" (25-30 g protein, ~200 kcal)

Dinner (30-35 g protein, lower carbs if sedentary)

Add-ons on training days

My "never think" grocery list (1 week)

Keep one default for each meal. Defaults beat decisions.

Eating out rules

Part 2: Travel

Every trip used to cost me 1-2 kg. Then I stopped treating travel as a cheat code and started treating it as a system.

The 3 Rules

Most rebounds come from decision fatigue. Anchors kill decisions. Steps kill appetite spikes. Mobility kills next-day excuses.

Hotel playbook

Breakfast (make this your anchor most days)

Buffet hack

Room service / menus: Keywords are grilled, tandoori, stir-fry (dry), steamed, sauteed (low oil). Choose one carb. Build plates around 150-180 g lean protein.

Airport and highway strategy

What to pack

When hunger hits, having beats finding.

Re-entry protocol (first 48 hours back)

My receipts: came back from trips flat or -0.2 to -0.5 kg instead of +1-2 kg. Training resumed without soreness debt. Social meals felt guilt-free because they were planned, not accidents.

Part 3: Hybrid Training

I loved the barbell. HYROX didn't care. It demanded engine + economy -- run between stations, move load under fatigue, then run again. So I rebuilt my week from "lifter" to hybrid athlete without losing strength.

Why hybrid wins

HYROX is eight stations wrapped in 8 run laps. You need:

Strength alone stalls at Lap 3. Engine alone stalls at the sleds. Hybrid = both.

Baseline that set the plan

What this means: raise lactate threshold and build Z2 volume to unlock 6:xx/km. Improve sled/lunge economy under fatigue. Keep strength anchors so power-to-weight climbs, not just weight loss.

Weekly Template v1

Two guardrails: no heroics on Z2 (keep HR where you can nose-breathe), and sleds technique first (low-friction strides, rigid torso, short drive cycles).

Station priorities with cues

Sled Push/Pull

Walking Lunges

Row/Ski (500 m bites)

Wall Balls

Carries (Farmer/Sandbag)

Running levers (threshold + Z2)

Two levers only:

8-week progression sample (Tuesdays):

Fridays (Z2): Start 45-50 min, add 5-10 min every other week, cap ~75 min. Add 6-8x20 s strides (full walkback) after easy runs for mechanics.

Brick workouts (race specificity without frying you)

Run to station to run, moderate RPE, clean technique.

Brick A (once/fortnight): 1 km @ T, Sled Push 3x20 m, 1 km @ T, Sled Pull 3x20 m, 1 km @ T

Brick B (once/fortnight): 800 m steady, 200 m lunges (broken), 800 m steady, 30 wall balls x 3 sets

Keep bricks sub-max, focus on form under breathing, not PRs.

Troubleshooting (consolidated)

Why this all connects

Predictable energy from food fuels better threshold and Z2 sessions, which drives faster pace. Travel protocol keeps one bad trip from becoming a bad month. Station economy converts strength into repeatable work. Bricks teach the body to run after stations -- the real HYROX skill.

None of this is exciting. All of it is repeatable. That's the point.

Systems don't ask how you feel. They ask what the plan says. And when the plan is boring enough, you actually follow it.