Egypt broke my routines and showed me what was real.

I’m writing this from Egypt. It’s 36°C, the air is heavy with spices and cigarette smoke, and my kids are shouting over who gets the bigger float in the pool.

Last night I nearly gave up. I’d been good all day: water, protein, movement. Then came the buffet: trays of baklava dripping with honey, bread still warm from the oven, plates clattering, kids melting down. I told myself, you’ve earned it. Two desserts later, I was back in my hotel room, stomach tight, mind racing: Did I undo everything?

Old me would’ve spiralled. “You’ve failed. Might as well go all in until you’re home.” I’ve done that on every holiday before. Pretending I was either a monk or a mess. Both lies.

But this time I did something different. I wrote down three non-negotiables before we flew out:

That’s it. Simple enough to survive airports, toddlers, buffets, and even my own excuses.

And here’s what I’ve realised sitting here in Egypt: holidays don’t ruin your health. They expose whether you’ve built systems that can survive chaos. If your habits collapse the second life gets noisy, they’re not habits. They’re theatre, a performance that only works when the stage is perfect.

The shift:
I stopped treating holidays as a “break from discipline” and started using them as a test. Because if my health only exists in my kitchen, under my rules, with my supplements and routines, it’s fragile. But if it survives Egypt, heat, chaos, temptation, family, then it’s mine forever.

Your turn:

Let’s dive into my 3 Finds of the Week, the small, high-impact tools I’ve been using to make change easier and more consistent.

Each week, I’ll share 3 things that have genuinely helped me, small shifts across the three pillars of ConfigurSelf: mindset, habits, and health. The kind of things that have made a real difference in my own life, and that I’d happily recommend to a close friend.

I used to think dehydration just meant being thirsty. Then I spent one holiday wondering why I felt sluggish, foggy, and snapping at my kids by midday, even though I was drinking litres of water.

What I was missing: electrolytes. When you’re in heat, you don’t just lose water, you lose sodium, potassium, magnesium, the minerals that keep your nerves firing and your muscles working. Without them, water alone is like pouring through a sieve.

Now I always pack zero-sugar electrolyte packets. I’ve tried plenty, but the sugar-free ones work best for me: clean, light, and no crash. I mix one into a glass of water mid-day and the difference is immediate: no headaches, steadier energy, no 3 pm slump.

It’s not glamorous. But for me, it’s the closest thing to flipping a switch back on. And it taught me something simple: hydration isn’t just water, it’s chemistry.

Get LMNT Zero Sugar Electrolytes here →

Every holiday used to mean the same cycle: eat more, move less, then promise myself I’d “get back on track” once I was home. And every time, it felt like starting from scratch.

The bands broke that cycle. They’re not about chasing gains on the road; they’re about not losing the thread. Ten minutes of pulls, presses, and squats in a hotel room doesn’t transform my body. But it does something more important: it proves to me I’m still the kind of person who trains, even when the routine isn’t perfect.

There’s science behind it, too: studies show even short bouts of resistance work signal your body to preserve muscle and metabolism. So those 15 minutes aren’t “nothing”, they’re the insurance policy that keeps my health from sliding backwards.

The win isn’t the workout. The win is continuity. I don’t come home guilty and start from zero. I come home already in motion.

Every morning here starts the same: I step onto the balcony, 36°C air already thick, and let the sun hit my face before the day can. No phone, no coffee, no noise. Just light.

What surprised me is how powerful those ten minutes are. Not the “Instagram wellness” kind of powerful, but biological. My energy doesn’t spike and crash like with coffee, it rises steadily. By evening, I’m calmer, I fall asleep faster, and I don’t wake up groggy.

Andrew Huberman (Stanford neuroscientist) explains why: when your eyes catch that morning light, it triggers a cortisol pulse at the right time of day and sets a timer for your brain to release melatonin later. It’s like giving your body a clock reset every morning. 

I didn’t believe it until I tried it here. But it’s been more grounding than any supplement or gadget I’ve carried in my bag. When I go home, this one’s coming with me: sunlight first, everything else second.

Most of my podcasts start as background noise, dishes, emails, and dinner. But every now and then, something catches me mid-scroll and actually makes me stop. This week, it was this.

If something in this email made you pause, think, or feel seen, send it to a friend who’s been quietly trying to make a change, too.
You never know what might land at the right moment. Link here.

And if you’d like early access to the eBook I’m writing, the real systems, mindset shifts, and habits that helped me lose 50kg and rebuild my health, you can join the waiting list here. “You’re not behind. You’re building, and that takes time.”