Written By: Andrew Sinclair – Sinclair _Adventures
We’re a family of five, living and traveling full-time in an RV.
In May of this year, I retired after 20 years of service in the Coast Guard. Throughout my career, we were fortunate to be stationed in some incredible and unique places like Kauai, HI, Key West, FL, and Juneau, AK. Moving every few years brought a mix of excitement and challenges, and gave us the opportunity to meet amazing people and go on unforgettable adventures.
About Homeschooling
We started homeschooling our three kids while living in Juneau, and we’ve continued for the last seven years. Homeschooling coupled with retirement has made the RV lifestyle a perfect fit for our family. With no clear idea of where we want to settle down and still eager for adventure, we saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the country together by going full time.
My Militar career
For the first nine years of my career, I served as a helicopter rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard. It’s an incredibly demanding job, with a 75% attrition rate, so only a handful of candidates make it through the rigorous training each year. To succeed, you need to be in top physical condition, strong, fast, and ready to perform under pressure. To stay in shape, we trained daily: swimming, running, lifting, and playing sports to prepare for search-and-rescue missions.
While stationed at Air Station Savannah, GA, I met a fellow swimmer who introduced me to bodybuilding and nutrition. Before that, I worked out, but it was mostly focused on building “beach muscles” mainly chest and arms. He taught me how important a high-protein diet is, combined with training, to really get results. Once I started seeing the benefits, I became hooked on the lifestyle.
I spent hours at Barnes & Noble, flipping through bodybuilding magazines and soaking up advice from the pros. My buddy and I were even featured in the January 2009 issue of FLEX magazine (pg 32), showcasing military members who embrace the bodybuilding lifestyle. Over the years, I’ve helped prepare more than 50 candidates for rescue swimmer school, using the same training principles, including nutrition advice and daily workout routines that I’ve come to swear by.
Healthy Lifestyle
Fast forward to today, and I’m still dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle through daily training and a high-protein diet. For me, it’s all about balance. I stay fit but don’t restrict myself too much after all, I have a wife and three kids who love their snacks! I follow an 80/20 rule: I stick to my diet and training 80% of the time, leaving room for flexibility the other 20%. This approach has been a great fit for our nomadic lifestyle.
Over the years, I’ve tried various diets, including keto, paleo, and carnivore. Of all of them, the carnivore diet has worked best for me. Animal proteins provide a complete amino acid profile, which is essential for building and maintaining muscle. There are nine essential amino acids our bodies can’t produce, and animal proteins like beef, chicken, and fish contain all of them. Now, my meals focus on animal proteins, paired with healthy carbs. I don’t worry about fat, since it naturally accompanies animal protein. For carbs, I stick with simple, complex options like jasmine rice and potatoes they’re easy to cook, affordable, and go well with any animal protein.
I don’t eat leafy greens or vegetables, except for onions, which I use mainly for flavor. In my view, vegetables are often just fillers, and some studies suggest they contain chemicals that make digestion more difficult. Mikhaila Peterson’s TED Talk on the “lion diet, where she eats only beef, salt, and water, dives into how eliminating vegetables and focusing on animal products may benefit health. While this is an extreme approach for most, it’s worth considering if you’re looking to optimize your diet. We want invite to you to watch this interview, and see How Mikhaila improve, change and recovered her life.
My goal is to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day, spread out over three to four meals. Here’s an example of what a typical day of eating looks like for me:
- Breakfast: Four eggs, bacon or sausage, and sometimes potatoes or sourdough bread, depending on my training (30-40 grams of protein).
- Post-workout: Two scoops of whey protein (about 50 grams of protein) for maximum absorption.
- This one is the one I use: Whey Protein
- Lunch: Ground beef with taco seasoning and a cup of white rice (50 grams of protein).
- Dinner: 10 oz of steak and one cup of potatoes (50-75 grams of protein).
- Before bed: Two more scoops of whey protein if I feel like I haven’t hit my protein target for the day (50 grams of protein).
I work out daily, and even on rest days, I stay active with walking or light jogging, what I call “active recovery.” After all the injuries and surgeries (11 to be exact) I’ve had, my body feels better when it stays in motion. Even taking one day off can lead to tightness in my shoulder and discomfort. Running and weight training are still my main forms of exercise, but I’ve had to adapt to our nomadic lifestyle. When I was on active duty and had access to a full gym, I followed a five-day split, focusing on different muscle groups, and ran three miles every other day. Now, I follow a three-day split: push day, pull day, and leg day, while running every day to stay fit.
Exercise Routine
Here’s a sample of my daily workout routine:
- Run 3-5 miles at an 8-minute pace.
- 3 sets of push-ups superset with leg raises.
- 3 sets of incline dumbbell press superset with crunches.
- 3 sets of dumbbell flyes superset with leg kicks.
- 3 sets of standing military press superset with diamond push-ups.
- 3 sets of lateral raises superset with planks.
- Finish with a 1-minute farmer’s walk using dumbbells.
This workout usually takes about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. For dumbbells, I use SMRFT adjustable dumbbells, which go up to 80 lbs each. They’re easy to adjust, making them perfect for our full-time RV lifestyle.
Living the RV lifestyle has been an incredible adventure for our family, blending the freedom to explore new places with the discipline of maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. It’s a journey that has taught us the importance of flexibility, balance, and staying connected to what truly matters family, fitness, and the joy of new experiences. Whether we’re on the road, training, or simply enjoying the moments together,
We continue to embrace each new chapter with open arms and a commitment to living life on our own terms. We’re excited for the road ahead and the adventures still to come!
If you want to know more about us follow us: Instagram: Sinclair _Adventures
See you on the road !!!
Andrew Sinclair
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
