Healthy Traveling

Healthy Traveling

By Cindy Lane Ross

 

Staying active and eat right while traveling!

 In this article I'm going to give you some tips to use to stay on track with your fitness goals when you’re traveling. Most of my clients use travel and vacation as an excuse to miss workouts and eat unhealthy food. By following these tips not only will your body love you for it, but you will feel energized for your entire trip.

When you have travel plans approaching the best thing to do is prepare ahead of time. Will the place you’re staying have gym accommodations? Will I be able to prepare my own meals? Will it be safe for me to go outside and exercise? Will there be restaurants around my location with healthy options?

 Most hotels will have a small workout facility. In my experience you will usually only find cardio equipment, but remember doing something is better than nothing at all. Find out if there is a gym nearby. The usual cost for day passes will vary $10-$30 per visit. I usually Google workout facilities in towns I am traveling to so I have many options. I am just now coming off a trip and we were staying 50 minutes outside of the nearest city, so I packed my running shoes, a jump rope, and a resistant band. These are the three items I would recommend to always pack to ensure you do not ever have to miss a workout. I love to run in new cities, it is a great way to get my exercise in for the day and see the sites. Just do your homework and see what options you will have for exercise. 

 We all know it is hard to find healthy food in airports and most of the time when you’re driving, fast food is the fastest and easiest, but not the best choice. Eating healthy when traveling requires some planning, but it is well worth it in the end. I usually pack a piece of fruit in my bag along with some nuts. If you are eating every couple of hours, you will not be influenced into eating the wrong foods. If you have the room, pack a small cooler, consisting of fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grain sandwiches, rice cakes, and protein bars. When I went to Europe we took only back packs, I knew the flight was long and I wanted to make sure I got my protein in, so I used ziploc bags and put one scoop of protein in it.  I would ask the flight attendant for a cup of water and it is that simple, you know have a protein shake. A good thing to find when traveling is a protein bar that you like the taste of, low in sugar and high in protein. These are convenient and will keep you on the right track. If you eat at restaurants, choose salads, vegetables, and lean meats such as chicken or fish.

Plan your accommodations to meet your lifestyle as well. We use a travel site where we rent people's homes so we can cook our own food. We save a lot of money by not eating out all the time, but we also know what we are putting into our bodies.  Staying on your usual diet is possible by having the luxury of cooking for yourself. It is interesting to go into foreign grocery stores and find items that sometime are not available in your own town. If you plan to eat out, a good reminder is to watch your portion sizes and make healthy choices.

 Another important thing to remember when traveling is hydration. Whether you’re in the air or on the ground, drink lots of water to keep from getting dehydrated. As soon as you get through security go ahead and buy a bottle or two of water and start drinking. If you’re in the car, pack your cooler full of bottled waters. It will keep you feeling good and energized.

It can be fun to take your workouts on the road. So many times we get bored of our usual routines, so when you’re traveling it is a fun way to mix things up a bit. Go find a gym and take a new class you have never done before, go for a hike in the hills, or take a run through downtown and see what the city has to offer. Choose the right foods and make time to fit your exercise in on your trip. Have fun and enjoy your traveling experience, wherever the road may take you.