5 Tips to Stay Healthy While Traveling or on the Go

Summer is fast approaching and our calendars are starting to fill up with summer holidays, travel plans, and some much needed time with family and friends!

Whether you are leaving on a jet plane or spending the season exploring your own city, it can be easy to let all of those good habits you’ve been cultivating fall by the wayside.

Maintaining healthy diet and exercise habits while traveling or on the go doesn’t require rigid perfection. Rather, you might just need to spend a little bit of time planning and to adopt a flexible mindset to keep on track while also enjoying the summer season!

After all, life was meant to be enjoyed— you can indulge and splurge and still reach your goals.

With the tips you find in this blog post, you will learn how to plan ahead, find time to move, when to indulge, how to prioritize sleep, and stay flexible.

By the time summer rolls around, you’ll be ready to make the most of it, while still staying on track with your health and fitness.

1. Plan Ahead Without Obsessing

Our worst decisions are made under pressure. When you spend a little bit of time planning, you can avoid those in-the-moment slip ups and stay on track.

Just like you need to pack your toothbrush to clean your teeth, packing healthy snacks is a great way to be prepared if hunger strikes when you’re far from home.

Throw some snack sized trail mix, protein bars, and fruit into your carry on and avoid those inflated airport food prices. Also, never leave home without your reusable water bottle to stay hydrated on the go!

When you’re creating your itinerary, do a little research about healthy restaurants in the city you are traveling to, but don’t forget to plan some indulgences too!

You can’t travel to New Orleans without eating some beignets, or Italy without gelato! When you already know what you want to indulge in, you can better plan for when it’s time to find balance with a healthy meal.

Consider finding a grocery store nearby and stock up on more healthy snacks to stock your hotel room or to throw into your bag while you’re out and about.

Finally, eating out is a part of traveling, and it’s okay if your diet is nowhere near as balanced as it is at home. It’s okay to aim for better rather than perfect and make the most of your trip.

2. Move When You Can

Don’t feel guilty if you walk past that hotel gym everyday of your vacation (unless you really feel like hitting the weight rack)! It’s okay to take a break from structured workouts if they don’t fit into your itinerary.

You can still manage to get in some movement even when traveling. Walk the airport on your layover to stretch your legs, and spend some time stretching in your hotel room to loosen up after a long travel day.

Walking is a great way to explore a new city, so skip Uber and take the scenic route whenever you can. Walking after a meal is can help kick start digestion and regulate your blood sugar, too.

If you are craving a little more structured movement or are gone for a long period of time, queue up your favorite Youtube no-equipment workout or just do some bodyweight exercises in your hotel room.

The point is, staying active on your trip doesn’t have to be difficult, and it’s okay if you don’t spend your hard earned vacation days working out.

Finding simple ways to stay active while traveling can actually add to your trip experience and make it that much easier to get back into your routine when you do return home.

3. Make Smart Food Choices—Most of the Time

You have probably caught on by now, but the theme of this post is finding balance between staying healthy and enjoying your indulgences, and food is no exception!

After all, the fun of traveling is trying new things and enjoying the culture wherever you are, and that includes all of the delicious regional treats.

To find the balance, try to use the guideline of including one indulgence per meal.

For example, if you know you’re going to want dessert, skip the sugary drink. Or, if you are going out for cocktails, balance it with a healthy entree.

When you have a jam-packed itinerary, you should make sure that your meals are balanced to ensure you stay satiated and energized all day.

If you are going to prioritize one thing, make it protein! Protein will help keep you feeling full and regulate your blood sugar, ensuring you have the energy you need to enjoy all of those fun activities.

Don’t skip meals to bank calories for later. This could backfire and you’ll end up bingeing between meals or worse, you’ll run into low blood sugar or become too fatigued to enjoy your day.

Instead, find balance and make sure you keep your body fueled.

4. Sleep and Recovery Matter

A break from routine is part of what we love about traveling, but it can certainly start to be draining when your days are packed from morning to night.

Sleep is an important part of any healthy routine, from digestion to muscle recovery. Even when you are on the go, do your best to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even if it shifts by an hour or two.

A change of environment and routine can make it hard for your body to wind down and get enough rest, so make sure to plan ahead to get the best sleep possible.

Pack items like eye masks, ear plugs, melatonin supplements, and even download white noise apps to make sleep easier in a new environment.

Alcohol can be incredibly disruptive to your sleep hygiene, so try to limit too much indulgence, especially late at night.

A bedtime routine is a great way to let your body know when it’s time to wind down, so try to bring as many aspects of the routine you use at home, on the road with you.

5. Stay Flexible and Forgive Slip-Ups

Taking time off is a way to fill your cup and give you a break from your day-to-day routine. This means that you might not be able to nail every healthy habit you can at home, but that’s okay!

This is a time to rest and reset, both mentally and physically, from the demands of your job, family obligations, and everything in between.

Staying flexible means that you can allow for and celebrate when it’s time to indulge and recognize that you prioritize your goals most of the time.

Even a full week of skipped workouts and indulgent meals is not going to derail your progress, and in fact, taking breaks is an important part of avoiding burnout and staying motivated overall.

So, focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t while you are away, and most of all, practice gratitude for your commitment to progress and the opportunity to take a break.

Consistency Over Perfection

To put it simply, being healthy is a long term commitment, and requires consistency and balance. Part of that balance is knowing when you can and should splurge or take a break.

You can stay on track while on the go by planning ahead, finding time to move, knowing when to indulge, prioritizing sleep, and staying flexible with yourself.

Make sure you acknowledge all of the small ways you show up for yourself and practice gratitude for your commitment to your goals and for the opportunity to take a break.

Have a trip coming up this summer? Save this post to remind you how to stay healthy while on the go!