When you travel it’s important to stick with the same health habits you practice regularly at home. To stay well, stay focused and avoid common pitfalls when hopping between states or across the globe, keep these five simple tips in mind.
Find Opportunities for Fitness
Even if you’re only staying one night in a cramped hotel room as you head toward a final destination, there’s always somewhere to practice healthy movement. Try an online “small space” workout video, or find a nearby park to go for a walk or run.
For extended trips, hit the hotel’s fitness room for a HIIT session on the treadmill or exercise bike, or grab the weights for a strength training workout. Browse the brochures in the hotel lobby for local attractions where you can hike, kayak, go skiing or do something else fun and active.
Seek Out Nutritious Food
Pack nuts, fruit and an empty water bottle before you go to the airport, and fill the bottle prior to boarding the plane. This ensures you can stay hydrated throughout the flight and stave off hunger during layovers without spending a fortune on a limp salad or day-old fruit cup from an airport vendor.
Limit the Treats
As you pass through airport’s endless vending machines, it can be tempting to grab a candy bar and a cup of coffee to keep you going instead of eating a healthy and balanced meal. However, you don’t have to completely deprive yourself of treats. If you can’t pass up ice cream on a hot afternoon or you’re in a city with famous donuts, pick one indulgence to enjoy on your trip before returning to healthier choices.
Keep Digestion Balanced
Traveling internationally can put you at risk for illness, especially if you drink local water or consume lukewarm food. In addition to bringing a water bottle with a filter, you may want to consider taking probiotics and other supplements to help you maintain balanced digestion. Eating well and staying active will help, but it’s best to take every precaution to prevent an infection from disrupting your trip.
Utilize an App
If you’re wondering how you can possibly keep track of your health habits when traveling itself just seems like one big blur, get help from an app. There are dozens of health and fitness apps to choose from, or you can use a fitness tracker to sync your activities and even your sleeping habits with a corresponding app on your phone. Just make sure you have some way of monitoring consistency for the duration of your trip.
Maintaining these healthy habits when you’re traveling for work or on vacation ensures you’ll be at the top of your game and ready to get back to helping patients when you return. Be mindful of and discerning about the food you eat, keep track of your fitness and make adjustments to create a healthy travel routine everywhere you go.
