Healthy Travel Habits
Whether its vegan, organic, vegetarian, low carb or low fat, when you’re traveling and enjoying yourself, your diet probably didn’t make the flight with you. The truth is though, with a little concentration and good habits, you can eat healthily and stay active regardless of the fact that you’re on vacation or business travel.
It’s hard to stay in shape without your local Trader Joes or
Whole Foods on the road, and you will probably find yourself surviving on
fattening (albeit very tasty) restaurant meals.
You will also probably be spending long hours on planes, trains, and/or
buses. Whether its vegan, organic,
vegetarian, low carb or low fat, when you’re traveling and enjoying yourself,
your diet probably didn’t make the flight with you.
The truth is though, with a little concentration and good
habits, you can eat healthily and stay active regardless of the fact that
you’re on vacation or business travel.
Eating Well on Flights
If you want to find an audience that will hang on your every
move, look no further than a flight full of passengers watching the food cart
on a long-haul international flight.
Simply because you’re on their plane, it doesn’t mean you have to eat
their food (assuming the airline you booked even serves meals).
The first thing you have to do to fight against unhealthy
airplane food is to fend for yourself and bring whatever you can on-board to
eat. Security rules prohibit passengers
from taking gels and liquids in excess of 3.4 ounces through the
check-points. BUT solid foods and snacks
like nuts, apples, bananas, trail mix, carrots, celery sticks and energy bars
will always make the cut. Throw a couple
of these bad boys into your backpack or carry-on and conquer those tempting
salty peanuts and pretzels once and for all.
In order to skip the fried goodies that wait for you once
you get through security, make a bee-line to buy a salad or sandwich to eat on
the plane. Lots of airports have started
including healthier eats among their options in addition to the standard
fast-food fare. Look for items on the
menu that have lots of veggies and fiber.
Skip those McDonald's fries!
Staying
Active at Your Destination
Aside
from biking and jogging, a nice brisk walk through your destination can cure
many a clouded mind! Take some time to
walk around the city between major attractions instead of taking a bus or
subway. Different neighborhoods abound
for you to discover! Duck into a nice
looking café for coffee or any other shop that draws you in.
The possibilities are infinite when looking at
an active getaway around the world. You
can go skiing in the Alps, kayaking in Malibu, or canoeing in the Peruvian
Amazon. Passively taking in the scenery doesn’t
have to be the norm on your trip though.
For example, try taking a bike tour.
Several unique options are offered all over the globe. You’ll bike through medieval towns, up and
down scenic mountains, along river banks, and get an intimate viewing into the
local landscape that you couldn’t get close to from a bus or subway train.
Eating Right on a Road Trip
Again, McDonald's is off the menu! Lots of sitting around and tons of fast food
during a road trip can quickly derail a diet faster than you can say “let’s
go”. How do you break free from typical
road trip menus? Prepare! Fill a cooler with snacks like fruit,
sandwiches, and raw veggies from home.
Then you can continue to refill along the way from local markets and
grocery stores. This forces you to
interact with locals as well! Make sure
to remember to bring bottled water… but bring gallon jugs of water to refill
your bottles – this saves money and the environment.
Another helpful tip is to skip rest stops and look for
independent restaurants and cafes. This
will allow you to eat better, but you’ll also have a better travel experience
by getting to see how the locals live and what everyday life is like in their
town. If you’re a vegetarian, try the
VegOut app, which has listings of vegetarian-friendly, vegan, and vegetarian
restaurants. Another useful app is Food
Tripping – it points you in the direction of farmers markets, juice joints, and
healthy eateries.
Stay Active at Your Hotel
There is a lot more than you can do just sit on the bus all
day. Look for hotels that have a fitness
center and/or pool… and then make sure to jump in when getting there! Most of the hotel booking sites will let you
set the filter to choose only hotels that have the amenities that you’re after.
If you can’t get a hotel with fitness center amenities, just
bring your own. Of course, we’re not
talking about stuffing your baggage with dumb-bells, but you can certainly fit
a resistance band or an iPad with some exercise programs downloaded so you can
work out in your hotel room or a nice spot on the hotel grounds. iTrain is one example of several companies
that provide digital workouts that you can download.
Then there is always good, old-fashioned jogging around the
neighborhood. This is a great way to see
the destination like a local as well.
You can also create your own workout routine of squats, lunges,
push-ups, and similarly simple exercises. One more thing to look for is a hotel
or accommodations with a kitchenette.
This will allow you to cook for yourself and save money on food while
giving you more control over your diet while traveling.
Staying Active and Eating Well While Cruising
Cruises are notorious for the healthy to truly let go. These monstrous ships leave the way for
monstrous appetites, with food available literally 24 hours a day on many
cruise lines. Fortunately, cruise lines
have managed to offer more than pizza, pasta, and self-serve frozen
yogurt. Many now offer healthier and
lighter choices with reduced carbs, fat, and sodium. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Holland
America and other cruise lines have completely eliminated trans fats from
dining rooms. Vegetarian options are
also now clearly marked on the menus.
Then there is the very real temptation of just lazing around
the pool while cruising. Who would blame
a person for wanting to only relax on their holiday? But on modern ships, if you’re motivated, you
can find fun and healthy ways to stay active.
There are various classes (yoga, aerobics, etc.), and many vessels have
a jogging track and fitness center at a minimum.
The newer ships, especially in the Royal Caribbean fleet,
are loaded. They have everything from
boxing rings and rock-climbing facilities, to ice skating rinks and bowling
alleys.