Pre-pandemic, I was always getting asked about my travel wellness tips. I think people worry about breaking their routines and ruining their progress while on vacation. It’s very possible to truly enjoy your trips while keeping the momentum and motivation of your health journey.
Now that the U.S. is opening back up and travel is beginning to resume, I thought I would share my top 8 travel wellness tips.
- Plan Ahead! Plan ahead and research where you're going and what's around you so you know where to pick up healthy bites. I also always try to bring healthy snacks with me on the plane so that I'm not stuck with airport food. These days, I'm loving THESE Pico de Gallo Bean and Rice Chips from Beanfields.
- Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. It's super easy to get dehydrated when traveling, so I try to drink a lot of water on the plane. I usually bring at least a liter with me and try to finish before the flight is over. You can grab my favorite water bottle from Amazon HERE.
- Get Up and Move! If possible, I try to get up and move around every hour on the plane (of course, if I'm not sleeping). I'll usually either walk to the bathroom or stand in the aisle and do some light stretching. This will help get your blood flowing and boost your circulation, which is key to feeling good when you land.
- Meditate. One of the most fun parts of traveling can be all the time you get with family or friends, but it can be hard to not have the time to yourself you may be used to. I like to try and take 5 - 10 to myself so I can close my eyes and meditate. There are so many meditations to choose from on The Sculpt Society app, but my favorites for traveling are this 6 min rest and reset meditation by Kelsey J. Patel and this 7 min breathing meditation by Ameerah Omar.
- Start your Day with Movement (if you can). Vacations for me usually start with slower mornings so I can get in my workout and be ready for the day just as everyone else is starting to think about breakfast! Once I feel like I’ve gotten my movement in for the day I feel like I can focus on making the rest of my day great! If I'm going somewhere where I know I’ll be walking around a lot, I’ll skip the morning workout!
- Don’t Stress About Food! The best part of traveling is trying new restaurants and cuisines, and you shouldn’t deny yourself the fun of food in new places because of food anxieties or trying to stick to a certain diet. Just like only a few days of eating healthy won’t magically transform you, a few days of eating and drinking what you like won’t throw you off course!
- Bring Easy to Pack Equipment. To get in a good hotel workout you really don’t need any equipment but if you want to level up or challenge yourself you can always pack our adjustable ankle weights that can double as hand weights, or sliders, bands and balls are so small and easy to pack! I have a lot of small space workouts on the app that don’t require any equipment. You can also use hand towels as sliders and water bottles and weights if push comes to shove!
- Don't overcompensate! When I get back from traveling and I feel like I maybe haven’t worked out as much as I usually do, or healthy food wasn’t always available, I try to just get back into my normal routine. A lot of people will try to overcompensate for their vacation habits and go into health-overdrive which leads into that restricting-binging cycle we all hate. Just pick back up where you left off and don’t punish yourself for enjoying every moment of your trip!