When you travel, especially if you’re on vacation, it’s simple to let healthy practices slide. However, it is realistically possible to enjoy yourself, taste the local cuisine, and get some exercise without giving yourself a full vacation.
How To Eat Healthy When You Travel For Work/Vacation?
Getting the correct nutritional balance1 might be difficult when arriving late in a foreign nation or city, especially if you are unfamiliar with the local food.
So
Prepare
Instead of randomly choosing the next fast food restaurant to your hotel or meeting location, use the internet to research healthier options in your destination. You can control what you consume and when by being prepared, even when going into the unknown.
Snacking
Maintaining energy levels can be achieved by eating healthy snacks2. Avoid empty calories or foods heavy in fat and sugar but low in other nutrients, including sweets, biscuits, cake, and crisps/chips/fries, and bring more snacks than you think you’ll need.
If your mealtimes are delayed by travel, carrying healthy snacks might help you avoid feeling guilty about eating them. Especially those with high levels of protein can keep you full.
Look for these smart snacks when traveling. Such as fresh fruits, cut vegetables, trail mix, nuts or seeds, beef jerky (find sugar-free varieties), popcorn, protein, or energy bars/balls.
Fighting fatigue
Tiredness is a typical side effect of travel, especially when traveling at night or across time zones. Many people consume sugary or caffeinated drinks as self-medication. After a long journey, a little coffee will help wake you up, but sugary drinks are more likely to
lead to a crash.
You can try the following Snacks to fight tiredness when traveling. Here is a list of a few healthy snacks you can try: blueberries, bananas, apples, goji berries, yogurt, water, dark chocolate, flax seed, and nuts.
Hotels
Some hotels offer a limited choice of meals or may have closed kitchens when guests arrive or want a meal. If you arrive during the day, prepare a nutritious “hotel picnic” that you can eat in your room. After visiting a nearby grocery is a good way to control what you eat.
If you want to stay for a while, request a room with a fridge and a kettle to prepare low-sodium instant soups like miso and store cold items. You will be more prepared to deal with hunger cravings this way.
Here are the best healthy travel tips that you can follow when traveling:
- Eat protein with every meal
- Don’t skip breakfast
- Take travel-friendly cutlery so you can eat more widely at your destination and not rely on packaged foods and restaurants
- Avoid processed foods — especially processed meats
- Stick to your routine and eat like you’re at home
- Only eat when you’re hungry
- Stay hydrated — take and drink water
- Don’t drink or eat to aid sleep
How To Stay Healthy When Traveling Overseas?
It cannot be easy to stay healthy while traveling, but you can follow the tips below and stay healthy.
Observe And Listen To Your Body
Many of us have loads of energy, and we usually feel unstoppable. Long nights out, staying up till dawn, and fast change to increase our short time are all possible on a trip abroad.
Such a way of living can harm both your current and future health. Never let your body catch up to your fast-paced way of life makes you more susceptible to illness and disease, both now and as you age
Take Time For Yourself
Exploring a strange nation with a group of like-minded individuals who are in your situation has some advantages. First, you’ll meet some of the best people and create amazingly strong relationships.
We all require time for ourselves as humans. Everyone must relax, spend time with their thoughts, and avoid being around other people.
In The Flight
On airplanes, avoid the aisle. When choosing your airline seat, you might want to be extra picky. Yes, you can easily stand up. But when your neighbor wakes you up, you can be exposed to more germs and get less sleep.
Best Exercises For Staying Healthy While Traveling?
Trying to stay healthy during a vacation is very tiring and it’s easy to fall off your normal workout routine. However, I have the following tips to follow to stay active.
Quick Exercises
Because they are so short, high-intensity exercises are useful for many reasons, including the obvious time savings and the fact that you burn many calories.
At Home Workout
Warm up by walking up and down one set of steps for one minute. Then, run up the 2 to 3 stairs as quickly as possible. Fall away, back down. Push yourself as low to the floor as possible during as many pushups. Repeat these workouts five times.
Running
Walk to a place, such as a parking lot. Look for an area that matches half of a football field in length at a park outside. After one length of running as fast as you can, walk or jog back to the beginning. Repeat the steps three times. Then you’re sorted.
Anywhere Exercises
Here are some suggestions for workouts that can fit into any busy schedule if you want to squeeze in your activity without making time for a focused workout, no matter how short.
- Plan to do 20 sets of walking two steps at a time up a staircase
- When you’re not driving or are sitting in a car, raise each leg toward the sky one at a time while quickly switching sides to exercise your core.
- Add 10 more sitting and standing reps when you go to the bathroom.
I have found the perfect blog which will be able to help you with healthy travel trips. Check out Stay Healthy While Traveling – Travel Guides – The New York Times.
Which Countries Have the Healthiest Foods?
Turkey
So, all around the nation, fresh produce such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and meat is produced, giving in highly nutritious and delicious food.
You can check out the Turkey Visa guide for more information on your visa requirements.
So, Turkish food uses flavors and spices that are delicious and have antioxidant benefits. That helps lower cholesterol, eliminate toxins, and boost the immune system.
Vegetarian and vegan dishes are common in Turkish food and can be enjoyed on their own, with rice or other grains, or as a side dish with meat or fish.
During festive seasons, a big crowd will gather and eat lamb, beef, or maybe fish that has been grilled or cooked over fire. The grain salads, meze, and other side dishes are often prepared with fresh, in-season ingredients, and fresh herbs are frequently used to flavor them.
Many foods are naturally made with olive oil. They are also vegan-friendly since olive oil has traditionally been simpler to produce and store than butter.
Go check out The Health Benefits of Turkish Cuisine – GoTürkiye for more health benefits.
Iceland
The population is outdoorsy and active, and both men and women can expect to live into their 80s by eating a lot of fresh fish and free-range beef.
Japan
The Okinawa region is said to have the biggest population of older adults in the world, and scientists estimate that a third of the population of Japan is older than 65. This combination of exercise and diet has helped Japan have the oldest population in the world.
It has also been shown that the Okinawan custom of Hara Hachi bu (eating until 80% full) promotes lifespan and lowers the risk of sickness.
Switzerland
The Swiss have some of the longest life expectancies, a whopping 84 years. Clean water, low crime rates, and a strong work-life balance are additional important factors.
Sweden
With a diet strong in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates, Swedes have the second-highest life expectancy in the European region (82 years, only behind Norway’s 83 years).
You can check the following blog 10 Healthiest Countries in the World | Condé Nast Traveler for the next time you plan your trip and make sure it is a healthy trip.
Finally, I have gathered the best travel advice on how you can plan a healthy trip and make sure that you know the best places to travel for a healthy vacation. Happy traveling and don’t forget to pack your healthy snacks
- Dickson‐Spillmann, Maria, and Michael Siegrist. “Consumers’ knowledge of healthy diets and its correlation with dietary behaviour.” Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24.1 (2011): 54-60. ↩︎
- Ciurzyńska, Agnieszka, et al. “Eating habits and sustainable food production in the development of innovative “healthy” snacks.” Sustainability 11.10 (2019): 2800. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sathi
