By: Laura Peill – (Check out her blog Chronicles of Passion & Facebook)
It's hard to stay healthy while travelling. It’s one thing to go on vacation and take a break from your workout routine and indulge more often in your meals. That's a must every now and then. After all, you're only human. But it’s different if you travel for work and are always on the road, where it becomes a constant battle of figuring out how to stay healthy and stay on track in foreign languages, different time zones and unknown city streets.
Here’s 10 things you can do to stay healthy while you travel:
Walk everywhere – When time allows, put on your walking shoes and get going! Forget about taxis, buses and trains, just start walking. Not only will you see more of the city, but you will get some exercise at the same time. Invite your colleagues along and see if you can even take one of your meetings on the road and talk about business as you soak in the sights of the city.
Book a hotel with a kitchenette – Having a kitchen, or a kitchenette with the ability to put food in the fridge, and heat things up can be a lifesaver in terms of keeping your eating on track. When you arrive, find the local grocery store or market and stock up on small quantities of healthy food options that require minimal preparation. Things such as baby spinach, baby carrots, precut veggies, fresh fruit, avocado, nuts and dried fruit. Although you may be used to preparing your own raw veggies at home, buy the pre cut ones and you can whip up a salad with some spinach and avocado. Use the fresh fruit and buy a container of yogurt and some healthy granola and you can have breakfast in your room and avoid the sugary options at the hotel breakfast. Be creative and think of simple meals you can make yourself so you don’t have too eat out to much and can save both money and your waistline!
Pre pack your snacks/food – If you are only going to be gone for a few days, make some healthy snacks at home and bring them with you. Things such as muffins, banana bread, and energy bites are all low fat, healthy options that will fill you up, while still being nutritious, and stop you from reaching for all the high fat appetizers at your work dinner in the evening. Going for a long time? Pack snacks for the first half and then treat yourself for the second, or resort to fresh fruit, nuts, and healthy prepackaged options such as Larabars and dried fruit bars.
Look into the hotel gym/fitness options – When you are booking your hotel, (if you have the option), choose one that has a gym in it. If it is right down the hall from you or a couple floors up, you won’t have the excuse of not having time, or not being able to drive there. Better yet, hotels often offer complimentary water, towels, snacks and sometimes even running groups with shoes and clothes to help you look after your fitness while you’re gone.
Look up local studios and sign up for classes – Just because you are not at home in your regular fitness studio, doesn’t mean you can’t try out a new one! Often studios will have free trial classes, or offer drop in rates. Talk to the hotel staff, because they may have cards or coupons that the studios have left with the hotel to encourage guests to visit. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to get a new perspective on your favourite workout and learn something new!
Bring your running sneakers and one set of workout clothes – If there is no gym, no local fitness classes or yoga studio and you are staying in the middle of an industrial park, there’s always running. Never leave home without your running shoes and one set of all purpose workout gear that you could wear for yoga, running, a walk around the city, or for a bootcamp class. And when all else fails (or as your first resort), lace up your sneakers and hit the road running. Not only will you get some exercise, but it’s a great way to see more of the city and check out areas that may be too far to go on foot, or to scope out where your dinner party is that evening. Not a fan of running? Try some hotel room workouts that don’t require any equipment. This Whole Body HIIT Workout, or this core workout are two great places to start!
