HOW TO STAY HEALTHY WHILE TRAVELING

The big question on everyones lips at the moment: how to stay healthy while traveling?? Although traveling is awesome and has many benefits, it definitely takes a toll on our physical health. Long plane rides, different time zones, restaurant food, lack of sleep, PANDEMICS, (etc), are among the many things that affect all of us! So, how is it possible to keep a healthy lifestyle while abroad? Over the years, and while working as a flight attendant, I’ve discovered a few things that really help me stay in good shape and help my body feel great and energized. These things might not work for everyone, hence why it is so important to find specific things that work for you. I thought I’d share my personal tricks to give you a few tools to start “healthy traveling”.

Sleep

Sleeping a lot is the key to a good trip. When we travel, we often are so busy visiting and doing a thousand different things that we neglect our sleep. Especially when you travel to different time zones, sleeping good 8 hour nights will give you the energy to make the most of your trip. Some of you might roll your eyes at this tip but trust me, it is THE most important to stay healthy (physically and mentally) and to enjoy your travels to the fullest.

Stay Hydrated

Once again, I know this sounds super obvious, but some people forget the importance of staying hydrated when they travel. Drinking water is essential and is one of the best ways to beat jet lag (in my opinion). If you travel by plane, it’s even more important because airplanes are so dry and you get dehydrated way faster than you would on the ground.

If you always carry a big reusable bottle with you, it’s easier to drink water constantly throughout the day. My best “travel hack” is to buy lemons to add to your water bottle! You can buy lemons in almost every country.. and starting your day with lemon water is the best gift you can give your body as it kick starts your metabolism. If you stay well hydrated during your trip, you will see a huge difference in your energy level and you will be able to enjoy yourself more!

Eat Healthy Meals

Traveling doesn’t mean you have to eat unhealthy food and fast food all the time. Obviously, while traveling we like to try new foods (and sometimes they’re not the healthiest) but keeping a good balance is very important. If you are staying in an airbnb or hostel or even a hotel room with a kitchen, I suggest cooking some of your meals. It is so easy to go to a local grocery store and buy some food to cook yourself. Cooking one or two healthy meals a day (and eating out for the third meal) will help you find that balance and feel good instead of feeling heavy and bloated. Another bonus of cooking your own meals while traveling is that you will save tons of money!!

Carry Healthy Snacks

If you are anything like me, you snack all the time! When I travel, I love carrying little healthy snacks in my bag in case I get hungry. When you are in a different time zone, you get hungry at really random times during the day because your body is still following your usual schedule from back home. I find that when I don’t carry healthy snacks I tend to stop and buy the unhealthiest snacks whenever I get hungry (like chips or ice cream or even candies). This is a good way to keep you full and healthy until your next meal! Also, drinking lots of water sometimes acts as a snack and will keep you full a little bit longer! Here are some of my favourite snacks to carry at all times:

• fruits (fresh or dry)
• mixed nuts
• granola bars

No Meat

I am not trying to convince anyone to become vegetarian, but when you travel abroad, I strongly believe that you should not eat meat. Meat is already tough to digest for most people (including myself) and eating it in foreign countries is even worse! You know nothing about how the animals are treated or what they eat or where they stay and you also know nothing about how or where the meat is processed. If you are someone who often gets sick while abroad, maybe you should consider trying out this tip! Cutting out meat while traveling has done wonders for many people I know so I decided to share it with you! Hopefully it can help you too.

Walk

Don’t be lazy!! Walking in foreign cities and countries is by far my favourite way to get around! Not only does it keep you active, but you get to see so much more than by taking the bus/taxi/uber. Obviously, for long distances you often can’t walk.. but if you are visiting a city or trying to get from a point A to a point B that are not too far, just walk! Walking is probably the most underrated form of exercise (hence why I think it is so great). Instead of sitting on a sightseeing bus, go walk around and get your body moving and your blood pumping and it will help you will feel amazing and stay in good shape!

Europe is probably the best continent to walk around. Visiting cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Frankfurt, Madrid, Tokyo, and many more will have you walking around all day and feel so active!

Stretch/ do Yoga

Traveling or not, I try to stretch every morning when I wake up. I feel like it prepares my body for the day and it helps me feel good! Keeping that habit while traveling is a good idea because it reduces all the stress from long plane/bus/train rides. Find a simple but effective stretching routine you like and stick with it every morning (and you can also do it at night after a long day). I promise that this will help your body feel good and balanced and ready to walk around and explore the city/country that you are visiting!

If you have time and want to do yoga, I strongly suggest it. Yoga is popular all over the world so it is always pretty easy to find yoga classes where you are. Each instructor and each country have their own different take on yoga so it can be very interesting to discover the differences all over the world.

Exercise

I might start to sound a bit redundant (because I’ve already mentioned walking and stretching) but exercising is very important even when you’re traveling. Most people will say that they don’t have time to exercise when traveling. However, exercising regularly will increase your energy level which will help you be even more productive and not as tired during your day! If you start your day with exercise, you will be ready for a full day of touristing/sightseeing or any adventuring you want. Also, if you are a very active person at home, it is important to keep that going even when you are traveling.

There is really no excuse when it comes to doing a small workout because you can do an easy HIIT (high intensity interval training) from the comfort of your hotel room! Try something like this:

• push-ups
• sit-ups
• burpees
• mountain climbers
• squats/jump squats
• plank

If you stick to these simple body weight exercises you will feel stronger and in better shape. Do 15 reps of each of these and repeat the whole thing 3 times.

Pack Lightly

This tip might seem odd for some people so let me explain. Packing lightly will play a huge role on your mental health. The main reason is because the less things you have to worry about, the better you will feel. Packing too many things is never good because you will feel unorganized and lost in all your stuff.

Mental health is such a crucial part of our health and it is important to take great care of it even while traveling. Little tips like packing light have been game changers for me and that’s why I think it is important to share them with you! Don’t bring more then you need while traveling (anyways we always end up wearing the same 3-4 outfits.. so you definitely don’t need 10). Keep your suitcase decluttered and your mind will feel better and you will be ready to take on your daily dose of adventure!

Follow all Health Protocols

Funny things is I actually wrote this article before the pandemic, but never got around to posting it. While reviewing my content, I realized how important and timely this post is in 2021. I decided to add one last category before publishing: following all health protocols.

As we know, we’ve been dealing with a global pandemic for almost 2 years now. Although travelling is picking up again, it is very important to stay safe for our sake and to protect the ones around us. Most countries have their own health protocols and recommendations in place. Make sure you do your research before travelling. Get your vaccines, get your COVID tests, wear your mask, carry hand sanitizer, and try to social distance as much as you can. Many people may not feel like they are personally at risk, but we don’t want to bring the virus into the beautiful countries we decide to visit. Also, as a flight attendant, please be kind and patient with people in the tourism industry.. we do not make the rules but we do have to enforce them. So, stay safe and enjoy your travels!!

Obviously staying healthy while traveling can be a struggle but I think it is very important! Most of the tips I’ve shared here are about physical health. However, finding your own ways to keep a good mental health should be a priority too. I hope this article helps you during your next trip. It really is possible to keep a healthy lifestyle while away from home. I used to struggle with this concept a lot when I first started my job as a flight attendant, but 6 years later I can say that I’ve found my own balance. If you have other good tips on how to remain healthy on your travels I would love to hear them in the comment section.