Wellness while traveling

It’s always easier to stay on task, keep moving and eat in a healthy pattern while you are in your day to day routine.  But go on vacation or travel and that all goes out the window!!!  Eating out repeatedly, no energy or motivation to go a gym and lots of sugar all creep up on you and can wreck your digestive system, energy and overall wellbeing. 

I’m often asked what it looks like to practice wellness while traveling or on vacation.  If you are here for some tips and ideas I’ve learned along the way, you are in the right spot!  I spent over a decade traveling often for work, so these come straight from my own experience.

I’ll first say that this will look different for everyone.  Some people see vacation/travel as a chance to completely stop moving and completely relax, while others want to GO GO GO while they are traveling and see all the sights.  On business trips, some people have the option of building in time for themselves and others find their calendars completely full -  I’ll trust that you’ll use your own judgement on what tips will work for you and which won’t.  You are the expert!

The following are options you may find help you feel like yourself while traveling and keep your digestive system on track as well.

1 – Give yourself grace and space to rest while you are traveling. 

This one may be the hardest for us type A’s who are always chasing the wind.  It’s ok to keep up your current schedule if you want to, but it’s also ok to not!  Do what works best for you and your mental health.  I like to go to gyms in my normal everyday life, but when I’m on vacation or traveling, I love to take walks, ride bikes and go running to see the scenery.  Do what makes your body feel good, gets you moving and also lets you see the fun area you are visiting!

If you are traveling for work, a great way to get in movement is to try and stay near where you are working so you can walk as much as possible – this saves money and gets you outside in the fresh air!  If you’ve sat in a windowless conference center for days you know what I mean.

You may get no extra movement in, and maybe that is just what your body needed.

2 – Make a plan ahead of time for what you decide to do.

Let’s say you decide you want to go running while traveling – do you have an app that can provide fun music and show routes?  We love all trails app for finding hikes in the area we are traveling to – shows you distance, level of difficulty and what others have to say – so helpful!  Maybe wellness for you looks like booking a massage before you travel for a spa in your hotel.  Whatever you want to do, take the time to research it before you travel and you’ll be so happy you did!

If you want to keep up a fitness routine, you can always check ahead of time with the hotel to see what amenities they offer, as well as anything they may provide free to your room.  I’m known to travel with my yoga mat and my jump rope.  Which brings up Airbnb’s – usually no gym, but so many apps offer body weight workouts / walks and runs.  Who needs equipment?  Check out my blog on no equipment workouts!

3 – Bring food with you!

Knowing you will be eating out of your normal rhythm and frequency, it’s helpful for me to bring some snacks that I know sit well with my stomach.  I love to pack oatmeal, protein bars and fiber bars…just in case I need them.  If you have time, check out what grocery stores will be around you so that you can stock up on some staples (fruits/veggies) to round out all the eating out you are doing. 

Another tip I use is to pretty much always either share a meal with someone or take half of it to go with me – easy lunch the next day.  I like to make sure that if I’m not in an Airbnb my hotel room has a mini fridge – this makes it so much easier to store snacks and drinks.

4 – Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!!

One of the first things to go by the wayside when traveling is drinking water.  It’s hard when you are flying or driving and don’t know when you’ll be able to stop to use the rest room.  When you can, drink as much water as you normally would to keep yourself hydrated.  Travel with a reusable water bottle so you can fill up at airports, hotels and anywhere there is free water!  This helps both your wallet and the environment.

5 – Know your sleep patterns will be altered and plan ahead!

Most likely, you’ll be getting up later and going to bed later, so your daily rhythms may be thrown off a bit.  One thing that may be helpful is to download some meditation apps to help you go to sleep.  Some of my favorites are headspace, calm and the peloton app.  I always have a “noise machine” app on my phone to turn on a fan noise – hotels can be so noisy!

I also like to travel with a candle and a robe.  It just feels more homey to be able to light a candle and put on my robe at the end of the day.  If we have room, we also bring our own pillows – it makes a world of difference to sleep on the pillows you are used to…especially the older you get.  Do whatever will make you feel more at home and restful when it’s time to go to bed.

Most importantly, enjoy the beauty of the scenery around you and the people you are with – a huge aspect of wellness is your connection with others – don’t miss this as you travel!  Put your phone down (I often turn on airplane mode when I travel), be present and enjoy the ride. Want to work with us at begin again to relearn how to practice wellness while you travel? Message us to get started!

Bon voyage!