9 Easy Tips on How to Stay Healthy While Travelling

It’s not always easy to stick to your healthy plan while you’re travelling. You’re most likely eating out for most meals and snacking on things in between that you wouldn’t usually have in your kitchen pantry – often that’s the fun of travelling right? However there are ways on how to stay healthy while travelling.

Whilst I’d never recommend that you miss out, of course you’re on holiday, but I’m sure you know as well as I do how much fun it is getting home and realising your pants don’t fit so well anymore (not!). It doesn’t feel good when you get back and wonder if it was worth indulging in as many deep-fried prawns or gelato ice creams as you did while you were away.

So in this article, I share 9 easy tips on how to stay healthy while travelling and how to avoid the post-holiday bloat, while also letting you enjoy the delicious cuisine of the country you’re visiting.

These were the very strategies I followed on a recent holiday we had to Thailand so keep them in mind if you’re heading away next holidays.

1. Take snacks with you – Travel with some snacks so if you have long periods of time at airports or days out doing activities, you are prepared. Or if you just like to have your favourite muesli for breakfast, take it with you. As long as they’re packaged and sealed, you shouldn’t have any issues getting them through customs. I took the Clean Paleo Manuka Crunch muesli, some protein bars, some packaged nuts and my Nutrient Rescue double shot powders so I was ensured I was still getting my fruit and veggie intake.
2. Breakfast – Often resort holiday packages include a buffet breakfast, which can be wonderful but also classic environment to over eat. You’ll find you over indulge in the first couple of days, but instead of choosing the sugary cereals, or the fried eggs and hash browns, choose the healthier options which should include some form of protein, vegetables and healthy fats.
3. Have salad for breakfast – Often salad can be a bit dicey in certain countries due to hygiene and it’s recommended to avoid it. If you have the option, choose a salad for breakfast – add some protein in the form of eggs, salmon or meat and lots of salad ingredients to set you up for the day – choose a light dressing or just a drizzle.
4. Ditch the pastries – Buffet breakfasts will always include a large array of pastries – as tempting as they are, if you don’t eat them at home, why eat them when you’re away? A couple is definitely ok but eaten regularly over a period of time is definitely how the calories stack up so exercise some discipline and choose the fresh fruit instead.
5. Use the resort gym if available – If your resort offers an in-house gymnasium, use it. Even though you’re on holiday, if you regularly exercise at home, why would you stop? I always ensure I get my exercise done first thing (before the heat gets up) which then makes me feel great, therefore I make healthier choices during the day too. If you’re not a gym goer, head outside for a walk or a run (there wasn’t any running in Thailand though, the heat was far too intense!). Or find fun ways to incorporate incidental exercise into your holiday. It might be stand-up paddle boarding, going for long walks along the beach, or just walking around the shops and markets is excellent exercise (or taking the steps instead of the lift at your resort or hotel).
6. Make the healthy choice for dinner – For evening meals, choose soup based or stir-fried options instead of deep-fried. And leave out the rice or the noodles and ask for more vegetables instead.
7. Be diligent with your personal hygiene – ensure everyone washes their hands regularly as no one wants to be sick while they’re away – an instant hand sanitiser is handy to add to your bags and if diarrhoea is a common occurrence in the country you’re travelling to, consider taking a tablet to help reduce the risk of infection – we took Travelan and no one got sick.
8. Drink plenty of water – it goes without saying that you need to stay hydrated so make this one of your main focusses, especially if you’re in a hot country.
9. Go prepared! – Lastly, don’t forget insect repellent, sunscreen, Dia-stop (if the diarrhoea does hit), Panadol, anti-itch cream, or purifying water tablets so you’re well prepared for whatever may come your way.

Simple but healthy ideas, where you still get to enjoy your holiday and don’t feel like you’re missing out, but where you will be avoiding the extra calories and how to stay healthy while you’re travelling!

Until you head away on your next holiday, head to the RECIPES SECTION on my website where there is a large selection of different recipes from different cuisines to choose from to explore!