Maintaining a Healthy Diet and Lifestyle while Traveling
Traveling is great for the soul. I love visiting new places and experiencing other cultures, which includes their local foods! It’s such a nice thing for my guy and I to do together. However, we both know that it can be difficult to maintain healthy habits when we are away from home and our usual routine. I think the most important things to make an effort to maintain while traveling are diet, exercise, sleep and hydration. I’ll focus more on diet in this post, since exercise is often achieved while traveling if you choose to explore your surroundings on foot as much as possible, but I’ll include a few tips on exercising, sleep and hydration at the end.
When it comes to eating well, it can be difficult to stay on track, and it really depends on where you travel. For example, some places will have diets that naturally match your own. For example, tons of countries have diets that are naturally somewhat gluten free. Mexican, Asian, and Indian diets are all quite naturally gluten free if you opt for corn tortillas with your tacos, or if you go for rice based dishes in the latter two regions. However, you still need to be careful and somewhat knowledgeable about a particular region’s cuisine when it comes to other things like soy (heavily used in most Asian cuisine), sugar and meats, to name a few. So if you have a particular diet, or you’re avoiding certain foods, then here are a few tips for you:
1) Do your research! Get an idea of what your destination’s cuisine normally consists of. For example, if you’re traveling to Japan and you don’t eat gluten, soy or sugar, then you’ll want to avoid tempura (battered items), soy sauce, omelettes and even sushi rice, all of which can sometimes contain sugar, depending on where you go. Get an idea of what dishes will appeal to your dietary needs, and order those when you can.
2) Enjoy cooking with local flavours. This may seems like an arduous task, and may not be functional for some travellers, but my guy and I really love to do this. Plus, you can share the recipes you have learned once you return home. We are huge fans of Airbnb when we travel because we can usually find a whole apartment with a kitchen for a reasonable price. When we are in one place for more than a day or two, we find that cooking and shopping at local markets is a great way to stay on track with our food, maintain a reasonable budget, and experience the local culture! For example, I’m writing this post from a small condo in Spain that we’ve rented from friends for a two week vacation. We’re in a small town where we can visit the local market each morning, where we purchase local meats, vegetables, and fruits. Just remember there are a few things that can make this easier. First, we decided to start of the trip by visiting a local supermarket to buy a few essentials, like olive oil and salt/spices for cooking (salt and pepper plus a nice herb mix will do the trick), almond/oat/coconut milk, some gluten free oatmeal, etc. Having a few key items like this will make cooking a breeze.
If you CAN’T get an apartment with a kitchen, then even a small fridge can come in handy. I travel for work a lot, and usually I have a small hotel room with a mini-fridge. So, I’ll often just head to a local bulk food shop or market and get a mason jar (if I didn’t think to bring one), some gluten free oatmeal, some almond milk, and a few extras like almond butter, cocoa nibs, gogi berries, and coconut flakes. Each evening before bed, I would put 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 1 cup of almond milk, and throw it in the fridge. In the morning, BAM! I had overnight oats. I added some toppings and went on my way. It was so much quicker (and cheaper) than getting breakfast at a restaurant, and I got to stick to a fairly healthy morning routine. If you need some extra protein in the morning, try adding protein powder to your overnight oats!
3) Indulge, but in moderation. And frankly, this also applies to any event that you attend where you think “since I’m here, I may as well just eat what I want” - I don’t care if it’s a birthday party, an office retirement party, Christmas Eve or you’re traveling to a new destination; you need to indulge in moderation. I’ll do a separate blog post on this because I think it’s super important, but for now I’ll just say that even when traveling, you should try to maintain healthy habits as much as possible. You are absolutely going to go into an Italian bakery, or a French pastry shop, and have a big croissant or some creme brûlée. And you should! Those things are amazing and you can definitely enjoy those things one in a while. But if you’re having them at every meal then you’re no longer just enjoying the local culture and cuisine - you’re using that as an excuse to over-indulge. I’m here in Spain at the moment and I love sweets, even though I know nothing here is gluten free and is rarely naturally sweetened. So I’ve given myself permission to enjoy the odd chocolate from a small pastry shop. It’s a small sweet treat that I enjoy eating, but I’m not changing my entire lifestyle just because I’m on vacation. Eating well is a way of living, not a fad, and if it is truly who you are/want to become, then you should stick with it in general, traveling or not. Marc and I enjoyed some Crema Catalana (similar to crème brûlée) the other day and it was wonderful, but I spent the rest of the day eating vegetables, fruits, and other healthy items. The reason I don’t feel deprived is because I don’t want to eat garbage all day. You can’t feel deprived of something that you don’t want in the first place.
4) Don’t set a standard of perfection. When you’re traveling (just like when you’re at a special event), you can let yourself enjoy things you would not normally eat. You can get that croissant or the tempura or those cheese boards if you are eating them because you are there to explore and enjoy local cuisine. As long as you’re not eating unhealthy foods constantly, your body can tolerate a certain amount of gluten/soy/sugar/dairy/whatever you’ve chosen to eliminate. Just like I wouldn’t suggest setting a standard of perfection for yourself at home, I think you certainly shouldn’t be too limiting when you’re exploring a new place. Eat the things you want, enjoy them, but intersperse them with healthy foods so that your body stays in a state of balance. Making yourself sick on vacation isn’t really productive, and as I said above - traveling isn’t an excuse for gluttony.
5) Supplements can help. Now, I’m not going to tell you what supplements to take, I’ll leave that to your health professional. However, if you’re taking supplements like a probiotic for your gut health, something to calm your stomach when it gets irritated, or something for adrenal support to ease the effects of stress, then don’t leave those at home. They’re extra important when traveling. I personally have a sensitive stomach, so I bring things with me when I travel to ease the effects of any irritating foods I eat. Currently my favorite is slippery elm tea, which I’m drinking every evening before bed to sooth my belly. I’m also taking digestive enzymes with my meals to give my gut some extra support, and I’m ensuring that I don’t forget my daily probiotic (ensure you have a shelf-stable probiotic when traveling - one that doesn’t need to be refrigerated).
6) Local good habits. You should also explore your area’s local sources of healing foods. Many cultures have probiotic foods as part of their regular diets (think Germany and sauerkraut, or Korea and kimchi) and you should take full advantage of it. We’re by the Mediterranean right now, and we’ve been able to enjoy a plethora of fantastic healthy foods. Learn new things about food in your destination, and bring that knowledge home with you!
Ultimately, it’s important to include - to the extent that you can - your normal lifestyle and daily habits when you’re abroad. While you aren’t going to maintain your healthiest lifestyle when you’re away from home, your body will thank you for not totally going off the wagon and into dietary la la land. Order plant-based meals when possible, seek out healthy places to eat, and enjoy desserts or fried items in moderation.
Now, I almost forgot that I promised a note on exercise! Exercise is super important every day, including while traveling. I have a travel yoga mat (it’s thin so you can roll it up small and put it in your suitcase) which helps me to stick with my daily yoga routine. Marc loves going for long walks or hikes, and tries to incorporate as much adventure into the trip as possible. As I said above, seeing your travel destination as a pedestrian (or by renting a bike) is a great way to ensure you stay active.
Finally, there are a few other things you should remember to do while traveling. Here are a few extra tips:
1) Hydration: Drink TONS of water, particularly when on a plane or during long drives. It’s easy to forget to drink a lot of water while you’re out and about, and as a result, many of us get dehydrated. Add alcohol to that (which I’d include in the food rules above - use in moderation) and you’re likely going to feel unwell. Do some research to find out if you need to drink bottled water in your travel destination, or if local water is safe for you to drink. Either way, make hydration a priority.
2) Sleep: Don’t let sleep fall off of the priority list, either. Sleep is critical for your body to recharge, and when you’re traveling, your body needs sleep. If you’re suffering from jet lag, do your best to get onto a regular sleep schedule as quickly as possible. Lots of people recommend melatonin to reset your sleep clock, but I’m not an expert so consult with a professional. Otherwise, don’t underestimate the benefits of a good nap.
3) L’amour: Speaking of the bedroom… the adventure of travelling can be a great way to spice up your love life! Sex is extremely important for your health (great exercise and an awesome source of endorphins) as well as for the health of your relationship. Enjoy this time to get close... really close ;)
Safe and healthy travels everyone!
