Achieve Travel Health: 8 Essential Tips for Healthy Eating on the Go
“You are what you eat”
Proverbial knowledge that still stands true to this date. Your diet, the food, the consumption habits and timings all affect your way of life, how you look, how you might behave and do a great job at eliminating extreme emotions making you more composed, less reactive, happier and an individual with a more vibrant outlook on life in general.
A routine gets naturally established when you live the same day every day. You decide what to eat, how much of it to eat, what to invest your time in and the things you’ll do during the entirety of the day. Usually, people tend to mould their eating and entertainment timings around their work schedules and deadlines. Some people choose to skip breakfast whereas some deliberately get up early to get a quick fix in. This routine is majorly shaped by your personal and professional life and it gets disrupted during travel.
Travel introduces change, even if for a temporary period. Getting lost in the culture, in the destination and in the cuisine makes it difficult to maintain your routine. It is very easy to prioritize experiences and things to check off of your bucket list over meals or eating properly.
Travelling can expose you to different cuisines, cultures and people, and while that is essential to immersing yourself in the destination you’re visiting, aligning to a diet or a pattern of consumption can get increasingly harder. You might not have access to your everyday foods and your routine thus can go out the window.
However, infusing yourself with the culture is of high importance too. A major part of travelling is being able to experience the destination through food and through cuisines. It will keep you maintain your travel health. Many cuisines have healthier alternatives to their food and upon looking I’m sure you’ll find dishes that you’ve never heard of or seen before and might even become a part of your daily routine when you’re back home.
Thus, in this article are mentioned a few tips that could help you get travel health back on track with your healthy eating habits and still make the most of your travels by immersing yourself in the culture and in the people.
“How Can You Maintain Healthy Eating While Traveling? Essential Tips for Travel Health”
1. Plan your Trips Thoroughly
For ‘travel health’ you should have knowledge about your place of stay, your locality and the various grocery store options in the area for easy access to healthy snacks or fruits etc. Consider packing some to take with you on your journey, an easy and healthy way is to store high-energy snacks with you like protein bars, nuts and fruits to eat between meals or on the go.
2. Keep yourself hydrated
Invest in a reusable water bottle and fill it up whenever you find the opportunity to do so. Drinking plenty of water and keeping yourself hydrated is most essential on the go. It helps your body function normally, removes toxins and keeps you highly energetic. Avoid drinks high in sugar like soda or juice or even caffeine in high amounts since it can lead to dehydration.
3. Choose your dishes wisely while eating out
When you dine out in your area of choice, try to consciously choose meals that are rich in healthy fats, fibre, protein and lots of vegetables. Focus more on baked dishes, grilled or roasted dishes instead of fried foods or high in sugar foods. Try keeping your meals light and focus on ‘travel health’ as you should be a health-conscious individual even during travel.
4. Practice portion controlling
Maintain your travel health by being mindful of your portion consumption. Many restaurants tend to serve larger portions which can lead to weight gain and over-eating. To fix this, perhaps invite a friend along who would want to share or carry a go-to container. You can also request the restaurant to align to your portion sizes.
5. Pick accommodation with an attached kitchenette
Consider choosing to stay in an accommodation that has an attached kitchenette. This will give you the time, space and plenty of opportunity to cook for yourself, and create your healthy meals and is more cost-effective than dining out every day. Stock up on healthy seasonal, local vegetables and perhaps even pick up a book on local cuisine to feel the aura and warmth of the culture of the destination still.
Make it an experience and cook together with friends and family or whoever you’re travelling with.
6. Keep yourself physically active
Learn to make it a habit to stay active. Staying active will ensure that you are on an energy high and that your overall health is taken care of. Choose accommodations with fitness options like gym, places to perform yoga and use resistance bands. Use the local transport and try to walk to places instead of driving or biking. Explore your destination on foot.
7. Immerse in the culture
Under the pretext of healthy eating, don’t deprive yourself of the experience of travelling to a new location. Being in a different destination can largely expose you to cuisines and dishes you otherwise would not have had the opportunity to eat. Thus try not to restrict yourself and experiment as much as possible with food. Enjoy the local treats, and delicacies and balance them with a healthier meal later on.
8. Listen to your body
Finally, listen to your body. If you feel lethargic after a meal or if you feel hazy, it’s best not to repeat it.
Throughout your travels, it’s absolutely essential to keep checking in with yourself and noticing what feels good and what doesn’t.
Thus while travelling, although it is easy to let go of your habits and routines, healthy eating is still largely accomplishable. Through conscious decision-making, being present at the moment and learning how to prioritise yourself and your body, healthy eating can be continued even if you’re countries away. It can help you focus on yourself, build a better intra-personal relationship and add manifolds to your experience by allowing you to have more energy, feel better internally and truly be able to focus on yourself and your destination.
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