5 Travel Tips For The Health-Conscious: How To Avoid Straying Too Far From Your Health & Fitness Routine While Travelling and Indulging

Hi Clean Addicts!

We’ve just been on a 2-week holiday and we like to share our health tips. We know it's so hard to resist when there are so many temptations while travelling!

While we aren't certified nutritionists, here are some practical tips that we’d like to share that works for us – to not only make healthful conscious decisions, but also enjoy yourself.

We genuinely hope that you'll find them useful and handy while preparing for your next trip! 

TIP 1) BYOB - Bring Your Own Bottle and Drink up

No, we’re not talking about alcohol here, but your own water bottle! Sitting long hours on the plane will dehydrate you due to the changes in pressure. If you feel tired after a flight, this is the reason.

Not drinking and retaining enough water can make you feel fatigue, headaches, nausea, and more, and airplanes are like the desert. It's "the perfect environment for draining you of all moisture" where "men can lose around two liters of water during a 10-hour flight (4% of your bodily water), and women can lose around 1.6 litres"!

One good way to drink more would be to request for your water bottle to be filled by a crew member and remember to sip on it frequently when on your flight. According to the Aerospace Medical Association,  states that we should be consuming 240ml water per hour if your flight is more than 4 hours long.

This not only helps to hydrate your body, and to also reduce the number of single-use plastic cups that they tend to give out more than they need! Try to also limit your sodium and alcohol intake as they encourage loss of fluids.

If possible, bring a bottle that’s also able to store hot water. It'd be very useful especially when you travel to a cold climate and help to keep your body warm!

Carrying a bottle around also saves you from purchasing sodas or juices and encourages you to hydrate yourself.

If you feel like you get hungry easily, you could actually be thirsty!

TIP 2) Stay Active & Bring Comfortable Shoes 

We always bring a pair of running shoes everywhere we go and be prepared to walk and work out.

If your accommodation has a gym, take advantage of that (like us) and smash a workout.

If it doesn’t, don’t worry! Working out doesn’t have to be confined to the gym! We visited cities like Sydney and Wellington; they are extremely walkable and pedestrian-friendly. We walked everywhere and on a packed day of sightseeing, we clocked up to 15-20k steps – enough to call it a workout! (Your feet may hurt the next day so remember to massage them.)

If you're more adventurous, try opting for hiking if the location has scenic views! It will be a rewarding experience after reaching the peak.

HIIT workout junkies can also stream workout videos on your phone or TV, and even bring your own workout equipment like a jump rope or resistance bands.

Our go-tos are Fitness Blender and Blogalites, where they have free workouts uploaded to their channel!

It’ll be great to rope your friends/family in for a great workout too and it’ll be a fun activity to do altogether. It was sure amusing seeing my family members twisting their waist like never before! Be creative and just have fun. 

Walk as much as you can or take time off to train at your hotel gym

Tip 3) Dare To Request For Healthier Options

We’re not going to say: eat salads for your all meals.

Most likely, you will be seeing a lot of and delicious food that you can’t resist and that’s TOTALLY NORMAL. Remember that having a salad doesn’t mean you will automatically be healthy and losing weight (if that’s your goal).

We have asked for less salt/sugar/oil in our meals and 90% of the time, the waiter is receptive to that, which we’re thankful for.

If the foods are cooked fresh, this is possible! So far, the restaurants that we’ve been to in Australia are fine with our requests, as people are increasingly becoming health-conscious!

Certain airlines like Singapore Airlines also provide special meals for those with dietary requirements like vegetarian, low salt, bland meal and diabetic-friendly. You can take advantage of that, or just prepare your airplane meals if you prefer to know what's inside your food.

 

Tip 4) Prepare Your Own Healthy Snacks or Purchase Fresh Local Produce

An organic produce store in New Zealand that looks like a dream.

We always try to include a fruit or healthy snack for our breakfast and in between meals, so the first thing we always do when we reach a new city is to go grocery shopping!

It will open you up to what’s available in the country, and what fruits/vegetables are in season!

We always stock up on fruits that are easy to wash, store and pack on-the-go like apples, pears and oranges. You may eat more desserts than fruits, so having one for breakfast or between meal could curb your dessert or sugar cravings like us!

If opted for breakfast buffet at your hotel, chances are that they have a fruit section. We packed fresh fruits in our container and they saved us while travelling. Just remember to eat them within half a day!

When you have time to make your own snacks before travelling, please do! They can be great while in transit. Usually airport meals/snacks can be quite costly. You can check out our yummy "Ferrero Rocher" energy bites recipe over here.

Tip 5) Clear Your Mind And Be Present 

We enjoyed breathing the fresh air and taking in the blue skies of sunny Gold Coast!

If you’ve been stressed or anxious about work, it's time to put away your smartphone and devices and take a break during your well-deserved trip!

Learn to unwind and enjoy the feeling of the warm breeze, nature walks and reconnecting with the Mother Nature. We are born to dwell in it!

 Science in this study has proven that:

“Spending time in, or living close to, natural green spaces [are] associated with diverse and significant health benefits. It reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, and preterm birth, and increases sleep duration.”

When in cities, you could take a stroll in a nearby park or spaces with greenery. You could even take off your shoes and walk in the beach sand or soil! There are health benefit attached to this to your gut microbiome which stimulates serotonin levels (your happy chemicals). Kids are also encouraged to play in dirt!

Furthermore, exposure to greenery also significantly reduces people's levels of salivary cortisol – a physiological marker of stress.

When in cities, you could take a stroll in a nearby park or spaces with greenery. You could even take off your shoes and walk in the beach sand or soil! There are ve===

On top of that, we find that a jam-packed itinerary doesn’t necessarily is the best.The best ones are the ones where you can breathe in between and just enjoy the state of “being” and be present with your emotions and physical body.

Disconnect to connect with your loved ones, and immerse yourselves in the new culture and environment!

End Note

These listed are not the only ones we have, but they are mainly that are not that hard to do, and we’ve chosen the most practical ones that we could. If you do fall off the bandwagon or feel like your fitness level is not like before, don’t beat yourself about it.

Just get back into your usual routine when you’re back, and feel refreshed. Stay focused, eat better and consistency will pay off. Seeing progress is the best feeling ever!

Whenever you are going, have fun on your trip and stay safe, Clean Addicts fam!