Fitness, such as lifting weights and walking, and eating good nutritious food is an important part of our daily lifestyle.  As we get older, this has become more important than ever!  It has also become important to keep up our healthy habits while traveling.  Keeping up healthy habits during travel can not only have you feeling better on your entire trip, but will have you sticking to a healthy routine once back home, rather that feeling like you need to “work off your vacation”.  Below, we share a few tips we live by and implement while traveling.

#1 – Stay Active

Begin your day with getting in movement!  If you stay at a resort or hotel chances are there is a gym on site.  We have had great gyms at hotels (like the one in the header photo at the Hotel Del Coronado in California) but often times gyms in hotels can be mediocre.  Also, since we often stay in Airbnbs, a gym is not on property.  In these situations, we use google to locate gyms that are near where we are staying ahead of time.  We read up on their visitor policies and day pass options so we already have a plan before we leave home!

John Reed Fitness – Dallas, Texas

On many trips we walk a lot of steps each day, whether it’s hitting city streets or hiking trails.  We count this as exercise, yet still try to hit the gym a few times on a trip to keep up with weight lifting.  Not only do we feel better overall and sleep better, but we are keeping it up so once home we don’t have as much work to do to get back to where we were.

Hiking is great exercise!  Hoh River Trail, Olympic National Park

And you know what else is a fun aspect of attending a local gym?  Interacting with locals!  We usually get to talking with people and it’s all because of of having fitness in common!

Gym time in Salzburg, Austria

#2 – Eat Well

What you put into your body has a direct effect on how you feel, so it is important to implement nutritious foods when traveling.  Sure, you can eat a little out of your parameters and enjoy some treats, but by being conscious of what you’re eating overall you will ultimately feel better on the trip and once home.

A delicious, filling lunch!

Since we often stay in Airbnbs with kitchens we frequent local grocery stores and markets.  Having a variety of fresh produce and ingredients to cook meals not only has us feeling our best but it saves a lot of money versus eating out every meal.  We usually like to eat breakfast in as we can do so quickly and inexpensively before heading out for the day.  Starting the day with a simple, healthy meal gives us energy for a day of sightseeing, too.

Shopping for produce at a local market – Paris, France

We bring some of our staples from home as well such as protein bars, collagen for coffee, and LMNT salts to mix into water to drink during our workouts.  We have also found that it is generally easy to find healthy food while traveling.  Most of the countries we have visited have more healthy options available when compared to the United States, which has altogether way too much processed food on the shelves.  Although we eat well at home, we appreciate the ease of quality products when abroad.

A Fromagerie  – Paris, France

Just like working out, shopping at markets and grocery stores has us interacting with the locals and gives us a glimpse into the local culture.  It is also fun to peruse all the different products!

Grocery shopping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

#3 – Limit Alcohol

What?!  No fun!  No, we didn’t say don’t have any, we are just recommending to limit it!  Maybe have a time of day that you won’t drink before or just have a glass of wine with dinner only. 

Wine time in Napa Valley

Sticking with wine or clear spirits is overall better that sugar-laden cocktails or high calorie beer.  While we enjoyed beer in Germany and cocktails in Costa Rica, we are mindful on how much we have and are sure to have plenty of water in between.

Enjoying beer in Germany

#4 – Sleep!

When traveling, days tend to be busy and jam-packed, so making adequate time for sleep is important.  Not only is it necessary to recharge your batteries so you can get the most out of each day, but sleep is imperative to ward of sicknesses.  Lack of sleep leads to lower immunity which leads to higher likelihood of getting sick.  Sticking to a good bedtime or even getting in a needed power nap will have you feeling your best.

#5 – Indulge in Spa Treatments

When staying at hotels, resorts, or on a cruise ship, spas are easily accessible.  Indulging in treatments such as massages, facials, and seeking out sauna and mineral soaks are great add-ons to a vacation and so good for you as well.  So go ahead, treat yourself!

Enjoying the spa on a Holland America Cruise

With implementing all the above, we feel great during our entire trip.  And once back home we don’t feel the need to “work off the vacation”, rather we just get back into the groove, usually slipping right back in to our home routine.  With these tips to follow while traveling, you can feel your best, too!  Happy and HEALTHY travels!