Tips to Travel Healthy

Besides being a health coach, I am also the CEO of a global network of law firms, and I have amazing opportunities to travel the world. I also travel a lot for personal reasons to visit friends and family. Over the years, as I’ve transformed my health, I’ve had to learn ways to incorporate healthy practices into my travel so I can overcome the many challenges presented by travelling and not derail my efforts every time I go somewhere. Here are some of my top tips and tactics for healthy travel.

• Don’t Stress – Travel can be immensely stressful. Presently, in the summer of 2022, airlines are struggling with cancellations and delays, gas prices have skyrocketed, everywhere is crowded as people get out following two years of COVID-quarantines, COVID is still rampant and a constant threat, and travel stress is at the highest level I can ever remember. In situations like this, you have to manage the stress or else it will have a significantly bad impact on your health. You have two choices:
• Don’t travel
• Truly understand that these stressors are going to happen and make an intentional decision to go with the flow and not let them bother you. Be prepared for delays or cancellations by adding extra time into your travel plans so you’re not in a crunch when you get to your destination and make sure you have things with you to keep you occupied during the wait times. Tell yourself it will all work out so be happy, don’t worry.
• Eat Healthy – It’s definitely more difficult to eat healthy when traveling, especially if you’re going somewhere in which the local cuisine is something you really want to try (think pasta in Italy, beignets in New Orleans, or poutine in Canada). There’s nothing wrong with indulging in these treats during your visit but they don’t need to become the sole focus of the visit. Have the beignets once – not every day. During other times of your travel make conscious healthy choices. Yes, the pasta is amazing in Italy, but so is the seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables. If you know you’re going to have an amazing dinner, consider having a healthful breakfast and more modest lunch that day. I find breakfast is a good opportunity to make healthier choices when traveling. I typically opt for oatmeal and fruit or eggs and vegetables. I have somewhat strict eating guidelines for myself (e.g., for anti-inflammatory reasons I don’t eat flour, rice, pasta, sugar, or white potatoes). I regularly remind myself about why I eat this way – so I don’t get a recurrence of the asthma that plagued me for years, as well as other inflammation-caused health conditions. That makes it easier to remember that eating these things just because I’m traveling will derail years of effort. And you know what? I always have a great time and eat very well – just differently than others I’m traveling with.
• Bring Healthy Snacks – If I’m stuck on a plane and the cart comes around, it’s tough to refuse the snack choices. But I can’t eat much of what they’re dishing out, so I make sure to have my own healthy snacks with me, such as organic popcorn, a container with berries or grapes, or seed crackers, to name a few. Just be careful about anything with a lot of liquid as it could get confiscated at security. I also enjoy a visit to a local market at my destination to see what I can find there for healthy snacks. That’s how I recently discovered how delicious seed crackers – the kind without any flour – are while on a recent trip to South Africa. Click here to learn about my life-changing volunteer trip to Cape Town.
• Walk, Walk, Walk – Travel offers me even better opportunities to easily get in my daily steps than I get at home. I love to walk in other cities – it’s a great way to see things. Just be careful to walk in safe areas. Carve out a time each day to get in a walk – unless you think your already planned activities, such as sightseeing might offer the opportunity to get in those steps.
• Exercise Every Day – Besides walking, try to find a way to exercise every day. This will keep you energized, on track with your home routines, and will off-set whatever local cuisine you’re enjoying. If you’re staying somewhere with a gym, great. But if not, there are many things you can do, even if only for ten minutes at a time. I always have my phone or tablet with me, and I have access to my Peloton classes (the ones that don’t require equipment) and programs on other fitness apps. I have recently shadowboxed in my hotel room in Buenos Aires; done yoga on an outside terrace in Oslo; done standing yoga poses on a plane flying over the Sahara; and done Barre floor exercises on my bed in South Beach because I didn’t have a mat and didn’t want to lay on the dirty hotel floor. By the way – in a pinch, water bottles work great for a light arm workout. Don’t let barriers to making it easy become excuses to not exercise at all. Even ten minutes is better than no minutes.
• Find a Class – Another great option is to find a local class for your exercise of choice. I love yoga and have taken classes all over the world, including in China. 
• Enlist Travel Companions – If you’re traveling with others, see if they’ll join you in eating healthy and exercising. If so, great. If not, don’t let that derail you and ask them to please respect your choices. I find it interesting when I travel with others that it somehow makes them feel bad for me when I turn down the bread or dessert. I don’t feel bad – not eating bread or dessert is normal for me. But others always try to convince me that just a little taste won’t hurt – they just don’t get me.
• Watch the Alcohol – This can be difficult to achieve when you’re on vacation or even more so, a business trip where wine is often free flowing. Consider deciding beforehand how much you’re willing to drink and then stick to that. Fill in the rest of the time with a glass of water, some club soda, or a mocktail, which many bartenders are embracing these days. When wine is being poured at a dinner, tell the waiter in advance (before the wine clouds your judgment) that you don’t want your glass automatically refilled. 
• Hydrate – So much of travel can deplete your fluids so be sure to drink plenty of water. I always bring an empty water bottle with me and fill it often. Most airports now have filling stations at the water fountain – this is better for the environment than buying plastic bottles. Hydrating will help you with sleep, exercise, and feeling satiated. If you think it will be challenging to get enough water in during a travel day, consider starting your morning and ending your evening with a big glass so you know you’re getting some hydration.
• Pay to Check the Bag – If I’m only traveling for a day or two, I will carry on my bag. But if it’s longer than that, I’ll check the bag, despite the potential cost, the delay in baggage claim, and the possibility of my bag getting lost for a few days, which has happened to me more than a few times over the years. I do this so I can have what I need to travel healthy, such as my coffee press (click here to read my article about caffeine and learn about my beloved coffee press), my own non-toxic toiletries, my travel yoga mat, and of course my many healthy snacks. 
• Don’t Over Medicate – I see so many people over medicate themselves when traveling including sleep aids, motion sickness meds, pain relievers for hangovers, and more. In future posts we’ll cover the problems with these toxic loads on your long-term health, but for now, consider alternatives to popping meds. First, don’t take meds preventatively – how do you know you’re even going to need them? Second, consider some alternatives. For example, I practically never take any medication anymore and instead focus on breathwork, which works just as well in many situations such as headaches or nausea. Click here to read my resource guide covering my favorite breathing techniques. Third, consider more natural remedies, such as herbs, spices, and plants. Contact me at [email protected] if you need suggestions of natural remedies for your common ailments.
• Immediately Get On the Time Zone – I’m often asked how I deal with the many time zones I’m in, especially when it’s a trip that has me in three or four different times zone in a row. This is very challenging but one thing I try to do is immediately get on a schedule in the time zone I’m visiting. For example, I travel to London a lot and usually arrive in the mid-morning. After a long overnight flight, the temptation is strong to immediately take a nap, but when I do that, I have trouble sleeping that evening. Instead, I drop off my suitcase and take off for an activity that will keep me awake. In London, this often means a stop in Leicester Square to buy a ticket to a show in the West End. A good live theater musical will definitely keep me awake. Then I eat dinner at the regular time in that time zone and can sleep much better that night. On the flip side, if I am going somewhere for only a day or two, I won’t get on their time zone and will try to stick to my normal schedule if I can, making the adjustment back home much easier.
• Try to Get Quality Sleep – when you do have a chance to sleep try to fall asleep easily and stay asleep. I find this most challenging of all when traveling, especially on a plane. Some things that work for me are having meditation podcasts or recordings downloaded on my phone or listening to a special “sleep” playlist I keep on my phone of soothing songs. Click here to see the eclectic song choices on my Sleep playlist.

Travel opens our minds and can provide such pleasurable experiences. But it can also be challenging so you must be prepared before starting out to combat the stresses with healthy practices such as those described in this post. Bon voyage!