How to stay fit while traveling – My healthy travel tips

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Traveling is fun but staying fit from inside and outside when in another city or country is not an easy task. When I started traveling on my own, I was a careless traveler in terms of a healthy lifestyle. I ate all kind of junk food and never thought of balancing my diet. The same way I never cared about my skin and hair while traveling as I was too busy visiting places. I thought will get some spa treatments after the return. So, when I returned back from a week or two weeks long trip and I use to get comments about my skin or fuzzy hair. I felt bad for behaving carelessly.

So over the years, I tried to add some quick and basic things into my routine to stay fit while traveling. I met some interesting girls during my travels and they gave me some useful tips, which helped me in fine-tuning my health care routine. My rules are basic and simple for staying healthy while traveling.

Staying fit while traveling is divided into three parts. One is skin & hair care, second is physical activity and third is eating healthy while traveling.

Skincare while traveling

My skin is very sensitive and I get suntan very fast, infect at times I get a sunburn. So it is one of my major concern during my travels. Here are some of the tried and tested tips for easy skin care.

Stay hydrated

Drink lots of water while traveling. Most of the women tend to drink less water because finding a clean toilet is not an easy thing when traveling in Asia. So, to overcome this I have developed a routine. I usually get up early and drink approximately a liter of water in the morning. Most of the time I have 2 hours to get ready and have breakfast before I go out for the day from the hotel. So all early morning water flush out from the body.

I try to consume lesser water during the day but again consume a lot of water when I am back at the hotel. All this water intake helps to keep my body hydrated. Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bundi, Udaipur, Shekhavati in Rajasthan are very dry places and one should consume a good amount of water every day. Same goes for places like Kochi, Alleppey, and Mumbai, which are humid and body fluids evaporate when we sweat.

All destinations are not the same

Remember destinations have different weather and all skin types are not the same. Everybody reacts differently to the different environment.

When traveling to high altitude areas like Ladakh then keep a good quality of moisturizer and sunscreen. Ladakh is high altitude desert and skin gets dry very fast. When I traveled to Ladakh I kept vitamin E oil with me, which I applied every night before going to bed. I added vitamin E oil in my moisturizer & sunscreen and it really helped me during the day.

After that trip, I developed a moisturizing lotion mixture, which feels light and very good for my skin. I add 2-3 vitamin E capsule in Johnson baby lotion.

So when I travel in winters or to dry destination I keep vitamin E oil, which I apply on the body as well as hair every other day. Else my moisturizing lotion mixture is my all-purpose skin care.

Carry your essentials

I always carry all skin and hair care products in my toiletry bag. I have small bottles for traveling purpose and I never use hotel products. You never knew the quality and expiry dates of the products, hotels keep in toilets. So always avoid those products and use your own toiletries to avoid any issue.

Physical activity and routine

Remain active when traveling to keep the body energized. I follow a few simple steps to keep myself energetic.

Keep a routine

The general perception is there is no routine or schedule when we travel. I agree there is no hurry to reach office on time or send kids to school but still, it is important to follow a routine.

It is always better to plan the day in advance. Decide at what time you want to leave the hotel and then wake up a couple of hours in advance. Utilize this time to do exercise or meditation or yoga, whatever is useful for your system. I realized this way I don’t need to hurry up to get ready and leave the hotel if a taxi or tour is waiting for me. I take my time and enjoy every moment.

Make a small fitness goal

Always do some kind of exercise and maintain a workout schedule. Maybe some stretching exercise before taking a bath. Even tit bids help in maintaining body functions.

Walk as much as you can

Try to walk to all short distance places. Go for walking tours. Walking helps in maintaining physical fitness. This also helps in exploring the area better. While walking I explored the area better and come across some interesting places. I found some small eateries, which serves fantastic local cuisine. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Take good night’s sleep

Traveling and holidays are a fun time but also keep in mind that it is important to relax. Don’t party all night and take a good night’s sleep otherwise next day you will feel exhausted. Take rest and sleep for 7 to 8 hours per day.

How to eat healthy while traveling

When we travel, we eat fast food, oily food and all kind of unhealthy food. It is natural to eat these types of food items as we want to try local cuisine. If we follow some of the below points then even eating unhealthy food can be balanced by eating some good things.

Keep nuts in the bag

When I started traveling alone my mom used to give me a packet of nuts for every trip. I felt childish and protested because I didn’t want to carry that packet but eventually I have to.

Over the years, I realized that the packet of nuts was very helpful. Nuts give instant energy and also a very good source of vitamin E, vitamin B, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and magnesium.

Keep almond, pistachio, walnut, cashew, peanuts, and raisins. Also, keep sunflower seeds, which are high in Vitamin B and vitamin E.

Eat healthy and wholesome breakfast

Always eat a filling breakfast before you start your day. It is always better to eat a good breakfast but it is more important while traveling because you never know what kind of next meal you will have at a new destination. If breakfast is wholesome then even if you don’t get a good it is easier to manage the day.

Eat greens

Having green vegetable helps in keeping the fiber content high in the body, which helps the stomach in digesting food.

Eat Yogurt

I developed a habit of having a bowl of yogurt every day. It is good for digestion as well as a good source of calcium and minerals.

Eat seafood

If traveling to coastal areas like Kerala or Goa then eat fresh seafood. It is high in Omega oils and vitamins which have health benefits.

Carry health supplements

Keep some basic vitamin supplements like Vitamine B & E, Zinc and Magnesium. Also, keep probiotic and Psyllium husk (Isabgol) in your bag as both helps during minor stomach ailments.

Consume local fruits

Eating local fruits is one of the healthiest things to do. Fruits are high in mineral and vitamins. Some of the fruits are high in sugar and water content, so we get instant energy as well as remain hydrated. During my Bangkok travel, I found so many food options in local markets.

Carry tea bags

Tea is a good source of antioxidants. Always carry tea bags, especially green tea bags. When traveling I use the tea maker in room to make my tea. I bought a whole lot of tea bags from factories when I traveled to Munnar and Ooty & Coonoor.

Limit alcohol consumption

Don’t drink alcohol every day and also keep alcohol consumption in control. The hangover of alcohol can spoil the next day and also make body functions sluggish. Moreover, it can increase the body weight if taken in large amount for longer durations. I saw came across over drunk people during my Goa travels.

Drink lemon

Try to drink lemon every day. It is easy to get lemonade in most of the restaurants. At the same time, it is easy to make your own lemonade in the hotel room. I prefer to make my own lemon drink so I use the sugar & salt from tea coffee area in the room. Carry a swiss knife in my luggage, which I use for several other purposes.

Also, read Vegetarian food of North India and Traditional food of Kerala

These are some of the basic things and routines I follow while traveling to keep myself fit and fresh.

Also, read Best places to travel in India and Most beautiful places in India.

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