For years I’ve been watching my friend Sarah post beautiful photos as her and her family travel the world. But I also kept wondering, How the heck does she stay so healthy and fit looking on all those vacations? Well, thankfully she agreed to share with us her best tips on how to stay healthy while traveling. Enjoy!
You just got back from vacation, had a fantastic time, the much needed sun, special family bonding time, the sites, culture and fun; everyone loves vacation, am I right!? But then you step on the scale and, “WHAT!?” just like that, you’ve gained five pounds. No one wants to come home from vacation feeling like garbage; it’s so not worth it and CAN be avoided with a few simple tricks.
My name is Sarah. As a spin instructor and a nut when it comes to healthy eating habits, it is super important to stay healthy when my family and I travel. As fun as it is to experience new things, being away means no gym or our usual weekly food staples. However, most trips, we come home and find we actually lost a couple pounds instead of gaining weight!
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My husband, Matt, and I have two boys, Dylan (3 years) and Christopher (9 months) who we tote all around the world with us. So far Matt and I have traveled to 38 countries together, Dylan has been to 22 countries, and Christopher, 7 countries. We average about five countries/trips per year. If I gained five pounds on every trip, I would gain 25 pounds a year! Not going to happen.
5 Ways to Stay Healthy While Traveling – PIN ME!
On the Plane
Right before we hop on a plane, I go through all of the produce left in our fridge, cut and bag them for the flight. Generally, the produce I bring for the airport and flight are carrots, celery, zucchini, apples, bananas, and mandarin oranges. If you see a girl in the airport eating from a big bag of celery, it is probably me. I also pack two big salads in throwaway containers for my husband and me to eat.
We almost never eat at the airport; there are too many unhealthy options and the healthy ones are, in my opinion, way overpriced! Most importantly, I pack two empty water bottles. Security will take full water bottles at a checkpoint but you can fill them up at a drinking fountain once you’re at your gate. Water is super important and they never give you enough on the flights, so I always make sure to fill up both water bottles right before we enter the plane! It is very important to stay hydrated when you fly because of the dry air on the plane, so try to drink more water than you normally would.
Eating Healthy on Vacation
Eat a big breakfast! Matt and I make a point to book boutique hotels with breakfast included with our stay. It is so much easier with kids to wake up and get everyone fed first thing in the morning, instead of getting all ready and then trying to find somewhere to eat. Also, usually the breakfast is a buffet we can eat as much as we want!
We always try to “front load” our calories for the day because we’ll need the energy for everything we want to accomplish during the day. Also, breakfast foods are generally very healthy: eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt, and cheeses, so eat up! Because we are so full from breakfast, (and not to mention the fact that we have our toddler and baby with us) we pretty much just snack the rest of the day and don’t eat any other formal meals. Instead, we’ll buy a smoothie or juice to share, pick up carrots and hummus (and a banana for the baby) at the local grocery store, and maybe grab a salad or sandwich “to go” at a café.
Exercising on Vacation
We never “exercise” on vacation As much as it kills me as an exercise instructor to not formally exercise for a whole week or two, I know it is good for my body to let my muscles heal and restore. However, with the amount of walking we do each day, we are still exercising, it’s just different. From the moment we wake up in the morning until the moment our heads rest on our pillows at night, we are walking. We will walk instead of taking the underground subway (it’s so much more interesting that way!) or grabbing a cab or Uber to get someplace. When we were last in NYC, Matt tracked on his phone that we walked 17 miles in just one day! So make a point when you are on vacation to walk, walk, walk.
Best Vacations to Stay Fit
Don’t be a beach bum! Matt and I try to avoid beach/resort vacations as much as possible. They are dangerous when it comes to your health. You sit around all day and eat buffet food and drink high-calorie drinks whenever you want. It is so easy to gain weight. Instead, we try to plan trips where we know we will be moving.
In our most recent trip to Scotland, we were able to explore all around the city of Edinburgh one morning and then hike on nature trails right outside the city that was all in a walkable distance of each other. You can read more about our trip here. Some of our most active vacations are in a big city where we can just get lost! A few of our favorite cities to walk (and NOT take public transportation) are Rome, NYC, Hong Kong, Dublin, Montreal, Paris, and London. Also, if you are looking for a trip where you can hike with gorgeous scenery, try Peru (Machu Picchu), Montenegro, Switzerland, Portugal, Scotland, and Iceland.
Now, if you love the beach and feel that vacation isn’t a vacation unless you have water and sand between your toes, you can still remain active. Our son Dylan loves the beach, so we recently took him to Portugal where he was able to play in the sand. We were also able to do some amazing hikes in Lagos right by the beach and walk around the town at night. You can see more of our trip to Portugal here. If you pick a beach location, make sure there is a city that is walking distance from your hotel so you can go out exploring. Puerto Rico, for example, has great beaches, but also beautiful Old San Juan to explore as well.
Change your attitude
Most importantly, change your attitude about yourself and staying healthy!! Stay positive and feel good while you are away. Make good healthy choices. But don’t get down on yourself when you do cave and eat something unhealthy while you are away; I mean, of course, you have to taste the real Swedish fish when you’re in Sweden. Just balance out poor choices with healthy foods for the rest of your day. Keep walking and have fun.
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Empty water bottles! I would have never thought about that!
Haha me either! I loved that tip.
Yes, I learned the water bottle trick the hard way 🙁 On our way to Hong Kong early in our travel years, I got soo dehydrated on the plane that I was sick for the last three hours of the flight… not fun!!
Great tips, looks like you guys have had some amazing adventures!
Thank you Emily!!! <3
Such great advice. We travel once a year, driving more than 1000km to visit families and it’s unhealthy the food we buy on the road. I’m taking the tip to take veggies from my fridge – prepping is key. Thank you.
Ugh, road trips are the worst for junk food!! I cannot pack anything unhealthy in the car, or I will eat it! So now when I get bored, all there is to snack on is carrots… ha! It’s worth it because I love not feeling gross when we get there!!
Great tips on airport food/drinks.
As much as I love walking these types of vacations sound perfect!
I’m a huge fan of being able to walk everywhere, too 🙂
Thank you Alyx!!! Happy traveling!! 😉
Eating a big breakfast while on vacation is key! It definitely sets the tone for a healthy (and busy!) day. I’m so impressed that you travel the world with two littles!
Thank you Kate!!! I wish I ate bigger breakfasts (and smaller meals the rest of the day) at home because I totally agree!!! Traveling with kids definitely have its challenges and I never imagined that it was doable before we had them, but I think if you set the tone from the time they are babies, they become more flexible and easy going about it!!!
Great post! I always try and keep with my same routine while on vacation! I feel it also helps me stay on track!
Definitely Megan!!!! I couldn’t agree more!!! 🙂
Great tips! I especially LOVE your advice about bringing empty water bottles and filling them up with water after reaching the gate. I really need to drink more water on vacations!
Ah, yes!!! I have gotten sick too many times from not drinking enough water- especially being a nursing mother, I really need to drink even MORE water!!! Now I don’t leave anywhere without a full water bottle in my hand!
I’ve been waiting for an article like this! I often feel so constricted by my options while traveling because of cost or convenience but these tips surely help.
So glad Sarah’s tips were helpful!!
Yay, Crystal, thank you!!! <3 I know what you mean about feeling constricted by cost 🙁 We find that picking up food at local grocery stores are sooo much cheaper than eating out! Definitely a good way to save money and eat healthier!!!
I think you just gave me a new idea for a blog post… saving money while traveling!! 🙂
These are excellent tips! Will definitely be sharing with my friends who travel quite a bit! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Erin!
Thank you Erin!! Share away!! 🙂
I love your brining snacks idea! I’m vegan and it is so hard to find food I can eat at the airport. I have a trip this weekend…. totally stocking up for it 🙂
Yay Meg!!! We have a friend who travels with us quite a bit and she’s vegetarian and has the same difficulty… it’s the worst!!! I hope the snacks can hold you over until you get there! 🙂 Where are you going!??? Have fun!!! 🙂
These are great tips! Even if I go away for the weekend on business I come back 5lbs heavier from all the eating out, lol!!
Lauren
http://www.basicbabelauren.com
Lol!! Tricky when you are on business and can’t choose your own healthy restaurants 🙁 I seriously get stressed out when friends ask us out to dinner and I can’t find anything healthy to eat… now I always check the menu online beforehand and try to come up with something that I won’t feel too guilty about eating so I don’t feel the pressure to make a bad choice when we are there!
Your website is so gorgeous! Love the colors. These are wonderful tips… I love the idea of eating a big breakfast and getting exercise on vacation. It’s hard to think about staying health while on a trip, but I’m definitely going to save this and look at it next time I travel.
Thank you so much ! And I’m very glad the tips were so helpful 🙂
Yay! So glad these tips will be useful for when you travel next! 🙂
I love these tips. And I also love the idea of the mindset – so much better than, “I’m on vacation, so my diet is, too!”
Yes! I’ve never understood that either.
Thank you Corey!!! <3
These are fantastic tips. I love the idea of loading up on food in the morning and just snacking the rest of the day. I so admire you for taking your young children all around the world!
Thank you Kristen! And it is SO worth bringing our kids with us… I feel like they are learning so much from our travels that no book or TV learning show would be able to teach them!! 🙂
Love the water bottle tip! And we are the same way about being active but not formally exercising on vacation.
Yes!!! Thank you Jordan!!!
I’m awful at eating right while on a trip – my mindset is, it’s vacation, I can do what I want! But that dreaded feeling of looking at the scale after……ugh! Will definitely be using some of your tips at the end of the month when we are on vacation!
I hear you, it’s difficult to not have the “vacation eating” mindset!! I really try to keep myself in check and only eat the unhealthy treats if it’s really worth it 😉
I love these tips! Staying active on vacation helps me so much!
Yay!!!! Yes, keep moving!! Thank you!!
I totally agree about beach vacations. I also feel like I always get bored before its over so I have to have a city nearby to explore!
Exactly!! I can only relax for so long! 🙂
Staying healthy while on vacation for me is never successful. Mainly because I love to try out local cuisine, and many times, the popular ones are not the healthiest. I am also a sucker for street food. And we all know, most of the times, those are fried or something of the sort. I will say though, that I walk ALOT while on vacation. Way more than I do home, that’s as healthy as I get! Great post!
Hey – walking is super important!
Thanks for sharing!!! Most people don’t even walk on vacation, so you are one step ahead of them! 😉
I am currently on vacation right now and was stressing about exercise. I needed this.
Yay!! So glad!! Hope you’re having a great trip!! 🙂
Great tips and so simple for a REAL prob for most of us. Thank you!
Thank you Shan!!!
These were super helpful tips especially about packing my own healthy snacks and empty water bottles. Great stuff!
Thank you! <3
Great tips! We don’t vacation often, but when I do I really do try to keep moving, and make at least semi healthy meal choices.
Yes! Exactly!!
Great tips! I would also add taking a probiotic and a multi vitamin too. Or even try to eat a smoothie daily.
Great idea! Thank you April!!
I couldn’t agree more. It’s completely possible to be healthy while vacationing!
Thanks Rachel!!
I love the idea that you don’t have to diet on vacation, you just need to be active and indulge in moderation. Thanks for the great tips! Also, your family is lovely 🙂
Aww, thank you Meagan, you are so sweet!!! <3
When I’m on vacation, I try to remember that there are certain foods I can get anywhere and at home. I mean, do I really need that giant ice cream cone everyday? I try to save my appetite for the really special foods!
Love this perspective Deborah! I’m going to remind myself this next we are away! 🙂
Gah this is me. I always gain weight when on vacation. I think though this year we’ll be more conscious of what we’re eating and drinking since we’ve been working out like crazy people since January and we wouldn’t want that to go to waste. I hope 🙂
You can do it Joline!! Good luck!!! 🙂
Great tips! I eat healthy while traveling, it’s exercise that I do get enough of. I always pack my yoga mat, but don’t always practice yoga.
I’m impressed you pack your yoga mat!!!!
These are great tips! While I feel like we stay more active on vacation since we are usually walking a ton and doing different outdoor activities, we can get a bit too indulgent eating out!
Ugh, I hear you! I get anxiety about eating out on vacation!!! At least you are staying active! 🙂
I agree about the food_ I pack what I would eat at home for my trip.
Not everyone likes to visit cities, some love beaches so for them I would say 1) make sure you have a swimming pool in your hotel
and/or you are swimming/playing a sport on a when you are idling at the beach.
Great advice!! Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
I always justify my eating habits on vacation with how much I walk every day! It’s definitely something I need to get better at. Same with eating at airports!
Tori
http://www.mooretori.com
Ugh, I hear you!!! Good luck!!
Wonderful tips! I always try to stay healthy when my husband and I travel! It can be hard because we go to the beach and the lake every year. But when I stay disciplined, I feel so much better and still have a blast!
Good for you! Thanks for sharing!!! <3
Bringing empty water bottles is a good idea! Most of our vacations we go on are to places that have hiking trails, so we are getting exercise daily.
xx,
Amanda || http://www.fortheloveofglitter.com
Amazing!! Keep staying hydrated!! 🙂
Probably the biggest danger to our health on the sorts of vacations we take comes from sketchy street food. I pack a lot of my own snacks on trips and try to stick to bottled drinks and restaurants that look clean, because we travel mostly in Southeast Asia and I know all too well the risk for food poisoning when you don’t have an iron stomach (I don’t!).
Ohhh, amazing you travel in Asia!! I would definitely worry about food poisoning too! Have you ever brought charcoal pills? We brought them to our Peru trip and I think it helped!!
I went on my first holiday back in July and we were lucky enough to have a buffet breakfast included and it was the best thing ever! There was so much to choose from, and most of it was really healthy too! I had a lot of fruit and eggs, and I even had freshly baked cinnamon rolls for the first time and they practically melted in my mouth.
My partner and I aren’t used to having such big breakfasts and were so surprised that it kept us full all day long and eliminated our constant habit of snacking!
It’s amazing what a big breakfast can do for you! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!
These tips are so useful, need these for my next trip!!!
Great post. Exercising on vacation is the hardest part for me! I always fall really far behind in that area.
These are great tips! I never thought to cut up all the rest of my vegetables and fruit for the plane, but duh! I also try and drinks TONS of water whenever I travel to help me stay healthy 🙂
OMG at first I was so confused since you’re both Sarah, but it obviously didn’t look like you…ha! I love walking a lot on vacations cos it feels like “exercising” without being at the gym!
Coming Up Roses
Ha yah the only friends that guest post are named Sarah for some reason!
Oh, yes. It’s easy to ignore our health when we travel. But getting sick during traveling is such a hassle. Thanks for giving us these tips.
Bringing empty water bottles to the airport has saved me an unbelievable amount of money, and helps so much during the flight! I hope to start traveling internationally, and these are really great tips. I love salads and never thought to make one before a flight!