Health & Wellness Travel Tips
The health and wellness space is rife with some wackadoos…. But there is some good information out there to help ease your anxieties, keep yourself as healthy as possible, and maintain your health goals.
I am of the mindset that you may not get to travel often, so you shouldn’t restrict yourself in any way. However, you can still stay healthy while traveling.
I want to say I am not a doctor!! I am just a pilates instructor who loves to travel and has health anxiety :)
Fitness
As an Inferno Hot Pilates instructor, I love an intentional movement moment :) My classes are high intensity, low impact - so no jumping, which means it is great while traveling!
I bring a travel yoga mat on my longer trips and usually a resistance band or two on most of my trips. I plan on doing a post on specific workouts you can do in your hotel room with just a resistance band or nothing! I’ll share that link in this post once I have that.
I also try walking as much as I can! I live in Memphis, Tennessee, and we are unfortunately not a walk-friendly city. My neighborhood is walk-friendly, but my options are limited. When traveling to a new place, and it is safe for you to do so, take the opportunity to walk around!
I wish more than anything that I was a runner… I’m going to be vulnerable and say that one of my dreams is to be a runner at some point and be able to run during my trips and visit the sights while running in the morning. One day!
Health
“Health” looks different for everyone… In this section, I’m going to share what I personally have done to keep my health a priority while traveling. I will say that I do not restrict myself at all in terms of food. I usually eat whatever I want, and try to be intuitive while eating - so taking pauses in between bites to see how I feel in terms of hunger, pleasure, etc.
Again, I am not a doctor! This is just what I have done on my journey.
Breakfast, for me, is usually the easiest meal for me to find something healthy. At home, I have a smoothie every single morning. On my domestic trips, I’ll bring a travel blender (like this nutribullet) and will pick up something simple!
I have 2 go-to smoothies, but the best one for me while traveling is:
banana
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup oats
minced ginger, to taste (you can get a tube of this at any grocery store or Target)
ice
Most hotels will have a tiny fridge, I’ll bring a cooler with the oats, ginger, and almond milk and will typically buy bananas at a convenience store. This has worked for me when traveling to Florida, New Orleans, Nashville, etc.
On international trips, I’ll typically try to find bananas and just eat a banana and maybe a croissant or something in the morning. But again, I don’t restrict myself. When visiting Europe last fall, I had some form of pasta every single day lol.
Always, always, always get travel insurance. I always use Allianz and have thankfully never had to use it. However, I would rather pay $100 and have it if I need it, than need it and not have it. It covers so much - and as someone with health anxiety, it is so calming knowing that I have it.
I also always pack disinfecting wipes. I use these for everything! Here is a list of everything I sanitize after my trip and during your trip. Especially since COVID-19, I think we are all aware of how nasty planes, hotels, everything is!
Finally, I love to drink a quick shot of Emergen-c every morning! Pack a few packets of these, put it in a small glass of water, and shoot it back! Tons of vitamins in this little powder pack.
Wellness
According to Pfizer, Wellness is “the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you're thriving.”
Similar to health, this is different to everyone! For me, I’ve been getting a massage at the end of my trips to treat myself. I beat myself down when traveling - we walk nonstop, we don’t sleep the best, we aren’t eating as many vegetables as I would at home… So I get a massage to help my muscles recuperate.
Sleep is so important to wellness AND health! Try anything you can to get yourself to sleep well, both while traveling, and when you’re settled in the hotel/accommodation.
For me, that includes:
a travel pillow most similar to my pillow from home (linked here)
a travel fan so I have some noise if my travel companion can’t sleep with the tv on (which I do normally)
try to go to bed at a reasonable time or allow yourself naps and rest
sometimes I need a supplement to help me sleep or settle
Try to stay as hydrated as you can! Bring your own water bottle and refill it where you can, or buy water bottles on the go (my eco-friendly heart hates this, but this is what I do when traveling).
If you get anxiety from any part of your trip: flying, health, seeing new places and new people - find ways to help you work through that anxiety and how it presents itself.
As I’ve stated, I get bad health anxiety - I have a set of steps I complete prior to traveling to help, and then meditate and practice mindfulness while traveling to help. I do also have a prescription for Xanax that I take when none of my other tricks are helping :)
Do you have any additional health & wellness tips while traveling?