10 Healthy Tips to Feel Your Best While Traveling

Years ago when I traveled I would always come home with my clothes feeling tight and my face a bit puffy. Needless to say, after what was supposed to be a fun and blissful trip, I wasn’t a happy camper.

Much of my travel blues came from the fact that I felt “forced” to eat foods that caused me to be inflamed – the food demons like gluten, dairy and sugar.

When I traveled I didn’t want to appear high maintenance or take the extra effort to seek out healthy options. But, feeling crappy and seriously unhappy every time I returned home was motivation to do things differently. And, as Maya Angelou says, “when you know better, you do better.” Now I know better. I have learned to make my health a priority even when I’m traveling, to ask for what I need and be my own best advocate.

I hope these simple tips help you to stay healthy while you travel!

To happy and healthy travels,

10 Healthy Tips to Feel Your Best While Traveling

• Focus on what can you eat. If you’re at a meal that doesn’t work for you whether eating out or at someone’s house, choose the foods that you can eat. The very first time I met my in- laws they graciously made gourmet homemade waffles for breakfast. Knowing they would put me into a gluten-induced coma I had to get creative so I pulled out a leftover chicken breast from the night before. Now it’s a running joke that I eat only chicken breasts for breakfast. And what can I say, it is pretty funny! But at least I didn’t feel like complete crap just because I was trying to be nice or make a good first impression.
• Scope out the health food stores or juice bars before you arrive. Make this habit one of your pre-travel to dos. As soon as you get into town, stop at the grocery store so you can stock up on your favorite healthy treats. You can also find out where local fresh pressed juice is available on the new Pressed Juiced Directory.
• Learn how to order off a menu like a Conscious Cleanse champ. Treat the menu like a list of ingredients. Make a salad, have steamed veggies with salmon, or order brown rice with a veggie medley. Keep the sauces simple and ask for olive oil and lemon juice.
• Opt for a room with a fridge. After you hit the health food store, pack your fridge with healthy fresh options that are easy to grab and eat. Some of my travel-friendly favorites are apples, bananas, avocados, baby carrots and hummus, a bag of spinach, almond butter and a cooked chicken breast from the deli case.
• Bring along a small blender or ask the hotel if they will provide a complimentary one. While this may sound a bit extreme, it really makes healthy traveling that much easier! I’ve got a small Nutribullet that packs easily in most suitcases. Surprisingly, some of the more swanky hotels will even provide a blender in your room. You never know, until you ask.
• Pack quick and healthy snacks. Since we know it’s nearly impossible to make healthy choices when you’re starved, bringing quick and healthy snacks on the plane or in the car is a must. Some things that pack easily are fruit, homemade trail mix, and a few bags of your favorite herbal tea. I know it won’t surprise you, but I’ve even brought a cooked chicken breast with me on the plane before.
• Take magnesium citrate to keep things flowing. We all know that travel oftentimes gets our sensitive little systems in a tizzy. The painful and most common result is constipation. And we all can agree, constipation is no fun! I like to take Natural Vitality’s magnesium citrate packets at night to help me relax on the road, as well as help keep my digestive system runnin’ like a champ.
• Move your body. The body thrives on movement! Building exercise into your trip, even if it’s only 20 minutes a day, can keep you feeling energized and vibrant. Check out one of our yoga videos for a quick detox yoga class that you can do right in the comfort of your hotel room.
• Drink tons of water. For most of us, traveling means we’re eating out more than usual. The result is that we consume more sodium in our food, which can leave us feeling bloated. Make sure to drink at least ½ of your body weight in ounces plus a little more if you are at altitude or exercising vigorously.
• Zen out. Bring an eye pillow or mask. Unplug your hotel alarm clock, draw the blinds and power down all of your electronic devices. If you need a little extra help falling asleep, turn your phone on airplane mode and try my favorite whitenoise app.