Stay healthy while away

Last week I had the opportunity to take a little time off and get away for a few days. We went to LA and stayed at a lovely Airbnb in Venice beach, California. Summer often has us traveling and enjoying a little vacation time, but for some of us, vacation time can mean losing the healthy habits and good choices we make during regularly scheduled life. So, what can you do to enjoy happy and healthy travel? What are some easy, basic things you can do?

This week we will talk about these! Also, I will give you some recommendations of healthy places we visited in LA.

Let’s talk about what to do while you are away.

Stay Hydrated

Make sure you drink plenty of water, especially on the plane, as the air tends to be dry and it is easy to get dehydrated. Hydration is key for happy and healthy travel!

Also, avoid alcohol while flying, remember that alcohol is a diuretic (it will make you want to pee) and you are likelier to become dehydrated.

Pack a reusable water bottle. That way you save money from buying water, you protect the environment and you make sure you always have water accessible. You can take the empty bottle in the flight and once you pass security you can fill it up or have the flight attendant fill it up for you.

Stay active

It is important to keep your exercise routine while you are away. When you make your hotel booking, see if you can stay in a place that has a gym. If not, stay at a place that has jogging friendly surroundings or download some exercise videos that you could do anywhere.

This time around we stayed at an Airbnb with a backyard, so I took my computer and did 30 minute Beachbody videos on my laptop outside when I woke up in the morning. I was able to keep my exercise routine every day, which was great!

My friend also invited me to a hot yoga class at Sweat Yoga in Santa Monica. This class was amazing and a fun way to stay active. I had done other hot yoga classes, but the temperature was so hot I didn’t enjoy it and actually felt ill. This class had a hot, but more moderate temperature. It was great! In addition, they give you the option of renting a mat, a towel and you can pay for a single class for $25. This makes it an easy choice when you are traveling.

Try to dedicate at least 30 minutes per day to exercise, even if you are away from home. Short on time? Read this post. If you stay active while you travel and you keep to your exercise routine as much as possible, you feel much better, even as you cross time zones. This is another easy way to guarantee happy and healthy travel.

You can, of course, always incorporate activities that will keep you moving. For example, we went to the Long Beach Pacific Aquarium which was a fun activity for the kids (and who am I kidding, for us as well 😆) and kept us walking all day long.

Avoid the junk

This can be particularly challenging when you are traveling, because you don’t have access to your regular meals and, unless you are staying at a place with a kitchen, you are at the mercy of the restaurants close by.

As I mentioned, we stayed with my sister in law and her family in an Airbnb with a fully stocked kitchen and a grill outside. So, we made several meals at home and we even grilled veggies outside! This made it so much easier to eat well.

The good thing is that LA has tons of healthy options! We checked out Moon Juice, which although it is certainly on the pricey side, they have a wide selection of organic pressed juices, milks and even coffee mixed with their moon dusts. Definitely worth a visit for a little splurge.

We also went to the Malibu Farm Café which has amazing local and organic food choices with many healthy options. They have a full-service restaurant as well. It is in the beautiful Malibu Pier, next to the ocean, so you can make a full beach day out of it!

No matter where you are going to, you can always scout the area where you are staying and find the healthy options surrounding you. If you are unsure, reach out and I can help you plan it 😀.

Additionally, you can usually find healthier options in the menu, no matter where you go. I always suggest looking at the menu before you go to a restaurant and before you get to hungry. That way once you get there, you already made your healthier choice and you don’t even have to look at the menu and be tempted by the less healthy options. 

Get your zzzzz’s

Sometimes when we travel, we have so many things we want to do and so many people to see, that we sacrifice sleep. Research shows that when we don’t sleep, we start craving bad foods and lose our ability to make healthy choices. You may also be too tired to exercise and stay active, so no matter what you are doing, make sure you allot at least 7 hours a day to sleep.

And there you have it – happy and healthy travel tips

Don’t forget to pack your vitamins or any medications you take as well! With a little pre-visit planning and scouting, you can make sure you stay with your healthy routines as much as possible. This in turn will make it easier to pick up where you left off when you return home.

This is applicable not just for leisure travel, but for work travel as well! If you visit LA, feel free to check out some of the suggestions we talked about.

Happy and healthy travel this summer and beyond,