Are you just about to journey to another country but don't want to spoil your otherwise perfect workout routine and dietary schedule?
Then join us as we explore 8 mantras that you can exercise in your travels to keep ahead of your dietary schedule.
1. Healthiness in Unexpected Places
It is all too easy when you are on the road to indulge too much in the convenience foods that have come to dominate the food markets of the western world. Most supermarkets in the west are positively brimming with these kinds of foods, foods that are at once convenient and based and horrifying.
These kinds of stores do, however, offer a surprising number of more nutritious options that you can pick out while traveling. The onus is thus on you to learn how to eat healthy while traveling instead of just letting it happen and fall into place for you. Eating healthy does not take too much effort, but it takes a little more than just seeking out the most convenient option.
2. Regular Mealtimes
The act of traveling may very well offer up its own set of temptations to the discerning individual who is looking to eat a little more healthily while they are away. For many, being away from home is an opportunity to slacken their belt and indulge in, say fast food restaurants.
Such indulgence can, however, be eschewed even in the most unlikely circumstances. Cruise ships, for instance, might seem like the most unfathomable place to exercise discretion and restraint. There is usually a whole plethora of healthier options, though they may well be arrayed to the edge of your perception.
Sticking to these kinds of foods as consumed at more or less regular intervals and filling your plate with them wisely (eschewing indulgence wherever necessary) will ensure that you are able to keep healthy while traveling.
3. Healthy Snacks
If you are the kind of person who enjoys a healthy snack or two while you are at home, then why not continue the tradition while you are away? Healthy eating is not an act that has to be reserved for when you are at home, it can instead be practiced wherever you go.
One of the more difficult ways to stay healthy while traveling is in snacking. Healthy food might not be hard to find, but where to find healthy snacks? In the same places as you find the normal ones, of course. Protein bars, low-fat string cheese, dried fruit, and other fresh produce - make sure to pack snacks that are going to do your gut some justice.
4. Hydration
As we have discussed elsewhere here at Moonster, it is vital that you stay properly and judiciously hydrated throughout your travels. Though it sounds like a cliche at this point, the mantra that hydration is key is very much true and will remain so as long as humans are addicted to that strange and transparent substance known as water.
Eating healthy foods and exploring healthy food options is one thing, but ensuring that you keep as hydrated as possible is just as important, if not more so. There are limits to this, of course, as you can just as easily over-hydrate and drown yourself. Everything should be enjoyed in moderation, people!
5. Mindfulness
One of the best things anyone can do for their eating habits - regardless of whether they are at home or traveling abroad - is to eat mindfully and savor food while they are consuming it. That means sitting down and eating, preferably at a table, instead of eating on the move or otherwise skipping meals entirely.
Not only can this methodology do wonders for your own mental and physical health, but it also allows you to really savor the culinary cultures and traditions that you are supping from if indeed you are practicing this kind of method while traveling.
There is a really nasty tradition in the west of finishing everything on one's plate even if one is full. Eat breakfast, sure, but don't eat the whole buffet. This is also a great budget travel tip to ensure that you are getting the most out of your money.
6. Treats
Of course, there is always room for treats on the road. Sampling the various culinary treats and delicacies that a culture has to offer is entirely part of the experience, especially in places that pride themselves on producing such sweet oddities.
Other than this, though, if you are really looking to eat healthily while traveling, then eat healthily. Allow yourself one special treat per day, then eat healthily otherwise, sticking to your hard-boiled eggs and lean protein.
Instead of indulging in every single meal, try to limit yourself to one special treat like this per day, otherwise sticking to regular meals and snacks of whole or dried fruit that make up healthy habits of eating.
7. Technology
Considering the fact that nowadays there is an app for just about anything, why not harness this modern power for the better?
There are plenty of apps, for example, that allow you to find restaurants throughout the world that offer healthy food or otherwise cater to the kind of dietary requirements that you follow.
Food Tripping, Happy Cow, and Vegan Finder are just a few examples of apps and websites that can help you to navigate the often overwhelming world of restaurants that can turn up in your travels.
Similarly, sites like Yelp, Door Dash, and Grub Hub offer filters on their sites and apps to find nutritious meals on the road that cater to your dietary requirements while still being delicious.
Why not use your travel journal to keep track of all these things too?
8. Eat Smart
One of the most tiresome and taxing parts of traveling long distances is jet lag. This is a phenomenon experienced when the country in which you land operates in a distinctly different time zone, meaning that your internal body clock is likely to be at least somewhat out of sync with the country in which you are staying.
To combat this phenomenon, you can eat foods that are known to help with achieving better sleep. These include:
- Poultry, fatty fish (i.e. salmon and tuna), and dairy products
- Almonds, cashews, and other nuts
- Oatmeal, bran flakes, whole grain crack, and other more or less unprocessed carbohydrates
- Montmorency cherries or cherry juice with no added sugar
- Bananas and kiwis
Essentially, you would do your best to limit the consumption of processed or sugary foods and cut back on caffeine and alcohol, at least nearer to bedtime.
Final Words
So, there you have it! Hopefully, you are now feeling ready and prepared to take your health and fitness abroad with you!
FAQs How to Eat Healthy While Traveling
WHAT IS THE BEST FOOD TO EAT WHILE TRAVELING?
If you are looking for the best foods to eat while literally traveling (i.e. while you are in transit), then you are likely wondering what kind of snacks you might consume in such a circumstance. Try prioritizing healthy non-perishable snacks like whole or dried fruit, freeze-dried vegetables, nuts, nut butter, whole-grain pretzels, crackers, bread sticks, trail mix, and snack bars of this kind.
HOW DO YOU DIET WHILE TRAVELING?
Try looking for healthier options even in the most convenient places like supermarkets; stick to regular mealtimes; snack smart; stay hydrated; eat mindfully while savoring your food; choose treats wisely, etc.
