Travel Tips For a Healthy Road Trip
I’ve always thought of September as a second chance during the year for a new beginning. Like kids returning to school, it’s our opportunity to rededicate ourselves to important topics like healthy living, including how to stay healthy when we travel.
So, let’s take a road trip! The roads are less crowded and the weather is a bit cooler making it a great time to hit the road. Just be sure to pack these travel tips for your health.
Start right
Have you ever started a trip totally exhausted due to poor planning? It’s no fun, is it? Every trip deserves a good beginning, here’s how to start right:
- Don’t wait until the last minute to pack.
- Stretch out travel preparations to allow for last minute glitches.
- Maintain a normal routine of exercise and adequate sleep will prepare your body for the trip.
Eat right
Nothing derails a road trip faster than poor eating habits. A day or two of eating junk and your energy plummets. Try these tips:
- Pack a cooler for the car and skip the fast food restaurants
- Bring healthy snacks like fruit, nuts or low-fat cheese
- Drink extra water. Sugary sodas provide a false high and too much caffeine will make you edgy.
- Seek out area restaurants serving locally sourced food such as organic meats and vegetables. Your meal will taste so much better. And, you’re body will benefit from healthy eating. I use Eat Well Guide (http://www.eatwellguide.org) to find locally sourced restaurants.
Move right
Traveling on the road doesn’t mean you should stop exercising. On road trips, plan a 10-minute break after every 90 minutes of driving. Run around the car, do jumping jacks, take a quick walk through a rest stop or run in place. End the exercise stop with a stretch or two.
Take advantage of the hotel gym; if yours doesn’t have one, use the routine that you developed before leaving home. You know, the one that requires no exercise equipment. (http://www.fitwatch.com/exercise/10-ways-you-can-exercise-at-home-without-any-equipment-10.html)
Would you rather exercise in the pool? Create your own water aerobics routine. Or, if dance is your thing, bring along an exercise DVD like Zumba.
Sleep right
End your day on the road early enough to enjoy a relaxing dinner and a short walk. Ten or eight-hour driving days won’t allow you to enjoy the trip.
Schedule time for relaxing activities such as reading a book or practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing or stretching before bedtime (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33L6oog4sbY). You’ll wake up refreshed and ready for another day on the road.
Do you have travel tips for a healthy road trip? Post a comment to share them with us. I’d like to add to my collection of healthy travel ideas.
Comments (6)
We have a cooler that plugs into an outlet in the car so we can use it the whole trip and it is always cool
You're such a seasoned traveler. I always tend to get off-track on road trips (food, exercise, etc.), so it sounds like I just need a little more planning and control over things.
What I like about road trips is not planning -- just enjoying the serendipity. Also, you can usually buy what you need along the way. I guess that shows why you're a travel expert and I'm not. Fun piece.
Brette, I love the idea of the cooler that plugs into the car. I'm adding that one to my shopping list.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jane. Staying on track during travel is hard, seasoned or not.
Ruth, I agree that serendipity is the big bonus of road trips.
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