Last Updated on May 9, 2019 by
One of the biggest issues with extended travel is sacrificing yourself for the experience. No no, I’m not talking about offering your heart (literally) to a forgotten tribe, I’m referring to your fitness and physical wellbeing. Whether we’re vacationing on the beach for a week or backpacking through Southeast Asia for a month, it’s natural to eat and drink to our heart’s content – but shouldn’t there come a point when we ought to start paying attention to our personal fitness and wellness especially when we’re traveling for an extended period of time?
It’s all too easy to eat street food, booze till the early morning and do nothing more than walk a few blocks each day which can very quickly add up to love handles and a depressed immune system (nothing sucks more than being sick while traveling!). Here are five tips on how to help take care of yourself while traveling.
How to Stay Fit While Traveling
1. Eat more frequent meals throughout the day
The worst thing you can do for your metabolism is stuff your face once a day and then not eat until after going to a bar or club at 3am. Financial constraints might be a factor for budget travelers, but if you eat 5 to 6 smaller meals throughout the course of the day, you will actually keep your metabolism revved up, providing you with sustained energy with no afternoon crashes. You will also burn a few extra calories just in the digestive process!
Eating in this manner will also let you try a lot more types of food while in your destination. Try and stay away from eating too much carbs (bread, rice, and pastries) as these types of foods are fast digesting energy sources, so unless you’re walking all day or exercising, your body will most likely store them as fat because you’re not in need of the extra energy.
Try and eat small balanced meals that have some sort of protein (meat, dairy, soy), some vegetables and good carbs like whole wheat breads and pastas. Avoid processed carbs like white bread, boxed cookies etc.
2. Do some sort of physical activity twice per week
You want your body to be physically strong while traveling for multiple reasons including bolstering your immune system and lugging bags across cities.
I personally like to get a day pass at a local gym wherever I’m traveling to check out the local gym culture which I find comical/interesting. Even visiting a gym once a week will help you maintain whatever strength you have built up and going 2 or 3 times per week will definitely start to show you strength improvements. You can even do things like pushups, crunches, squats and arm curls with nothing more than a couple of filled up water bottles, once you build up a little more strength, try lifting your suitcase or bag for added resistance!
If the gym isn’t your thing, there are plenty of ways you can get your body moving like heading to a local park, go hiking in the countryside or playing some pickup basketball, soccer or frisbee, all of which are great ways to meet locals.
3. Walk, Walk, Walk!
One of the best ways to burn off excess calories is by walking. If you can make it to your point of interest on foot without taking up the whole day getting there or killing yourself physically, then just walk. You’ll get to see all the sights along the way, save money on transportation and get some physical activity in. If you’re in Somalia, then yes, armored Humvee is a definitely more intelligent decision, but otherwise, walking is the way to go.
4. Get your rest
If you’re traveling for months across time zones and borders, chances are you’re going to be worn out getting from place to place. Do yourself a favor and take a rest when you get to your hotel or hostel and make sure to sleep enough at night.
Of course you’re going to want to see and do as much as possible, but adapting to time differences, eating new foods and of course partying will take a toll on your immune system and not getting enough sleep will put you in the hospital sooner than you know it. I personally am a huge proponent of naps as they let your body come back down to a basal metabolic state for a bit in the middle of the day, letting you enjoy the rest of the night. Sleep well, live well. Trust me on this one.
5. Limit how much alcohol you drink
If you don’t drink, more power to you, but if you’re like the rest of us, going out at night while traveling offers a great and relaxed way to meet new people and experience the nightlife. The problem comes when drinking in excess and then not being able to resist the late night munchies which usually results in some sort of deep-fried delight.
The issue with drinking too much alcohol is it is very high in calories, and believe it or not, alcohol is a preferred energy source for the body like carbohydrates, so if you’re not very active right after drinking, your body will turn it to fat for storage and later use.
The best thing to do is have a drink mixed with water like a vodka and water or a light beer, only have a few, and, you guessed it, dance! Dancing is a great way to be active while have some drinks to limit how much your body will store as fat later on, so get that drink, put on your dancing shoes and moon walk the night away!
These are just a few tips for keeping your body a temple while exploring the world. Do you have any other tips on how to stay healthy while traveling?
About the Author
Jeremy is the creator of The World or Bust, a travel blog with funny personal stories from his frequent international trips, tips on how to make travel a reality on any budget and guest posts from like-minded travel heads. He is based in Miami, FL and runs an internet marketing business.
And….Jeremy has a degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Miami. How do I know? I paid for it!
Ha! This is hilarious, thanks for mentioning it Jeremy\’s mum – no wonder he really knows what he\’s talking about when it comes to fitness!
Thanks for this post! Definitely it is something to care about, even if it is only to make sure you stay fit to see all the things you expect to see in the rest of your trip. What works best for me in order not to get really tired when I am travelling in a way that I am visiting places and walking for most of the day is: eat 5 times a day instead of 3, taking enough rest and sleep, and of course, walking, but that is not a problem since that is what i will be doing!
Yes we tend to walk alot when we travel, but we also do a lot of outdoor sports like hiking and swimming, so that\’s a good way to keep ourselves fit. But since we\’ve been back in Southeast Asia, we haven\’t been doing much except for eating – so it\’s time to get back on the treadmill and lose some kilos! ;)
Great pics and great tips!
Being fit in travel is a general problem for most of people. But by considering these tips a person can maintain their fitness. Thanks for sharing nice tips!
No problem, thanks for commenting!
Sounds like you got it down!
Haha hey, I didn't say limiting the booze would be easy!
I find that eating the right or healthy food while traveling to be very difficult. I put this down to being in an unfamiliar place, and often being too busy exploring the new surrounds to take the time to find a healthy meal. Do you have any suggestions ?
Try eating at the local market or buying fresh vegetables there and cooking back at your hostel. It might take more time but you can split the cost by cooking with someone there and you might even make a new friend!
Great post Jeremy! I love to travel and these are perfect tips to follow. I'm going to bookmark it so I can read it before my next trip! When traveling you get so caught in the moment of being on vacation you forget about your fitness and health. Eating out every night or enjoying drinks by the sunset or bar can really catch up! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it! Like I mentioned above, if you're trip is a couple weeks long, than screw it, enjoy! But when you're talking about longer, slow travel, you really have to keep your diet and fitness in mind. Safe and fun travels!
Great tips – now if only I could implement them :D
Great tips! What a great reminder of how easy it really is to at least stay in decent shape while traveling! Just takes a little extra effort.
Just takes a bit of mindfulness and it's attainable just like you said, good luck!
Great tips! I try to apply them on a regular basis, but it's sometimes difficult not to overeat sweets and some delicious local food. Exercising twice a week should not be a problem for any traveller, there are so many activities out there such as trekking and dancing :-)
You got it sista!
If you’re traveling for months across time zones and borders and from place to place. Do yourself a favor and take a rest when you get to your hotel and make sure to sleep enough at night and we also do a lot of outdoor sports and activities
Love the comment from Jeremy's mom. :) I have to say that it's hard to eat healthy and limit the alcohol when traveling, at least for me. However, the exercise part is the only way I don't gain 5lbs on every trip. The hotel MUST have a gym and if I'm traveling internationally, it must be open 24hrs. That saved me in Moscow. I get my run in every morning and then I don't feel so bad about enjoying the local cuisine – and my skinny jeans still fit by the end of the trip.
It's all about the skinnys ;)
Thanks so much for the great tips! The alcohol comment is so true. I gained about 15 pounds after 2 years of nearly constant business travel and I think that was a big contributing factor. Happy hour means no exercise for the day & almost guarantees eating too much for dinner!
Yea you're not going to turn into Arnold, but maintenance is easily doable.
haha yea, she's out of control…I'll check out your post too!
I do all of these! Walk every day and also outdoor sports, but no gym. Eat 5 times a day and no alcohol and it works :)
Great tips and very nice blog Jeremy! I especially liked the one about eating several small meals through out the day, it makes so much sense. Though whenever I am on vacation, I become very lazy, heading towards the gym is the hardest for me.
When I went on a three month trip around indonesia, sri-lanka and parts of India, I found that I needed to keep active, so I started to employ a full body free weight circuit that I would do at anytime in the smalest of spaces. This pared with healthy eating, limiting my alcohol intake and getting plenty of rest seemed to do it for me.
Love this post. After a couple of years on the road, it's time to accept that I'm no longer on an extended vacation and get back to being fit and healthy – the street food makes it so hard, though. And sampling the local beer brands (essential research). I like the day pass idea at the gym. I'm going to try this during the next few months. Running in humidity is no fun, but an air conditioned gym sounds do-able. Cheers for sharing.
I travel for work and use my weekends to get to other countries in the area. I use a Jawbone UP band to make sure I keep moving! It's super easy on a day I'm out and about seeing stuff (or… dancing late at night) and it's a great way to have my friends keep tabs on me while I'm gone! Great motivation.