How to Maintain Healthy Habits on Vacation

By Kaylea

Feb 25, 2023 | Fit Fam Favorites

Taking a trip doesn’t mean you have to let go of all of the momentum you’ve been building at home. In fact, it can be an opportunity to double-down on the promises you made to yourself, and strengthen that self-trust and self-confidence muscle. Here’s our game plan to stay on track whilst traveling:

Take advantage of your surroundings

This could be the hotel gym, the neighborhood sidewalks of the Airbnb, or the mountain outside your window. However you like to move your body at home, I guarantee you can find a way to do the same on vacation. But the best part of exploring new surroundings, is the opportunity to delight in new experiences, and play local for a day. Maybe that looks like trying a new yoga class, or grabbing a guest pass to a cycling club. The possibilities are endless, and immerses you into your host city in a whole new way!

Balance your bites

My wellness clients who have the hardest time getting back into the swing of things post-travel are the ones who throw caution to the wind and treat every day like it’s their last 😅. Just like we talked about with taking advantage of new ways to exercise on vacation, I feel the same about trying new culinary experiences – one of the great joys of travel! But balance comes in the form of staying true to your dietary ethos – do you limit lactose at home? are you gluten-free? do you typically save sweets for special occasions? I love the 80/20 rule here. 80% of the time, follow your typical dietary regimen, and 20% of the time, allow yourself some wiggle room to taste the treats of the region! Even in your 80% you can relish in sampling all of the flavors the city has to offer, just keep it in line with what feels good for your body. Extra vegetables to aid digestion (even more important when you’re outside your usual schedule and comfort zone), water! water! more water! to hydrate, nourish, and repair, and follow the glucose hacks to help with balancing your blood sugar for those ice cream nights.

Make time for rest

I don’t know a lot of people who return from vacation feeling “rested”. Either the bed isn’t comfortable, there are weird noises at night; we’re running ragged trying to eek out every last moment of excitement, and our bodies are rebelling for taking them so far off the schedule to which they’ve grown accustomed 😆. What if we made time to wind down like we would at home? Maybe is looks like NSDR from my beloved Dr. Andrew Huberman (by the way, I tried this with *great success* on our last trip and I’m adding it to my daily practice!), or getting back under the covers to read a great book, even just sitting outside and taking a few minutes to ground yourself. Prioritizing rest, a good night’s sleep, and slowing down when you need it will not only keep you closer to your wellness goals, they’ll also keep you from getting overly stressed, run down, and sick.

Whether you're traveling for work or play, I hope your next trip takes you somewhere that lights you up, fuels your body and mind, and expands and inspires you in all the ways you hoped for ((and more)). Where are you headed next? Leave a comment below! I'd love to hear all about it!

Written by Kaylea

Kaylea Nixon is a Certified Wellness Counselor and Certified Health and Nutrition Practitioner who loves sharing practical, purposeful ways to cultivate a life of well-being and joy! When she's not developing fresh anti-inflammatory recipes, or researching new wellness trends; she seeks adventures, experiences and tasty travels with her incredible husband, son, and rescue pup, Gemma.

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