How to stay healthy whilst travelling
Whether you’re travelling 1 hour or 40 hours on an airplane, staying healthy whilst travelling is not as easy as it might seem. I’ve listed some steps below that I follow to try and make travelling as healthy and as comfortable as possible.
STEP 1: BREAKFAST
Breakfast is literally my most important meal of the day, but even more so when I am travelling and snowboarding. I fill up with a good hearty breakfast. My go to is a toasted bagel with baked beans and scrambled egg. Still hungry? Eat more! I try and eat as much as I can at breakfast if I have a long travel day ahead, as I can never be sure what the food options will be at airports and on the go.
STEP 2: PLAN AHEAD
If you’re like me and you can’t stand the thought of eating plane food, plan ahead and book yourself a special meal online before you fly. Most airlines offer this for free so it’s worth checking. I usually order a fruit platter so that I know 100% I will be eating on the flight. I’m quite a fussy eater but you can’t go wrong with fruit.
STEP 3: DRINK WATER
Drinking water is a MUST when it comes to travel. Always travel with a reusable water bottle/flask and most airports have water fountains to fill up after you have gone through security. It’s super important to stay hydrated when flying, so drink as much water as you can.
STEP 4: EAT HEALTHY FOODS
It’s not actually that easy to eat healthily when you are travelling because you can never be sure of what food will be on offer at airports.
What to do? PLAN AHEAD!
Always travel with some healthy snacks in your backpack. Nuts and PhD Smart bars are a good option; but REMEMBER!! Always check before you fly that you can take food into the country you are flying to, otherwise you may have to pay a fine.
AVOID unhealthy foods. It might be the easiest and quickest option to go to a fast food place but trust me; you will feel so much better if you fill up on something good for you. Salad, veggie sushi and veggie wraps are good options.
STEP 5: SLEEP
It might seem pretty straightforward but getting enough sleep is super important for your whole body. Long haul flights can be a pain in the neck…literally! Invest in a good quality neck pillow to make it easier and comfier to sleep. Jet lag can be a nightmare and very difficult to deal with. In my experience, I haven’t really found a good solution, so I just try and stay awake as long as I can before falling asleep (depending on which way around the world you’ve flown) so that I’m giving myself the best chance of sleeping through the night and having a good next day… If you are struggling to stay awake and it's only early in the day, my go to is drinking a Red Bull.
STEP 6: MOVE
Move as much as you can! Long haul flights can leave you feeling stiff and sore, so make sure to get up often and walk around. There are usually areas on the plane where there is a bit of room, (usually at the back) so do some squats, stretches etc.…whatever makes you feel good.
I hope you have found this useful and have an amazing trip wherever you are going! Stay healthy!!
Katie O x