Holidays are one of those times of the year when your health or fitness plans can take a real dent. It’s natural that you’ll want to relax, take part in activities that you enjoy the most—which might include sitting and eating a lot—and generally not doing a great deal. So while you might not make any fitness progress it’s important to make sure that you don’t get derailed entirely and face setbacks for months to come.
The first challenge you will face when traveling is the flight, flying is notoriously dehydrating, and the longer you’re in the air the worse it gets. Arriving dehydrated at your destination isn’t a great start as well as actually making you sick, it can make you feel pretty lousy and increase hunger. It’s not a great start to staying healthy so make sure you drink at every chance you get on the flight, and we’re not talking about alcohol here.
If you arrive at your destination and you’re well hydrated then that’s a great start. The next major thing you need to do consistently throughout your travel is to make sure you’re sleeping enough. Lack of sleep has been tied time and time again to increased weight gain, lack of sleep not only makes you feel hungrier but physiologically your body will store more fat. If you don’t feel tired enough at the end of your day, then you’re probably not being active enough, a brisk walk after dinner is a great way to use up the last bit of your day’s energy and help your food gently digest.
While we’re mainly talking about pro-active kind of health, a sure-fire way to ruin your plans to stay healthy is to get food poisoning. Depending on where you’re traveling and how daring you are it could be a real risk. If you’re trying local street food try and get recommendations where you can and make sure all food you eat is piping hot. Even if something looks tasty, if it looks unclean then it’s probably worth a miss.
This handy little infographic from De Vere Hotels UK gives some actionable ways that you can use to minimize the effects of your travel.
