If you want to ensure you have enough energy and freshness to make the most of your upcoming trip, I’m with you. When I travel, I want to be refreshed and explore as much as possible. Below, you’ll find a list of healthy habits you can apply naturally to your travel schedule to boost your brightness and enjoy every moment to the fullest.
Healthy habits lead gradually but steadily to a good life.
Great physical health doesn’t happen by accident. There’s nothing extreme about following and applying those habits to your life in general. if you love to be on the move (like me), making those rituals an integral part of your travel routine will pay you back.
Whether you’re traveling or not, if you try to stick those healthy habits to your daily routine, you might notice that your overall wellness is fostering. Taking care of yourself instinctively is the most precious gift you can offer to your body. Self-love should be effortless, and you should always find ways to enhance your physical wellness.
What are the 12 healthy habits to start?
The 12 healthy habits in a nutshell:
- Always eat breakfast
- Plan your meals ahead
- Be consistent with your meals
- Drink tons of water and natural juices for hydration
- Replace sugar and fat with protein and vitamins
- Restrict smoking and drinking
- Cycle or walk
- Sleep 8 hours a day
- Take siestas
- Pack light
- Stick to a workout plan
- Choose the right place to stay
Let’s examine all of them.
Always eat breakfast.
Wonderful breakfast with a view at Chelidonia Luxury Suites in Santorini.
I will repeat it as many times as I can. Eating breakfast is a good habit to adopt, despite your travel schedule.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That’s because it kick-starts your metabolism, and thus, you burn more calories throughout the day. Even if you’re not particularly hungry, don’t make the mistake of not eating in the morning. You can keep it light by choosing yogurt with fruits or a bowl of cereals.
I prefer grains, fruits, yogurt, berries, or boiled eggs. No matter how tempting the breakfast buffet might be, avoid unnecessary fat. By having a nutritious breakfast in the morning, you will avoid overeating later, and it will also keep you energized for hours. That means you keep “food-breaks” to a minimum, which saves you time and money.
Plan your meals ahead.
The best yearly food planner & guide from Dailygreatness.
It might be an extra task, but planning your means is as useful as planning what to pack. Plus, the more you practice on it, the more expertise you gain.
Also, no matter how time-consuming it might seem, it will eventually help you save time and money. Having a meal calendar based on your nutrition goals will be extremely beneficial in the long run, and most healthy people who want to keep their form won’t find it a bad idea. The yearly planner from Dailygreatness has ideal food intakes, recipes, and not only. The daily prompts will guide you towards optimal health through meditation and visualization, mindfulness, conscious eating, healthy habits, workouts, evening reflection, and inspiration.
Make some time before your trip and listen to your body. Even if you don’t have specific plates in mind, you can opt for ingredients like carbs, proteins, vitamins, etc.
Which foods make you sleepy? Which foods give you an energy boost and keep you full during the day? Are you planning to lose weight? Writing those stuff down and preparing a weekly meal calendar is one of the most efficient healthy habits you can start immediately. It will also help you keep control of your nutrition.
You will know what to eat and, most importantly, why. You’ll end up skipping the donuts and the cotton candy during your coffee breaks, and you’ll know exactly what to order from the amazing restaurants you’ll visit.
Be consistent with your meals.
Keeping a consistent eating schedule is equally important as having one. If you choose to plan your meals, make sure you stick to specific times. Of course, your plans might change a bit eventually, but It’s good to keep consistency.
It will prevent you from overeating during the day and, of course, will jumpstart your metabolism. Stay loyal to your eating schedule as you do to your sleeping routine. In fact, you’ll realize that the quality of your sleep will improve if you eat at specific times, as plenty of food before bed affects your sleep.
And plenty of food late in the night is not impossible to happen if you don’t keep consistency with your meals. If, for example, you eat early in the afternoon and then stay without food for hours because museums, people, theaters, or the vibe of the city distracted you, you might end up overeating so you won’t go to bed with an empty stomach.
Changing habits like eating a lot late at night can be extremely beneficial for your body, eventually.
Drink TONS of water and natural juices for hydration.
Staying hydrated must be at the top of your list.
Drinking a lot of water is one of the most important healthy habits you can adopt for your body. Staying hydrated must be at the top of your list, whether you travel or not. Avoid drinks with sugar or soft drinks and always choose water.
If you aren’t a fan of still or sparkle water, you can add flavor with slices of fruits or vegetables like lemon, cucumber, or orange. There are also plenty of tasty and healthy smoothies and natural juices you can buy from juice bars or even prepare yourself.
It’s also known that flying can dehydrate you a lot, and that might make you feel dizzy or lightheaded. In any case, make sure you always keep water or juice in your bag to stay continuously hydrated.
Most people forget to drink water during the day. If you’re one of those, being consistent with your hydration is one of the most healthy lifestyle changes you’ll ever make.
Replace sugar and fat with protein and vitamins.
The 12-week program in Dailygreatness journal will guide you to create healthy habits through the eight daily steps of training, diet & food journaling.
There are plenty of healthy snacks you can have in your bag instead of chips and chocolate. You can choose fruits, almonds, nuts, cereal bars, among many. Don’t make the mistake of falling for unhealthy snacks that are made from fat and sugar.
These snacks are a waste for your body and will only disrupt your eating plan. Also, having your snacks handy in your bag will also save you money and time.
Instead of going for bacon and whipped cream from the breakfast buffet, as mentioned above, opt for more healthy choices like cereals, fruits, or wholegrain bread.
Restrict smoking and drinking
Smoking and drinking are two addictive habits. And whatever is addictive is harmful to your health as you don’t have control and power over it. It would be best if you can have the freedom of choice over your rituals. I know it’s easier said than done, so I’m not an advocate of cutting off any of those completely.
You can start slowly, maybe by maintaining alcohol consumption to a moderate amount or allowing yourself to smoke a minimum of times throughout the day. If you’re having fun, you’re at a bar, or having an exciting talk with an intriguing stranger; you most likely won’t bother thinking about not having an extra glass of wine or a cigarette.
But if you can keep those two at a minimum, your physical health will be at its best.
Replace taxi rides with walking or cycling
If the weather is good, the best thing you can do to your mental and physical wellness is to go out and consume as much vitamin D as you can.
Many cities are ideal for walking or biking. Especially if the weather is good, the best thing you can do to your mental and physical wellness is to go out and consume as much vitamin D as you can.
Not only do you benefit your body by engaging in moderate physical activity if you choose to walk or cycle for 30 or 60 minutes, but you also get the chance to get to know the city more. There’s no better way to explore a place than walking the narrow paths or the parks, capturing the street art, and discovering the scenic pedestrian streets.
Next time you visit a place, drop the uber or taxi rides completely and opt for a walking or cycling tour instead.
Stick to a consistent 8-hour sleep schedule.
Your sleeping schedule is the most important thing to consider if you want to maintain your energy and alertness at their peaks. Make sure you get enough rest and keep your sleeping schedule consistent.
The benefits of a good night’s sleep are so many to be listed in this post. In a nutshell, a good night’s sleep improves your mood, enhancing your learning abilities, polishes your memory, and boosts your energy.
A sleeping schedule to a completely different timezone can be extremely tricky to follow because of jet lag. There’s a solution to that, too; make sure to read my post on jet lag and how to deal with it.Â
Take siestas.
The practice of natural biphasic sleep, and a healthy diet, appear to be the keys to a long-sustained life.
There are still many siesta cultures throughout the world, but why not trying to adopt a siesta mentality despite the place you live or travel to? A siesta is an afternoon rest or nap, and you can see regions of South America or Mediterranean Europe follow that pattern of biphasic sleep still.
In the book; Why we sleep, Matthew Walker describes the health consequences caused by our abandonment of biphasic sleep. He ends up concluding that;
“from a prescription written long ago in our ancestral genetic code, the practice of natural biphasic sleep, and a healthy diet, appear to be the keys to a long-sustained life.”
And from my personal experience, whenever I was taking a siesta of 30 or 60 minutes after a long morning of activities, I was fully engaged in my afternoon and evening routine, and my mood was apparently better.
Pack light.
Packing the essential is key to avoid tiring your body by carrying a lot of weight. If you think clearly, you’ll figure out that you were mostly using less than you’ve packed. You will always come back with many stuff you never wore and probably forgot you packed in the first place.
That’s happening because the less we know about a destination, the more we add things that we think we might need. Eventually, the scenarios are less complicated than we thought. You’ll realize that with some creativity and experience, packing light can become a piece of cake.
Stick to a workout plan
If you decide to stick to a workout plan, even two or three times a week can be extremely efficient for your physical health.
Working out while traveling can be easier than you think, and most fit people do it all the time. You don’t need any special equipment, and you can follow simple bodyweight exercises for a minimum of 30 and 40 minutes per day.
If you decide to stick to a workout plan, even two or three times a week can be extremely efficient for your physical health. Many resorts and hotels have gyms, so take advantage of that too. Among all healthy habits, this is probably the toughest to adopt when you’re traveling.
If you feel that working out will take time from your traveling experience, exercising outdoors or go for a night run is an amazing idea. Â
Choose the right place to stay.
Last but not least, choosing the right place to spend your nights and take some rest is super important. Make sure your hotel, hostel, Airbnb, or resort is in a quiet area and that the amenities provided are the ones that make you feel comfortable. If you wish to recharge your batteries, choosing a hostel or a kid-friendly hotel might not be a good idea.
Always know your needs and choose your accommodation wisely.
Even if you can’t proceed immediately with those lifestyle changes, the aforementioned healthy habits will keep your body and mind fresh to explore and wander.
Conclusion: The best healthy habits for your optimal health
As I mentioned above, great physical health doesn’t happen by accident. If you gradually enable all those healthy approaches to your schedule, they will eventually become daily habits, even if now seem like too much work.
To recap, the 12 healthy habits are:
- Always eat breakfast
- Plan your meals ahead
- Be consistent with your meals
- Drink tons of water and natural juices for hydration
- Replace sugar and fat with protein and vitamins
- Restrict smoking and drinking
- Cycle or walk
- Sleep 8 hours a day
- Take siestas
- Pack light
- Stick to a workout plan
- Choose the right place to stay
