Each week we talk about important travel topics to help you decide when, where, and how to explore the world in style. This month we are helping US travelers get ready to travel again. And in this week’s episode we are talking all about how to stay healthy while traveling. We share our travel eating, workout, sleep habits while we travel.

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Transcript:

JQ: Hey travel babies, anyone else less food as much as we do, but notice when you travel, you tend to overeat. We’re here to help with all of our favorite tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

Juliana: his is travel babies. We’re just two sisters trying to travel the world in style, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Each week we talk about important travel topics to help you decide when, where and how to explore the world in style. I’m Juliana from Travel with Juliana, a professional travel blogger from Boston.

JQ: And I’m JQ from Jqlouise.com. And I’m also a professional travel writer, blogger and influencer, also from Boston. Combined, we have over 200000 followers across our social media platforms and we love sharing our travel tips and tricks with you all before we get started. Don’t forget to subscribe and give us a review. If you enjoy our podcast, it really helps us a lot.

Juliana: With more people getting vaccinated, that means more travel. We’re so excited about this, but that also means there are a lot of things that many of us aren’t used to anymore. Last week we talked with Haley Navarro and all of her favorite makeup hacks while traveling. This week, we’re talking about all of our favorite tips on how to stay healthy while you travel.

It All Starts With a Solid Eating Routine at Home

JQ: OK, so let’s start by talking about how you can stay healthy while traveling by maintaining a healthy home routine and then bringing that routine with you when you travel.

Juliana: Yeah. So I know for me, you, Jacqueline, you know, we definitely try to get sort of a good mix of everything. So like working out, you know, eating healthy, drinking a ton of water, just having sort of a balanced lifestyle. You know, we don’t really do any crazy diets or anything like that, but we usually try to stay balanced. So, you know, that can really start at home and just doing these specific routines so that when you do travel, you know what your body’s used to. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

JQ: Exactly. And I think a great thing to do. You know, once you do start traveling again is use traveling as a motivation to get into a healthy routine. Like I know, you know, most of us are stuck in our covid routines. And those can be good. Those can be bad, you know, who knows? But, you know, traveling is a great motivator to really get you ready for the trip. Maybe that means you drink more water, you know, in preparation for a long flight. Maybe it means you start doing a 10 minute yoga workout every day to just feel better or, you know, maybe it is eating healthier so that you can lose weight before summer trip, that kind of thing. But, you know, it really isn’t about losing weight. It’s just about maintaining, you know, a healthy kind of balanced lifestyle, like Juliana said. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly. And I know, like all of us are coming out of covid and quarantine where we literally couldn’t leave the house for a long time. And I know, like just for me, you know, before covid and many people like I would walk to work, I would just like walk more, just going out more, even if it wasn’t like to go travel or do like fun stuff, it was more just like getting out of the house more. And now a lot of that has been cut out so that even just that part of my routine is gone. So I think when I do travel, I’m going to want to walk more, you know, take public transportation, not have a car. Those sorts of things can really help to. And just one thing I wanted to mention, there’s so many great YouTube videos were for quick workouts these days because obviously with covid, you know, everything had to be online. I think a lot of these great workout instructors made of all of these YouTube videos and posted them during covid and now they’re freely available. So definitely taking advantage of those. I love doing those. You can do them anywhere. You don’t need any equipment. You don’t need that much space, you know, even JQ. And I like to do that when we travel.

JQ: Exactly. And the great thing is you can search for very specific things, like if you have five minutes or ten minutes of your 15 minutes, you can find a workout in that time frame in like any type of workout. Like, you know, if you feel like stretching, maybe search ten minute yoga. If you feel like doing some cardio, you know, search, 15 minute cardio workout. You know, if you want to do a strength training search that you can find pretty much anything you can think of on YouTube. So just start searching around and you’ll quickly find some instructors that you’ll really like. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

Juliana: Yeah, I love doing that. I love to usually stick with, like cardio for a couple of weeks, honestly. Well, I’ll try to do it like every day for a few weeks and then I get sick of the video, then I change videos and then I’ll just stay on a specific video for a while. So definitely, you know, search exactly for what you want and I’m sure you’ll find something. And then, you know, the other thing, too, is just drinking a ton of water. I think especially when you travel, you can get easily dehydrated because you just kind of forget to drink water. But if you’re used to drinking it on your at home, you know, that’ll be something that you want to take with you.

JQ:  Exactly, and for me, when I know I have a flight coming up in a few days, I try to like increase the level of water that I’m drinking every day just to kind of prep my body. So it’s very well hydrated before I get on the plane, because, I mean, just being on a plane dehydrates you because the air is so dry and you don’t have access to as much water or other drinks as you normally would. So that’s another thing. And it can also just kind of help to boost your routine as well.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly. And then we kind of talked about this a little bit at the beginning. But, you know, just having a healthy sort of balanced diet, I think whatever you feel best eating, you know, makes you feel the healthiest. Go for that. Because for me, I mean, before covid, I think I was eating out a lot more than I am now. You know, during covid, obviously, you had to cook a lot. And so we kind of developed the recipes that we like to eat the most. And for me, it’s been shifting more towards eating a lot of veggies and not so much meat. But, you know, whatever you feel the best eating.

JQ: Exactly, so, you know, once you have a solid home routine or at or at least just a better home routine, try to bring some of those things with you when you travel. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

So, you know, but it really does start in your normal life because if you’re unhealthy at home, you know, you’re probably not going to be healthy when you’re traveling. So really, just try to build up some of these habits and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Like, just start slow. Like maybe just start by focusing on how much water you’re drinking. I mean, that’s easy. Like, everybody can do that and you’ll notice that you’ll feel a lot better once you start drinking more water like your skin will feel better. Your whole body will just feel a lot better. I noticed that on days where I don’t drink enough water, I get a headache. You know, I feel like my skin feels dry, like you noticed that right away. So maybe just start with something easy and kind of work your way up to, you know, eating better, working out more. You know, just do one thing at a time.

Juliana: Yeah, that’s such a good tip, because if you try to, like, overload yourself and say you’re going to start eating really healthy, you’re going to work out an hour, a day like that’s a lot all at once. So definitely spread it out and it’ll just be easy. And you’ll want to do it because you realize how good your body feels.

JQ: Exactly. And just I really want to reiterate how important small things can be. Like it doesn’t take like a big change to improve your life. Like literally if you do a ten-minute workout every day, you’ll feel so much better. And it’s literally only ten minutes.

Juliana: Yeah, it’s such a short amount of time. I know. Like today it was a long workday and I needed to just reset myself. And so I just did like a ten minute workout video and then stretched a tiny bit. You know, all of that took less than 20 minutes. And I was done and I felt so much better. And again, it’s just like whatever you do at home, you can take that with you when you travel. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

JQ: Exactly. OK, so now that you have kind of a home routine in place, you know, it’s time to bring that with you on your first couple of trips post covid. So how Juliana and I really look at, you know, wellness and, you know, staying healthy on trips, it really depends on the type of trip on how we approach it.

How to Stay Healthy on a Short Trip

So we like to divide it up really into short trips and long trips. So on short weekend trips, you know, if you’re literally just going away from Friday night until Sunday, you don’t have to go crazy. I mean, you’re it’s only two days and it is the weekend. So you can feel free to splurge a little bit with bigger meals, more indulgent meals, because you’re only going to have two dinners, you know, Friday night and Saturday night. So really, you don’t need to go crazy here. But one of the things we do is try to stick to is that we like to walk as much as we can.

Juliana: Yeah. And also, just like taking public transportation can kind of help with that, too, because if you don’t have a car, then you’re not even tempted, tempted to drive. Whereas like, OK, it’s like a half hour walk, but maybe that’s great because you’re going to eat a big dinner. So walk having a quick, you know, you know, not a very long walk after is nice because that’s exactly what will help you after eating a ton. So I think the small things you can do are really helpful. And like Jacqueline said, you know, you don’t have to go crazy if you want to splurge and have, you know, that dessert that you were craving or something that you really want on the trip and definitely go for it, especially if it’s a short trip. I think one thing I always learn from these trips is if I’m craving something, you don’t need a huge portion of it. I think it’s mostly just like getting the taste or just getting like getting what you’ve been wanting for however long. But I think if you can share it with a friend or your partner, like, that’s always good too, because you still get that and satisfy the craving. But you don’t need like a huge amount of it, especially with food. I think I always tend to overorder and then I’m like, oh, why did I order all this? I can’t even eat it.

JQ: Yeah, exactly. And like, that’s a really good tip sharing stuff. Like, I mean, both of us love sweets. Like, we definitely have a both of us have a sweet tooth. So but for desserts, like just order one and split it with whoever you’re with because you’ll get plenty of enjoyment out of it. But if you only ordered one, it’s like then you split it.

Juliana: Yeah. And you just like I hate wasting food when we’re at restaurants too. I’m like, why did I order all this? I just can’t even eat it. And, you know, if you’re just going on a trip, it’s not like you can take it home and have it have it for leftovers. So definitely like just be careful about what you order, because I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve just like order too much. I’m like, I can’t eat this. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

JQ: Exactly. So, yeah, I mean, just to recap, I mean our tips for short weekend trips is really just, you know, give yourself a chance to splurge because that’s why you’re going on the trip. You know, you do want to have fun just but then also, you know, balance that with some easy things, like walk as much as you can take public transportation rather than driving. And then when it does come to kind of the indulgences, you know, do it in smaller quantities like. Share a dessert, only have one glass of wine like that kind of thing, like just yeah,

How to Stay Healthy On A Long Trip

JQ: OK, so let’s move on to longer trips. So for us, we kind of qualify. A longer trip is anything more than like three or four nights. I mean, if it’s longer than a long weekend, you really should start thinking about what your routine is for wellness while you’re there. And it’s not even about, you know, weight loss or anything like that. It’s really just you want to pace yourself so that your body can keep up with whatever you’re doing. So, you know, if you think about it, if you’re on a week long trip, you’re exploring a lot. You’re busy, you’re running around trying to see stuff, have fun, go out to dinner, you know, go here, go there. Your body is under more stress than it is normally when you’re just sitting at home, you know, on your computer all day. So you really need to think about, you know, what’s going to maintain your body so that you can enjoy yourself to the fullest.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly, I think all the stuff that we kind of talked about in the home routine portion like applies even more so for longer trips, just because you need some sort of routine to help your body feel as good as it does when you’re at home and when you know you have a home routine that you like. I feel like also one other thing, too, is like when you’re trying to work on a trip and you’re, you know, like doing your sort of home routine just in another place, then you can really basically do the exact same thing. And that’s honestly, we should do a whole other episode about working from like from a different place, because that can be good, too. Like, how do you stay productive, those sorts of things. But I think, you know, going back to the health aspect is drinking a ton of water. You know, being on a long flight, your body gets super dehydrated. So like JQ said, I try to prepare a couple of days in advance and really stay hydrated, take vitamin C, you know, snack rather than snacking on, like chips and junk food, snack on healthier things like fruit or nuts, if you have the chance. I know on planes it can be hard to eat healthy in airports, but do the best you can, you know, bring stuff with you, try to prepare as much in advance, especially for those long flights. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

JQ: Exactly. I know. So like, yeah, maybe let’s start by talking about how you can be healthy while you’re physically traveling, while you’re on a long plane ride. I mean, you know, I think a big part of it is before you even get to the airport, I mean, I seriously drink a lot of water like the two days before leading up to it. It’s just like, you know, like I did track and like, literally your hydration starts two days before race day. Like, you need to be drinking water and nourishing your body leading up to, like, the big day because, you know, your body processes all of those things. So, like, it takes time. So if you are going to be going on a long, you know, overnight flight to Europe, like we all will be, hopefully soon, you know, you really need to start prepping your body a few days before you even leave. So, you know, if you do that, then, you know, once you’re in the airport and once you’re actually on the plane, you know, like Juliana said, you know, drink a lot of water and try to bring things with you, like bring healthy granola bars, those kind of things. That way you have healthy snacks to go to. So you don’t just eat a ton of salty chips. That is just going to make you feel bad.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly, I feel like even the shorter flights I like, we never eat chips at home, we never eat those sort of like junk food things. And so then on planes, I’m like, what am I supposed to eat? You know, because I just I know now, like, it’s not worth it to eat these foods that, like, seem good and they seem like it’s good, but it’s just all chemicals and fake. So, you know, and I, I probably would have not realized that as much before, but I think covid really helped me put a big emphasis on like wellness and health. So I’m really grateful for that. But also a big thing is if you’re going to be in a different destination for a couple of days or a week or two weeks or however long, don’t, you know, drastically change your diet. Like I said, even for the shorter trips, take it, you know, taking baby steps so that you don’t upset your body, upset your stomach, but even, you know, even goes it’s even more important for longer trips just because you’re you don’t want your body to get, like all of a sudden in a really bad habit of like eating a lot or drinking a lot more than you’re used to those sorts of things. So, yeah, just take it slow.

JQ: Exactly, yeah, and like introduce like one different thing per day, like if you can, like, really try to moderate, you know, what you’re adding to your diet, because, you know, obviously for both of us, we love food and we love to try new things. And we want to try the local cuisine like one hundred percent. But it’s like don’t do everything the first hour that you get there, because, like, you need to give your body a chance to adjust, because even if you are eating healthy food, it’s also if you’re eating different foods than you normally do, you know, your body has to react to that. So just like try like, you know, slowly introduce these new things, like don’t go crazy, the first meal that you have.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly. And then I think another point, too, is like if you’re going to have jetlag like the first few days, you’re there. That’s a whole other thing that’s kind of imposed on your body. So also, keep that in mind. You know, we haven’t had to deal with jet lag for so long, it feels like. So I’m kind of worried the first time I have to do it again. But I know I’m just going to, like, drink a ton of water and try to get on a new time zone as fast as possible. But just keep in mind, like, that’s something your body really goes through. And so you feel like really messed up, especially if you eat a lot. You drink a lot. I think, you know, a couple of times when I flown to Europe and I go and start doing a ton of stuff like right away and then eating or drinking like I eat, my body just feels so sick. And that’s obviously the reason why. So give yourself the time to adjust. You know, like Jacqueline said, just ease things slowly into your diet or whatever you’re doing. Of course, try the local food. But, you know, it’s OK to it’s also OK, like if you know you’re going to a place and you want something very specific, that’s great, too, because it’s the fun and traveling. But again, like, don’t go so hard all at once. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

JQ: Exactly. And one thing that I used to always do is like the first day that you get somewhere like take it easy, like seriously, don’t plan a ton of stuff. Like I’ve learned this like the first day that you get somewhere, especially if you’re going to be jet lagged, plan to just kind of relax at the hotel, plan to walk around, kind of get your surroundings so that, you know, like what restaurants are close by. Like maybe you go to a grocery store to buy water bottles, to buy some snacks for your hotel room, that kind of thing. Like really just to get yourself acclimated to the new environment that you’re in. And I think this will be so important for all of us on these first big trips this summer, because none of us have done this in a year. Like I mean, Juliana and I have traveled like easy, quick, short trips. So like we haven’t done long week long trips where we’re jet lagged, like we haven’t done that in over a year. So for us, it’s going to be a big adjustment. So I know the first day that you get somewhere really plan to just give your body a chance to get used to it. You know, the time zone, the new food, you know, the new hotel that you’re in. I mean, plan to just really focus on getting yourself feeling good again, because then you’ll have a lot more fun the rest of the trip.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly. And then one other thing that we wanted to mention is just do a quick workout, routines, yoga routines stretching. I mean, like we like to do this during at our home routine. You know, even if you have time on a short trip like it’s good or just get, you know, walk a lot, just, you know, squeeze in as much sort of exercise as you can just because it’s like I said, it kind of resets your body. And I think after a long flight to especially if it’s like you are expecting to have jet lag in your body, just has been sitting on a flight for seven, eight hours. It’s great to do like a quick yoga routine or quick stretching routine. I think that really, really helps. And, you know, it only takes ten, fifteen minutes and that’s all you need. You don’t need to do like an hour to hour long, like yoga class. So definitely take advantage of those free YouTube videos. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

JQ: Exactly. And then the last that big thing is focus on your sleep schedule. I mean, sleep is so important when you travel probably even more than when you’re home because you’re just like putting your body out there in all these new situations and like, it has a lot of stress on it. So you need to give yourself a chance to, like, rejuvenate itself. So really, especially with jet lag, you really need to watch your sleep schedule so that you know No. One, you can get on the right time zone so that you’re not tired during the day and awake at night. You don’t want that. But you also just want to have enough energy to really enjoy the destination that you’re in.

Juliana: Yeah, exactly, I think that’s something, you know, sleep is so important when you’re home, when you’re traveling, when you’re in quick trips, like don’t underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep.

JQ: All right. Well, that’s pretty much it. I mean, just really our big tips, it just kind of listen to your body and take it easy. I do one thing at a time, you know, introduce one or two things at a time and just listen to your body and just do what makes you feel good. Keep reading for more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling.

Juliana: Thanks for listening to our tips on how to stay healthy while traveling next week to hear all about one of our first post covid trips. But also, if you like our podcast, don’t forget to subscribe and give us a review  If you enjoy it, it really helps us a lot. Thanks, JQ.

We hope you enjoyed hearing all about how to stay healthy while traveling.