Making All Parts of Travel Easeful, FUN and Healthy {Part 2}

On my last blog, I talked about how to prepare to travel easefully, for you and your business, and how to transition and get settled more easily when you return home.

In this blog, I’ll be focusing on your physical health while traveling.

For me, my physical health (which impacts my mental and emotional health) is affected hugely by 3 things when traveling – Food, Hydration, Supplementation.

Here are my favorite tips and strategies for feeling both healthy during and after travel.

1.  Pack Your Own Food and / or Snacks

Best case scenario – if I have time, I’ll pack my own salad or go to Whole Foods (if on the way to the airport) and grab a takeaway salad.  This isn’t always feasible (like only 20% of the time) so at the very least I pack unsalted nuts, nutrition bars, a piece of fruit, a bag of baby carrots and raw chocolate. 

2.  Hydrate Like Crazy!

Drinking water during the flight (and avoiding coffee, soda and alcohol) is one of the best ways to combat travel stress, fatigue and jet lag. These are the 3 ways I hydrate to keep it interesting, feel great and have something to look forward to on long flights (I’m ALL about having things to look forward to :)

~ Hydrate With Superfoods

One of my favorite ways to hydrate is to buy the biggest bottle of water I can find (after I go through security) and add in Amazing Grass’ Green SuperFood Cacao Chocolate Infusion and 4-6 drops of Sweet Leaf’s EnglishToffee Liquid Stevia*.  

I then instantly have a full bottle of cold, refreshing, heavenly goodness.  Seriously, drinking this mixture makes me feel SO good during the flight (it’s usually gone in an hour).

*Both are pictured above and available at Whole Foods or Amazon.

~ Hydrate with Herbal Tea

Strangely, US airlines don’t seem to have herbal tea onboard (international flights do carry green tea), so pack 2-3 herbal tea bags and a glass tea tumbler.  I use our Sacred Lotus Love Tea Tumblers, of course :)  Simply ask the flight attendant to fill your Tea Tumbler with hot water – they don’t mind, when you ask really nicely. 

~ Hydrate with Sparkling Water

 When asked what I want to drink – I always ask for sparkling water.  Another way to keep you drinks healthy…and interesting. 

3.  Bring Treats

If you’ve done my SexyFit® Nutrition Challenge, you’ll know that I’m a huge believer in having healthy treats to look forward to, and that I also really promote “filling the void”.  Limited options, hunger and boredom make it easier to succumb to eating unhealthy food – so bring your own healthy treats to replace that bag of snack cookies.   My favorites?  Raw Chocolate and Raw Chocolate Macaroons – traveling or not.

4.  Avoid / Minimize

These are pretty obvious (all are dehydrating), but avoid or minimize the following as they make travel fatigue and recovery worse:

• Salt, Sugar + White Carbs
• Caffeine + Alcohol
• Sauces + Desserts
• Most airplane snacks

5.  Maximize

Airports ARE getting much better these days with choices for healthy options.  I try to eat these foods:

• Salads + Healthy Dressings
• Raw Veggies + Greens
• Raw Nuts + Fruit
• Healthy Proteins + Low Glycemic Carbs

 6.  Boost Your Immune System

I never go a day without my USANA supplements, but when I know I’ll be traveling, I add in extra Proflavanol C100 (USANA’s Grapeseed Extract and Vit C) 2 days before, during and 2 days after, to naturally boost my immune system.

7.  Never Beat Yourself Up

What fully intend to eat great while traveling, and even pack healthy snacks…but you miss a connecting flight, end up sleeping overnight in a Singapore airport b/c all the hotels are booked, can’t find anything healthy to eat, are overtired, stressed and hangry?  And proceed to eat your way to from Singapore-Japan-USA?

I’ve been there, exactly, as a matter of fact – on a killer flight 4 years ago.  

So, what did I do?  I finally arrived at my destination, drank a huge glass of water, took my USANA MyHealthPak and extra Proflavanol C100 and went to bed.  The next morning, I got up, MOVED in natural light (ran for 20 min outside), ate a healthy breakfast high in protein, drank lots of water, kept my  blood sugar balanced the whole day by eating extra protein and greens, went to bed early and didn’t beat myself up over it.

It’s so important to remember that one day will not affect your overall health negatively; it’s what you do AFTER that matters most.  I love this question as it always helps me get back on track – “what would healthy person would do now?” Be gentle and nurturing with yourself during this one day, knowing that tomorrow you will be completely back on track and feeling great. 

And yes, Tips 1-6 do require a little more planning (packing snacks, herbal tea bags, tea tumbler, supplements), but they help ensure that you have healthy and interesting options (hunger and boredom will push you towards unhealthy food).  

And why not make your trip as enjoyable as possible – and something that you look forward to, even if it takes a little more work on the front end?

Preparation, Filling the Void and Not Beating Yourself Up if you DO have a less-than-healthy travel day, are all part of making travel really work for you.  These days, I love all parts of travel b/c I intentionally create the environment I want – healthy, ease-ful, interesting and pleasurable. 

Over to you! Did this resonate? Do personally use any of the above tips already? What other travel tips help you wander the world with ease, enjoyment and health?  What non-negotiable health strategies that make all the difference for you?

Share here – the best insights happen in the comments when we share our ideas and strategies. I personally read every single comment and and always respond – I love to hear. 

Miss Part 1?  Click here to read.

Lots of love,

Carmen xo

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