How to Stay Healthy and Fit While Traveling
Guest Post from CFS Coach, Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist Michelle Boutet! For More Information on Michelle’s Background and helpful Nutrition articles visit her website Fuel 2 Live HERE!
Summer often means extra time away from home and out of a routine. While this is can be a nice break, it can also make you feel less-than-healthy when you return. But it is possible to travel, have fun, and not totally derail your diet and fitness goals. Here are some great tips for staying in tip-top shape this summer.
Top ten tips for healthy (and happy) travels:
1. Buy healthy snacks before you leave. Aim for things with carbs/protein/fat.
Examples: single-serve peanut butter, rice cakes, lower sugar protein bars (try Quest and Oatmega bars), fruit, mixed nuts, and pretzels. Pack as many snacks as you can in your suitcase!
2. Bring a large water bottle and carry it with you everywhere (ensure that the tap water is safe first). Not only will this keep you hydrated; it’ll also save you money.
3. Stay in a place with kitchen access, or a mini fridge and/or microwave combo. Or try to book a hotel with breakfast included.
4. Make 1-2 meals per day at home. Oats with fruit and scrambled eggs are an easy and cheap breakfast. For on the go, turkey wraps with spinach, nuts, fruit, and protein bars are very portable.
5. Research restaurants to find healthy options. Keep a Google doc with links so you don’t have to scramble to find places when you get there. Prioritize protein and veggies and let the rest fall into place. A good tip is to split a large salad as an appetizer.
6. Walk or rent bikes. This is a cheap, fun way to get a feel for a new city while also getting fresh air and exercise. You can make it more fun by adding in pit stops for photo ops, shopping, coffee, or picnics.
7. Check out a local gym. Many offer discounts if you drop in more than once. This is a great way to jumpstart your day, reduce jet lag, meet new people, and keep a routine without trying too hard.
8. Pick up a few food items when you get to your destination. CVS now has oats, milk, yogurt, protein bars, and nuts if you can’t get to a grocery store. Keep it simple and just get the basics.
9. Cook or grill at home. If you have kitchen access, get some groceries and cook in a few nights. Keep things basic – lean protein, veggies, and light carbs. Here are some dinner examples that take 30 minutes or less:
— Bison cheese burgers with sweet potato fries (frozen), and broccoli (also frozen)
–Taco turkey bowls (lean ground turkey, taco seasoning, peppers, greens, rice, guacamole, salsa)
10. Be mindful of your alcohol intake. You are on vacation after all, but try to pick and choose your battles, and keep it to “lighter” drinks. Also make sure to eat some nourishing food when you do have booze. You don’t want to waste time being hung over.
While a vacation should be a mental and physical break from your routine, a little extra effort with your nutrition can make all the difference in how you feel. The more you practice these things and make them part of your travel routine, the easier they become (just like anything new). You could pick any one of these tips and feel 100x times better than just doing nothing.
Warm-up
100m Medball Run
1 Minute Pull Up Hang (below bar)
100m Medball Run
1 Minute Wallsit
100m Medball Run
1 Minute Wallballs
100m Medball Run
Strength
1. Strict Press
3-3-3-3
2. Strict/Weighted Pull-up
3-3-3-3
WOD (20 Minute Cap)
400m Run
100 Wallballs
400m Run
-Every time you break up your set of wallballs complete a 100m Run with your medball
Coaches Note: the key to this workout is coming up the perfect game plan for you. Challenge yourself to break up the reps into intervals that might be a little uncomfortable. And just remember…the workout is not won on the first set 😉
Level 3- 80 Wallballs
Level 2- 60 Wallballs
Level 1- 50 Wallballs, 100m Run
ADV- 30,20
*if choosing this option, you should be able to get through this in no more than 5 sets
Extra Work
Complex: 3 Pull Ups/2 chest to bar/1 bar Mups. Rest 1:00. Add one rep to each until you can’t go unbroken anymore
*WOD Credit Sam Briggs, check out her video HERE