Planning your next getaway but don’t want the post travel sluggishness and inflammation?
Traveling comes with a lot of wonderful things — adventure, relaxation, leisure time and bonding with family and friends.
But often, we come back from our time away struggling to feel good and get back into the swing of things.
Try these tips next time you travel to make your post-travel days a little bit easier.
1. Stay hydrated If you’re like me, you rely on cues in your day-to-day routine to remind you to keep up with your water intake. But when traveling, once those cues are removed, it’s hard to remember to drink enough water.
Consider taking along a reusable water bottle (try glass or stainless steel) and keep it nearby: in the car, on the plane or while sightseeing. You can set reminders on your phone to take a drink or take a drink each time you catch a glimpse of your water container.
By doing this, you’re building in those cues that you’re missing from your day-to-day routine that will help keep you hydrated, allowing for better detoxification and cellular hydration and communication throughout your getaway.
Bonus tip: Add in electrolytes or sea salt when you can for extra hydration.
2. Focus on keeping balanced blood sugar Vacation mode doesn’t have to mean setting aside all the tools that keep your health optimal. If you’re going to do one thing while traveling that will help your return to usual life easier, focus on keeping your blood sugar stable throughout your trip.
By going on a blood sugar roller coaster — focusing solely on treats and not at all on balanced meals with protein, fat and complex carbohydrates — you might end up increasing inflammation, disrupting your sleep and increasing brain fog. The combination of these three things don’t stay on your trip, they follow you all the way home and make your return to usual life feel like you’re trying to swim through molasses.
So on your next getaway, find at least one to two meals per day for which you’re balancing out your protein, fat and complex carbohydrates. This doesn’t mean skipping on the treats, but it will make your body’s response to the treats more balanced.
3. Don’t neglect your fruits and veggies Who needs fruits and vegetables when they’re on vacation? You do. Fruits and vegetables have loads of anti-inflammatory properties. When we travel, it can be tough on our bodies. Whether it’s fumes from the plane or car, an increase in inflammatory foods or the general stress traveling itself puts on your body, these anti-inflammatory properties can help.
Stop at a local grocery store and stock up on some fruits and vegetables to snack on or have around for breakfast to get their wonderful benefits.
Bonus tip: Pair your produce with a fat and/or protein and you have at least one of your meals both anti-inflammatory and blood sugar friendly for the day.
Getting out of routine and trying new things while traveling is refreshing and fun. I’m not suggesting that you keep yourself from experiencing these wonderful parts of traveling. But giving a little extra attention to your health can really help you feel your best both on the trip and once you get back home.
Bri Edwards is a holistic health coach at Healthy Foundations in Dubuque.
