Ok, I have bad news and good news. The bad news is: a healthy lifestyle is not something you switch on and off. If you want to see lasting results, you should look for ways to stay on track with fitness goals even when traveling on your vacation.
The good news is. Actually it is 3 pieces of good news:
- If you just opened an article titled “stay on track with fitness goals when traveling”: Congratulations! you are converted to the tribe of healthy and happy people that look for ways to always stay that way
- If you stay on track with your fitness goals during vacation, you don’t need to dread the moment of your return and go on a diet to get back in shape
- And most importantly: you can still enjoy yourself. To stay on track with fitness goals when traveling doesn’t mean chewing unhappily on a rucola salad. Or getting up at 5am to run while the rest of your group is happily sipping sangrias
Don’t believe me? Have a look at my 7 ways to stay on track with fitness goals when traveling which I accumulated and refined over my last few trips (and will be making use of again this summer!)
1. Evaluate your accommodation options’ “fit friendliness”
Now, I don’t suggest you can realistically choose your vacation accommodation purely based on your fitness goals. Especially if you are traveling with kids. But at least consider the pros and cons of different options and see how easy it will be to stick to your health and fitness routine.
Hotel
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with good nutrition in a small hotel room. But the level of “fit friendliness” depends on the hotel itself, so let’s still give it a chance and see how you can make it work.
Hotel Pros:
- most 4 star+ hotels will have some variation of a gym – when we did our mommy and daddy only Spain road trip few years ago, I made a shortlist of a few hotels per city that ticked all of our other criteria. And then chose the final ones based on whether they had a gym or not
- some resorts offer drop-off kids clubs where the children can have fun while mom sneaks in a quick workout
Hotel Cons:
- limited food prep options
- if the offer is all inclusive – unnecessarily overindulgence on random snacks and drinks just because they are “free”
How to make hotels work for your fitness goals:
- if possible choose a room with a mini fridge. This way you can still get yourself some healthy food options such as fruits and snacks
Airbnb apartment rentals
Apartment rentals Pros:
- buy and cook your own healthy food
Apartment rentals Cons:
- no gym
How to make apartment rentals work for your fitness goals:
- make use of the extra space and do home workouts
Apart hotels
Apart hotels are my favourite accommodation option to stay on track with fitness goals during vacation. They combine the best of all worlds. Most of the time, you get a well equipped kitchenette for simple healthy meal prep. And you can either have access to a gym or do home workouts in the living room.
2. Identify your low enjoyment, low health benefit meals and fix them proactively
Ok ,we figured where we will sleep. Now we need to eat something 🙂
What is your most problematic meal during vacation? By “problematic” I mean: you are eating something unhealthy and random just because there is no other option. But you are not getting any enjoyment out of it.
My most problematic meal during vacation is usually breakfast. If I leave it to chance, I will be filling myself on pastry which will leave me bloated and hungry much before lunch. To avoid this, I make sure I get enough protein at breakfast. Most good hotels have an omelette section. Even if you are staying in a place without one, I am yet to find a hotel buffet without some variation of scrambled or boiled eggs.
3.Research restaurants in advance
Do you remember eating out during vacation before mobile data? You would stroll down the busy, tourist-y commercial street and sit in a random restaurant. 9 out of 10 times it will be crowded, overpriced and the food will be average at best.
During our last trip abroad, I had a restaurant booked in advance for every dinner. This meant enjoying breathtaking views, good service and high quality food. We are talking amazing steak, wide choice of crispy sea food and a glass of fine wine (not the above mentioned rucola salad!).
I realize not everyone is a planning freak like myself. If you are more adventurous and like unpredictability, even checking the google rating before you enter a place, will save you from eating low enjoyment, low quality food.
This is how we landed in BYOKO Malaga which serves hands down the best avocado toast I ever had in my entire life. If you put some high standards to yourself about the quality of food that enters your body, you will also discover gems like this.
4.Plan your food cravings
By eating healthy food most of the time and having treats with intent, I manage to enjoy myself without obsessing over food.
- check what is the closest groceries shop and dedicate an hour to stock on healthy foods to satisfy the 80%
- enjoy food cravings with intent. Are you in Lisbon and planning to try all of the best Pasteis De Nata coffee shops in the Portuguese capital? Or you are heading to Spain and daydream of sipping cava and watching the late sunset? French baguette with cheese? You get the idea. Choose what are the foods and drinks you want to indulge in and scale back on unnecessary unhealthy foods
- try to space out treats. Maybe you don’t have the best Italian gelato, pizza and a bottle of wine all in the same day. Choose a separate day to enjoy each of them while eating healthy for the rest of that day
5. Bring or borrow light weight items that will help you stay on track
I am traveling back to my home country this summer. We are staying in an apartment rental so I already know I will most likely not make it to a gym. So I asked my sister-in-law to lend me a yoga mat and a pair of medium weight dumbbells.
Other useful items that I always pack:
- a few gym outfits – as a new mom of two still in postpartum phase, I literally live in my gym clothes anyways
- a pair of sneakers (optional if there is no gym)
- protein shaker and whey protein powder (I am sure our suitcases always get searched at the border control…)
- protein bars, nuts and dried fruits mix. I am not a big fan of processed food but it is ok for a trip if this is the only way to get a protein snack on the go
- an exercise band. there is no muscle group that you cannot train with a band
6. Plan your workouts realistically
The more you move during your vacation, the more tasty food you get to enjoy while still staying on track with fitness goals. If you opt for an actual workout, plan exactly when and how many times during the holiday you will be able to do it. Take the rest of your family into consideration and agree on a least disturbing routine. Some practical examples from my personal experience:
- when we stayed in a resort in Dubrovnik, I would get our son ready and head to the pool while my husband hits the gym. Then we swap. The rest of the day would be for splashing around in the cold water altogether
- when we traveled to Maldives, my son was 3 and used to nap for two hours every afternoon (oh those were the days!). My husband will use the first hour for diving and I will either dive or hit the gym in the second half
- when we went on our adult only Spanish road trip, we will go to the gym together between sightseeing and dinner
7. Stay active even if you do not exercise
I realize not everyone will have the opportunity or desire to workout on their vacation. Still, there are many options to incorporate movement depending on the holiday destination:
- walking tours in European cities. If you are new to the concept: it is a free tour delivered by local guides. You only pay for tickets to attractions if applicable and decide how much you want to tip in the end of the tour based on the experience. We had amazing walking tours in Malaga, Cordoba and Seville. We booked all tours via Freetour.com and were super happy with how engaging and knowledgeable their guides were. They offer walking tours across many European cities – Budapest, Prague, Barcelona and Amsterdam to name a few.
- water sports on islands and at sea resorts
- hiking around nature
Stay well fed, stay active, stay happy
With a little bit of planning and a lot of eagerness, it is absolutely possible to stay on track with fitness goals during traveling. If you are a complete beginner to healthy eating and/or exercise don’t feel the need to try everything at once as it will overwhelm you. This is just the beginning of a beautiful journey of craving good food and movement all the time. Enjoy your holiday!
Additional resources: If you want to learn more about which supplements to pack for your vacation, how to avoid bloating during your flight and what to order when dining out, check out this super useful episode from the B for Better Health podcast: Summer travel tips.
