How to balance your health and well-being when travelling abroad

It’s easy to throw all healthy living out the window when you go travelling — here’s some tips to keep in mind when you’re out seeing the world.

This past year, I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world, hitting several destinations on my route. Given I spent eight months living in Malta (a tiny island below Sicily in the Mediterranean) this opened my options to travel to some areas that I couldn’t even dream of sitting here on a small farm in Limerick.

Travelling is amazing. It opens our eyes to the vast beauty that we are surrounded by, but finding the balance of travelling and staying on track with your health and fitness can be an issue. We tend to have an ‘off’ switch when we travel. All the routines with food and training go out the window; telling ourselves that we deserve these few weeks break and once nobody is around to judge us, the floodgates open to the free breakfast buffet.

In no way am I saying that we don’t deserve this mental and physical break from our daily lives and routines. However, when we intentionally ignore all previous health and nutrition habits that we had just because “we’re on holidays sure?!”, this is when things can begin to go downhill. Let’s take ‘JP’ for example:

JP has been following a fantastic training and nutrition routine for the past two months. His is the best physical and mental state he has ever been in, and is heading off on his holidays tomorrow for two weeks.

When he lands, he is greeted with foods, drinks and buffets that he hasn’t seen or eaten in months. Being that his on holidays, JP feels he deserves a treat, so he goes for the buffet and a few cocktails by the pool.

As the week goes by, this ritual becomes all too easy; down to breakfast, full fry up and a day of lounging by the pool drinking Margaritas in the sun. Life is good for JP.

Into the second week, JP can physically see that his body composition is changing and he doesn’t look as tight or defined as when he first arrived. “I’ll get straight back to training when I’m home” he says, as he continues the sample the foods he had restricted for so long.

As the holiday is coming to an end, JP is eager to make the most of the food and drink before he goes home, because he knows once he gets home things will be very different; he orders doubles and try’s most things on the menu. Fast forward a week and JP is home, several pounds above his initial weight, body composition has completely changed and feels as if his back to square one.

JP’s story isn’t an unusual case. I’ve experienced it first-hand. There are two main reason as to why we have this reaction when were in these scenarios. Number one: a poor relationship with food. If food is on your mind for more than 40–50% of the day, then you have a bad relationship with food. Constantly thinking of what you can or can’t eat isn’t a healthy mind-set, and eventually will result in cases like the one listed above. In extreme cases, eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia and body dysmorphia can be the result.

Number two: Restriction to these food groups prior to travelling. It’s human nature to want what we can’t have. Take a certain food group away from us, chocolate for example, then soon we begin to crave chocolate and when in the situation when our guard is down and a ‘self-reward’ signal is on high alert, we eat chocolate until we can’t fit any more, because it will more than likely be ‘restricted’ again after.

How to be combat these feeling and emotions when travelling? How can be travel, enjoy our lives and still maintain a healthy relationship with travel, health and food?

Prepare For Your Holiday

If the mind-set you approached the holiday is one of ‘1 week of freedom and no rules’, then your going to be on a slippery slope. When I say plan and prepare, this is more so a mental action. Become aware that your going to be out of routine, that you more than likely won’t keep the same physique or routines that you have now, and that this isn’t an excuse to pig out for a week when nobody id around to see.

No previous restrictions on food groups

It’s so important not to ‘cut out’ any foods from our diets, but just become aware of the calories and portion sizes that are relevant to your goals and requirements. No foods should be avoided, just eaten in line with a wide varied balanced diet that adheres to a relevant calorie goal. Allow yourself a bar of chocolate, a glass of wine or whatever tickles your fancy. Become aware of the calories, and how you can make them fit your lifestyle.

Allocate your calories to the main meals when on holidays

This is personally a technique I use and recommend to people when travelling. For me, the main meal is always in the evening time. Whether with family or travelling alone doing Food Reviews of restaurants, the biggest meal of the day will be in the evening. Very simply, I reserve most my calories for that meal. This means I will have a lighter breakfast that is large in volume but lower in calories. A great example is a fruit bowl with yogurt, granola and possible a side of eggs or a protein source. Even a big smoothie that packs in lots of fruit and vegetables (getting in a lot of fibre) but will not blow the calorie bank. Keeping this throughout the day with salads, fruit snacks, protein bars, heathier lunch options etc. allows me to go and have a big evening dinner and some drinks, but still at the end of the day y calories will add up to the same as always.

Hydrate

I say it every article. Hydrate. Water plays such a pivotal role in our bodies, from helping digestion and out gut health, skin care, cognitive function and body composition to name few. Especially if we on holidays in a warmer climate, hydration becomes even more important, to replace the lost sweat and replenish the body water stores. Another positive side of hydration is that it regulates appetite. When the feeling of hunger begins to creep up, drink some water first. If the hunger continues, then eat, bur most times it’s our bodies signal that it needs water before it needs food. Please, people. Drink more water.

Move more and stay active

This can be the most important factor when it comes to holidays and weight gain. Staying active can be daily swims, walks along the beach, day hikes, light workout in a gym or just an activity that gets you out and about. This movement and activity will of course create a calorie deficit, which can allow you to have more leeway when it comes to the wining and dining. Simply moving more will help tenfold, and negate a lot of the negative impacts that occur when you return home if you were to just lounge and lay by the pool all day every day. It’s also an amazing way of seeing an area, for example, I went hiking in Bulgaria and it ended up being the best day of the whole trip; getting to see the entire city from the peak and experience the beautiful landscape it had to offer.

It may seem harsh or over-board to put these protocols or rules into place when jetting off on your holidays. Number one rule: Enjoy the Holiday and Travelling. Of course, your heading off to either get a break or experience a new part of the world, so that should be number one priority. Life gains are always superior, but having these guidelines to follow can really be there difference in travelling and staying fit and healthy vs. coming home and having to start from scratch in a much worse physical but more worryingly, mental state.

A big part of this is just being mature in your approach. The person who pigs out for a week knows the consequences and effects they will face, but often lack the maturity and self-discipline that is required. Understand that actions have consequences -both positive and negative — and having a realistic approach will always win out.

To wrap, I urge you to travel and experience the world; to taste the foods; meet the people; sing the songs and dance the dances.