Healthy Holiday Tip of the Week: Stay Fit and Eat Well While Traveling

As I head to the UK to spend the holidays, it seemed quite fitting to focus this week’s healthy holiday tip on how to keep on track while traveling. It doesn’t have to be a case of shrugging your shoulders and deciding there’s no choice but to eat poorly the moment you step on the plane. Sure, there are going to be tricky situations, but if you plan well, you can take the proactive approach to sail through the grey areas and have a lovely trip, enjoying an active vacation which will arguably be even better, since you won’t be fighting off food comas or hangovers! Here are my top five tips for keeping on track during holiday travel:

1. Keep moving.   I may not be able to swim four times per week when I’m in London, but you can bet I’ll be running as well as trying something new- like ice skating, as seen above.   It’ll be different and perhaps not an actual ‘training session’ but the point is, if we keep moving, we keep our metabolism at the high pace we want it to stay at.
2. Eat more fat, less carbs and eat less often as a result.   Starting from when you step on the plane, if you’re mindful about consuming more water, avoiding sugar like the plague and even implementing some fasting, you’ll avoid blood sugar spikes and dips, both of which can make it far more difficult to say no to holiday cookies and syrupy cocktails.
3. Be strategic about eating.   If you’re visiting a new place and want to partake of the regional cuisine, do it!  Just research first to find the best (as in most authentic, not necessarily most expensive) and plan accordingly.  Make that dining experience the one at which you’ll  have that wine, or that chocolate or whatever the special food may be, rather than absentmindedly chomping randomly on bites here and there.  Being present, and really enjoying the something special makes it that much more decadent!
4. Make it work.    Snowstorm outside?   You can still use your hotel room to meditate and create a series of bodyweight exercises which, when performed at a higher intensity, can actually create a good mini workout.  Even if you’re used to significantly longer sessions, getting in the mindset that you’re not losing your momentum will keep you emotionally in the right frame of mind.
5. Don’t forget some R+R.  I need to remember this one myself!   Resting is quite frankly the most difficult thing I can do and at this time of year, in the middle of my off season from racing, it’s doubly important to take a breather here or there.   The last thing I’d want to do is come back into town in the new year, getting ready for my build to break 3:00 at LA next March feeling tight, tweaked and tired.   Bring on the yoga, stretching and saunas (balanced out with runs through the English Countryside, of course!)

Just a little strategy and planning here and there is all it takes to set up for success!