Travel is the time when most of our healthy eating habits go for a toss because everyone wants to relax and not watch what they are eating. But it’s as simple as this, do we stop brushing our teeth when we are on a holiday? No! Because that’s a part of our routine. Similarly, healthy eating or exercising should be a part of our routine and shouldn’t be counted as extra work. Only then there will be less excuses for not exercising or eating unhealthy during travel. Despite this, let’s look at certain tips that you can follow on your next trip to make sure you are choosing right, eating healthy, enjoying your travel, and keeping your system clean.
What to eat
When eating out, we tend to choose unhealthy options which are fried or loaded with processed flour, sugar etc but these heavy meals can affect our body during travel and make us feel sluggish. It’s
always better to go by the GPRS rule when choosing your food while eating at a restaurant. Here GPRS means choosing food options which are:
G-Grilled
P-Poached
R- Roasted/baked
S-Steamed/stir-fried
This helps you in making healthy food choices even on the go; which doesn’t affect your overall health and keeps digestion in check.
Portion control
If you can’t stick to the GPRS protocol then it’s better to start your meal with some cooked salad or soup which will partially fill you up and after that you can choose options that may not be so healthy. But at least we will have portion control which will neither affect the stomach nor make you feel heavy. Focus on slowing down, chewing well, and enjoying your meal to keep the portion control in mind.
Easy swaps
Even during travel it’s really important to avoid certain food that will create an acidic environment in the body and can lead to inflammation. So, a strict no to white processed sugar, white flour, corn flour etc. Try to choose rice-based or whole grain noodles or pasta or pizza bases over maida.
Fibre connection
Constipation is one of the main problems that many people face while travelling, and that’s because they don’t focus on eating healthy and load their body with processed options. To make sure you don’t get constipated on your next trip, try to add good amount of fibre to your meals in the form of veggies which could be grilled, sautéed, stir-fried, steamed etc. Stick to a cup or a bowl of cooked veggies and finish it first to ensure you get enough fibre to take care of your motions.
Hydrate
When we talk about constipation, water also plays an important role here. People get so engrossed in travelling that they don’t want to take loo breaks and that’s why their water intake also goes down. But ultimately, a lack of water starts affecting one’s overall stomach health, causes dehydration and constipation. So, make sure that you drink an adequate amount of water, while on a trip, to naturally flush out the toxins from your body.
Keep your body alkaline
We all know that alcohol puts a lot of pressure on the liver for its detoxification and stops the liver from performing other functions like digesting, metabolizing, etc. But during travel it’s hard for few people to stay away from socialising and alcohol. In this case, try and have a glass full of lemon water before the drink, between two drinks and at the end of the last drink to make sure your body stays alkaline and there is less pressure on the liver.
Lemon water
Keeping your body alkaline during travel becomes very important to improve gut health and make sure you feel lighter and that’s why starting your day with a glass of lemon water (if lemon suits you) will be helpful. Lemon is acidic in nature outside of our body but once the juice mixes with our saliva and gets metabolised by the body it produces alkaline byproducts. Due to this, it has a negative PRAL (potential renal acid load) and therefore is considered as most alkaline food. If you can’t have lemon, have fruits with 3-4 soaked nuts once a day (better
in the first half of the day).
Move your body
Exercise is one thing that nobody wants to do on holiday or travel but we have to understand that when we are travelling our body needs movement and activity even more to keep the stress at bay, as well as to ensure we digest everything that we are eating. Try to do a 15 minutes of a quick and effective workout like tabata, jogging, brisk walking, cycling, or dancing to
set the pace of your metabolism and digest food well.
Fennel seeds
Carry or get fennel when you are travelling because our stomach suffers a lot when you eat outside on
a regular basis. Fennel has carminative properties which help in controlling gas production
and also contain digestive enzymes, so it improves overall digestion, as well. You can take a teaspoon of fennel seeds after a meal and chew them well to improve digestion. These also make
for a good mouth freshner.
Sleep right
Whether you are at home or traveling, sleep is an integral part of your health and we shouldn’t compromise on it. If one’s sleep gets compromised we feel low on energy, irritable, fatigued, grumpy etc the next day. So, if you want to enjoy travelling without all these issues; then getting sound sleep
is very important. If you are having late nights, then catch-up with your sleep post that and wake up only when your body feels like waking up — to feel relaxed and enjoy the next day, as well. We have to be mindful and follow moderation when it comes to eating meals during travel. Enjoy your food without guilt and focus on slow eating to control the portion size of the meal. Follow these tips during your next journey.