HEALTHY TRAVEL HACKS for SUMMER 🍉✈️

Jun 5

In this post we’ll chat thru…

① My FAVE HEALTHY TRAVEL HACKS for SUMMER.

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Happy JUNE Sisterhood! I know it’s not officially summer on the calendar yet, but IDK, I feel like once June hits it’s summer - ya know?! And real time as you’re listening, we are on our first trip of the summer. It got me thinking that it would be fun to do an episode where we chat thru some of my FAVE ways to feel my best and stay consistent in my health routines, even while traveling.

Travel can be one of those things that throws you way off of your routine, esp when it comes to making healthy choices. And hear my heart. I’m not the fun police. I’m not here today to tell you not to enjoy your vacation. I’m all for the unplug and the unwind. And. I also know I feel better when I take care of myself. Have you ever come home from a vacation or a trip and you just feel so BLAH bc of the different foods you indulged in or the excessive amount of drinks, etc? I know I have. So when I travel I have some go-to hacks that help me FEEL MY BEST - on the trip and when I get home - that I want to pass along to you. Let’s dive in. 🖤

10 HEALTHY HACKS FOR SUMMER TRAVEL

HYDRATE.
This is so simple, ya’ll, but I gotta start here. No matter where you’re going…bring a bottle with you. It’s RARE you find me out of my house without a water bottle. This helps me hydrate all day AND keeps me from grabbing something sugary when I get thirsty or paying excessive prices for a bottle of water at the airport. If I’m flying I make sure an empty bottle is in my carry-on and then I fill it once I get past TSA at a water fountain. And if we’re road tripping, we like to buy big gallons of water so we can refill our bottles in the car instead of having to pay each time we stop at a gas station. You could also throw a bunch of bottles of water in a cooler, too. Regardless…hydration is gonna be your friend.
PLAN AHEAD FOR MOVEMENT.
One of my rules when I leave for vacation is to move my body before I head to the airport or get in the car. For two reasons. One. I’ll most likely be sitting the rest of the day. AND two. Once I get to my destination I don’t have to stress that it’s one more thing I haven’t done. But I don’t stop there. I also think thru the actual trip. If we’re staying in a hotel I look at what the fitness center accommodations are like. If we’re in an AirBnB situation and traveling by car, I’ll pack some weights with me. And then I think thru each day. Are there plans that will keep me active, like hiking? Or maybe I can take a local fitness/yoga class in a new town. Or I scope out the downtown area of where we’re at and plan a little trip to a local coffee shop paired with a walk around the city. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, but moving my body always helps me feel my best so I plan ahead for this.
PROTECT YOUR SKIN.
Full disclosure and probably really embarrassing to admit…I’ve been TERRIBLE about taking care of my skin for probably MOST of my life. Zero skin care routine and minimal regard for sunscreen. I know. I know. But lately I’ve been falling in love with my skin care routine. Shameless plug for my FAVE brand - CLEARSTEM SKIN CARE - which if you follow me on social you know I love. But with this new found love for a morning + evening skin care routine, I’ve also fallen in love with tinted sunscreen. Have ya’ll tried this? Clearstem has an AMAZING one that I use in my morning routine. It’s a moisturizer with SPF 50 and zero pore clogging ingredients, but it’s also tinted so it looks like I’ve put a little makeup on. And in the hot Florida sun it’s really nice not to have a full face of makeup, ya know? Makeup in the summer just makes me feel like my face is melting off. 😜 This is why I included this in a healthy travel hack bc on vacation + the summer, IDK about you, but I like to go as minimal as possible. Tinted SPF is my go too.
PACK / BRING HEALTHY OPTIONS.
You might call me excessive…and it’s okay…my husband, Charles, always tells me not to get carried away in this regard, but ya’ll - I’m a foodie. I want to know what my next meal is at ALL times. And eating out multiple times in a week not only burns a hole in my wallet but it also leaves me feeling BLAH. And bc I know this, I like to plan ahead for what meals we’re eating out and what meals we can eat on the road, pack, cook, etc. It depends on the type of trip, but if it’s a road trip and we have a kitchen when we arrive (like visiting family or staying in an AirBnB) then I will plan easy meals for the road - like Tuna Bento Boxes - and then grocery shop when we arrive. If it’s more of an airplane trip and hotel, then I love to pack healthy snacks, easy to take supplements like protein shakes and bars, and then I will hit up a grocery store when we get there for some fresh options to keep in the hotel mini fridge. A lot of grocery stores will have pre-made salads or bowls or sushi rolls and those are easy to store. I’ll also grab yogurts, pre-hard boiled eggs, iced coffee, and sparkling water so I have easy to grab things on hand. And again…this really boils down to how I know I’ll feel if I eat out excessively and I’ve just learned that I don’t like that feeling, so I plan + shop accordingly.
WALK + EXPLORE.
This kind of pairs with “planning ahead for movement” but one of my fave things to do on trips is get outside and explore new areas. If the dogs are with me it’s easy to take them on walks and they love sniffing new places and going to new parks. If I’m flying solo, like I said, I love to find local coffee shops, grab an Americano, and then walk around and get a vibe for the area. Part of the joy in doing this, for me, is to allow my mind to get inspired by new sights and find fresh creativity outside of my normal day to day.
TRY TO COOK SOME MEALS.
Similar to “pack / bring healthy options,” I try to see where I can cook my own meals and have some agency over the portions and ingredients. This is MOST IDEAL if I’m in a rental house or staying with family, but there have also been trips where our hotel was one of those “extended stays” and we had access to a stove and oven. Last year we went on the most epic glamping trip in Big Bend (highly recommend!) and our yurt didn’t have much in terms of a kitchen. BUT. We had this amazing fire pit outside and so we prepped ahead and bought fun things to make on the fire. One night we did sausages and campfire potatoes. And on another evening we made a baked brie over the fire and had this amazing cheese board spread. Yep. Baked brie on a fire. And I don’t think a single restaurant in the area could have held up to that experience and the meal…no offense to the restaurants…I’m just saying it was pretty amazing. Literally still drooling about it today. Simply put…cooking meals doesn’t just save money and help you feel better, but it can also be an opportunity to make some incredible memories.
BE MINDFUL OF YOUR SLEEP SCHEDULE.
Again…I’m not trying to be the fun police but I bring this up bc this is an area that’s SO HARD for me…esp when we’re traveling with friends or family. I want to hang out later but I end up wearing myself out when I get off my sleep routine. My sleep schedule at home is pretty baby-grandma-esq. I’m usually in bed around 8:30 and love being up by 6am. And my body thrives on this. On trips I usually get up still at the same time, but it’s the bedtime that suffers…again…esp when we’re around friends or family. Knowing this I have to pick my battles and also be honest with others when I need to turn in. And they get this…the people that love me know I’m better when I get my sleep. But maybe for you your trip is a chance to sleep in and get some much needed R + R. Honor that. Or maybe your trip is a quick getaway and you want to pack as much life and adventure into it as possible. Can you at least be mindful of rest and take inventory if after a trip like this you might need to come home and slow down?
LOVE ON YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
Which segways me perfectly into this - loving on your immune system. Travel is tough on our bodies. And, for me, getting around large crowds or spaces can sometimes wind me up catching a bug by time I get home. A couple ways I book end my trips to love on my immune system - taking a supplement like Emergen-C while traveling or anything with added zinc, vitamin C, and elderberry are great ways to strengthen and boost your immune system. And then when I return home I often will take an immunity shot with lemon, ginger, and cayenne to help fight off anything my body might have picked up while away. Not to harp on the sleep, but this is also why I said to be mindful of your sleep schedule, bc rest is THE BEST WAY your body repairs itself. And lack of it is a stressor.
MEAL PLAN + GROCERY DELIVERY ON THE WAY HOME.
Fave hack. Hands down. While we are on the journey home, we talk thru the week ahead and plan out what meals we are going to make. Often times I like to ease back in with little to no prep work so quick meals are a must - frozen salmon, tuna packets and salad mixes, prepped veggies you can air fry, hard boiled eggs, smoothies - these are all options I’ll add in. I also like to take inspiration from our travels. One year we had a vacation at a resort and they had the BEST salad bar, so returning home, I bought the same toppings and re-created that in our own home. So while I’m traveling, whether that’s sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight or riding in the car on the road trip home, I will plan out the meals and then order grocery delivery so that when I get home (or shortly there after) the food is already at my door and all I have to do is fill my fridge and put it away.
GET BACK TO ROUTINE ASAP.
And my last hack isn’t really about the trip, but about what you do when you get home. You see, it’s not the first time that we skip the workout, hit snooze, or steer off the meal plan that we build a habit out of not showing up. It’s when we REPEAT that behavior. So. The quicker you can get back into your healthy routines, the quicker you’ll feel better post vacay. And I do this gently, friends. Like I said…meals that are simple to make. Getting up to win my morning, but maybe giving myself extra space to sip my coffee and just reflect on my trip. Getting to bed earlier so I can rest if needed. Even unpacking right away and taking care of the laundry so my space doesn’t feel chaotic like I dumped everything at the door (bc remember that environmental self care is a thing, right?!). Simply put. The quicker and quicker I can get back to my routines, the more refreshed I feel post vacay. Which is the point, right?

SO there it is…10 things I do when I’m traveling that help me feel my BEST on the trip and when I get home. Plus it makes staying consistent AND getting back into routine that much easier.

Hydrating.
Planning ahead for movement.
Protecting my skin.
Packing healthy options.
Exploring the area I’m in.
Cooking meals where possible.
Being mindful of my sleep.
Loving on my immune system.
Meal planning + ordering grocery delivery on the way home.
And then doing what I can to get back into routines ASAP when I return home.

Those are my hacks. And I hope this summer while you travel you’ll be reminded of these, too. Bc that’s what I’m all about in this space. Taking care of YOU so that you can go out into your world and LOVE + SERVE from that overflow. 🖤🤟🏼