I recently traveled with my 12 year old son to Florida. When we planned our trip, he was mostly excited to get some good key lime pie and I wanted to get outside after a long winter. Maybe our goals weren’t exactly aligned but one thing was true; we both needed to feel good during our trip to be able to enjoy ourselves, begging the question, “How do you stay healthy on vacation?”
Fill in the “C”
Airports are where healthy habits go to die and flying really contributes to this notion. Airplane seats are notoriously uncomfortable. Their concave shape forces your spine into a “C” position (allegedly to shrink passengers to make them take up less room!), compressing vertebra. To help prevent a backache, simply fill in the “c” with a sweater or a blanket, ensuring your spine stays long while you’re seated and make sure
you move around as often as your can during flight.
Walk or bike everywhere you can and stay active!
We made a game of counting steps each day; even my son’s very old iPhone counts his steps. Roughly 2112 steps equals one mile so when you can, walk! Park far from the beach and walk the few extra steps, talk a walk to and after dinner. ..bike to get your groceries or your morning paper… whatever you do, stay active! We played tennis, rode bikes and jet skis, played catch on the beach and swam in the ocean and a pool. Not only was it a fun bonding experience but we both felt great.
Drink a lot of water
And not just if you’re vacationing in a warm climate...you can get dehydrated when you’re skiing too! Making matters worse, most of us eat salty foods and drink alcohol more on vacation than we do at
home. Verywellhealth.com says that staying well hydrated is the best way to boost your immune system and ward off germs that cause viruses.
Pack snacks
This was a no-brainer when my kids were small but I find even a 17 year old gets “hangry” when he has gone too long without food. Keep your blood sugar level throughout the day with on-the-go healthy snacks like protein bars and fruit, nuts and turkey jerky and you’re less likely to grab something unhealthy just to satisfy your hunger.
During the summer break, I wish you active and healthy travels, whether local or far away!
Stacy Geant Hughes, Owner of Core Value Pilates, LLC, Certified Pilates Instructor, Certified Pink Ribbon Program specializing in post breast cancer surgery