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Travel tips can keep you well
on a vacation or business trip
August 2004
By Lisa Mummy Wallig, R.D.
If the thought of taking a long business trip or vacation
makes you queasy, no wonder! Think about it: Studies show you're
more likely to go off your diet, eat more junk food, fall off the exercise
wagon and overdo on
alcohol.
If that's not enough, there's motion sickness, jet lag and,
of course, the unusual foods and water of different travel destinations.
It's a wonder anyone ever leaves home at all!
But a few simple rules can keep you on track and healthy on the road:
Plan your exercise: Hotels offer excellent workout facilities, or you can
also walk or do aerobics in your room. In the travel guide, Where To Stay
In Oregon, the availability of exercise facilities is coded for each hotel
listed across the state. Hotel pools often offer adult hours for lap swimming
and exercise rather than horsing around with the kids. Many hotels offer
a variety of exercise equipment including elliptical trainers, treadmills,
exercise bikes, various weights and bottled water in the exercise room.
Things you could bring along: Simple, lightweight exercise stretch bands
can be packed flat in your luggage. They take up little space compared with
dumbbells and are useful for stretching and maintaining flexibility when
traveling. You can purchase these from a physical therapist, exercise equipment
catalog or on the Internet. They range from long, flat strips to tubular
bands, and come in a variety of tension levels. A few hotels have DVD players
for rent, so you could rent an exercise video or bring along your favorite
exercise DVD.
Stick to a healthy diet: Order the fruit plate or vegetarian
meal on the plane, if the airline even serves a meal during your flight.
Kosher meals
can often be the freshest food available on airplanes. But remember that
you'll need to call ahead to order from the airline, several days prior
to your flight.
Once you arrive at your destination: Avoid fast food and
fried, fatty foods when eating out. Whether you are traveling for work
or vacation, fried foods
make you lethargic and contribute to a “weighed down” feeling
that can curtail your vacation plans or impair your work performance.
Doggie bags, anyone? Cut restaurant portions in half (you can have the leftovers
tomorrow if you have a room refrigerator). Or try splitting a meal with a
friend, and accomplish the same result: half the fat and calories.
Head to the grocery store: Shopping for travel meals in
the grocery store, rather than ordering all meals from a restaurant, could
result in a savings
of fat and calories over heavy restaurant fare. It's much easier to
control the fat and calories when you are preparing the food yourself.
Stick with simple, fresh foods that require little to no prep. Shop the perimeter
of the market. Most stores stock the snacks and overly processed foods
in
the middle aisles and keep produce, dairy, etc., on perimeter aisles.
Pack a travel kit to include acidophilus. If you'll
be eating different foods, acidophilus is good to have on hand to ward
off an upset stomach.
Other travel kit items could include white noise or environmental-music
tapes or CDS to help you sleep or luxury items such as aromatherapy or
chamomile
tea for calm and relaxation.
To combat jet lag, try to fly during the day and arrive at night. Wear earplugs
while flying, this because the whine of the jet engines irritates the nervous
system. Many travelers have found they can beat jet lag altogether just by
wearing earplugs.
Now, if I could only find my luggage….
Lisa Mummy Wallig is a state-licensed registered dietitian who works
in the Client Care Monitoring Unit of DHS' Seniors and People with Disabilities
group. She also developed and writes the department's wellness newsletter.
Email: lisa.wallig@state.or.us
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