5 Travel Tips to Stay on Track with your goals
Rest and relaxation are a lost art in our American society. It is so important to prioritize play, new experiences, true rest, and renewal of our body, mind, soul and spirit. Many of the individuals I work with say that it is hard to get back into a good routine after being away on a vacation. We all work best in rhythms and routines so when they get thrown off it can be difficult! I created 5 things you can do while you are away to help the transition be easier when you come home!
5 Tips!
Create time and space for movement daily and schedule it. I would set a timer for 30 minutes or do 3 sets of 10 minutes of movement. If you typically lift weights or run be open to doing something different! But keep moving. For example: I typically lift 3 days a week and run 2x. When I was away with my family I played pickleball and led my nieces in a little body weight workout/stretch time.
Decide ahead of time what you will be indulging in and what you will not be! While you are away on travel or on a vacation it is easy to dig a deep hole with your diet. If you are eating clean 90% of the time typically shift to 70-80% on vacation or travel. Some examples: Avoid snacks foods like chips or cookies. If you love starchy carbs on vacation, just decide what meal you are having them. For example: Eat a bagel in the morning and avoid pizza that night and do a salad or lean protein. Or vice versa. Eat the pizza and do a protein dense smoothie in the morning. Also, if you drink alcohol consider its effects on your body and pick and choose when you will be indulging. Remember you are setting yourself up for how you come back home.
Get plenty of sleep! It would be sad if you went away to relax and didn’t focus on getting good rest! If you are on an adventure trip or have small kiddos maybe it isn’t possible, but the amount of people who pack too much into a vacation and come home super tired is crazy. Ex. Disney trip- does anyone come home rested?
Create margin by bookending your trip. Add a day in the beginning to prepare and then a day after you get back to reset and plan for a successful week. I know everyone doesn’t always have the opportunity to do this but personally I have found it very helpful, especially having a day of transition on the back end of a trip.
Know your purpose for your vacation or travel and consider your environment for success. If you your reason for taking a break is to not workout at all or worry about eating healthy- do it without guilt!!!! This can be a form of resting for some people. But, know your “why.” If your goal is to see a new country and have a travel itinerary then don’t worry about your workouts and enjoy the walking and scenery. If your vacation or travel goal includes a lot of movement, great! Just know ahead of time what the goal is so you can support it. Also, know yourself well. If you know you have trouble sleeping with a lot of noise around, think 2x before agreeing to stay in a house full of people just so you can save $15. Some things are outside of our control, but if you know yourself and can make choices to support your goals, definitely do it!