How to stay fit whilst traveling

How to stay fit whilst traveling

• Thursday, 31 October 2019

You leave your eating routine and normal food behind and are thrown into something totally unfamiliar in every way when you go travelling. In Thailand and Vietnam especially, the streets are filled with the noises and smells of freshly cooked food and I just couldn't resist it.

Although to counteract that, you're no longer sat at a desk 9 hours a day. You've got to lug your backpack around and explore your new surroundings in the blistering heat so your weight and wellbeing could go either way.

I however took a carry on case - so there was no lugging to be done (tactical) plus I'm not a big nature lover so there wasn't much intensity to my exploring. As such, it wasn't exactly a surprise that  I put on over a stone in three months; food was such a huge part of my experience that it was inevitable. 

Once I realised what was happening, I decided to take a little bit more care of my body whilst I was out having fun. Here are some simple ways that I kept myself healthy:

Cycling 

I wasn't a confident cyclist when I was in in Asia, but 8 months of Uber eats in Australia changed that. My bike was my life when I lived in Surfers Paradise, not only earning me money but giving me freedom as well as keeping me fit. I fell in love with cycling there and aspire to be like these incredible people and continue my new hobby for years to come.

I will always regret not taking a cycle tour in Hoi An because I was scared so I'd love to go back and do that one day now.

Gym

Surprisingly enough, I started my gym habit whilst I was in Vietnam. I was waiting for my NZ visa to come through and had exhausted everything else so I decided to go to the gym for entertainment. It cost me £3 per session and I actually felt great when I left so I popped in every time I was bored after that and have been going ever since.

Walking

Arriving somewhere totally foreign can be very overwhelming but I always enjoy exploring a new city by foot. With a local SIM in my phone, the quickest way to get to know my new surrounding was put in the location of what I wanted to get to and walk there. I love being able to stop off to look at things on the way.

 

Fruit

Being abroad really made me realise how terrible the fruit is back home in the UK so as well as stuffing my face with noodles and ice cream, I took full advantage of all the delicious fruit on offer too.  The street vendors will slice it up making it super easy to eat on the go. I usually go for mango or pineapple.

Resistance Bands 

When I got home, I ordered a few resistant bands (just on ebay) which I then put in my backpack and took with me when I left again. If I went to the gym, I would always take them with but the good thing about resistance bands is that they can be used anywhere. I would often use them at home when I couldn't be bothered to get dressed properly and go out.

Adding these simple things, didn't take up much time but always made me feel much better whilst I was abroad. So much so that I have brought my new habits home with me and try to practice them as often as possible!

*Collaborative Content