People wait all year long for summer to arrive and for them to take a vacation, often times with their family and friends. Romi and I travel domestically and internationally a lot for business and pleasure. Over the years we’ve learned what works, and what doesn’t, for helping us feel rested and energized, during and after our trips.

This is the final part of my three-part series on healthy travel tips. In this series, I’ve given you practical, simple solutions that you can implement to make the most of your trip. And so that when you come home, you’re feeling energized and fantastic, and not as if you need a vacation from your vacation to recover.

Part one was about maintaining healthy circulation on the flight or the road trip, to reduce the risk for dangerous blood clots that can occur and also for arriving at your destination with more energy when you get there. Part two was on overcoming jet lag. How to do it faster and better so you can maximize your time and enjoyment at your destination.

You can also watch my Facebook Lives discussing healthy travel tips Part 1 (healthy circulation), Part 2 (beating jetlag) and Part 3 (healthy habits).

Part 3 is all about maintaining your healthy habits while you travel. When Romi and I travel, and we travel a lot, what I’m sharing with you is exactly what we do. 

1. Don’t Put Your Diet on Vacation

The first thing is to not totally go off your diet. A lot of times people get to their destination and they see it as an excuse to just throw it all out the window.

Don’t make that mistake. When you’re eating healthy, which I hope you’re making a conscious effort to do at home, you have more energy and better mood. When you stick to your healthy eating, you’re going to feel better and enjoy yourself more.

But that doesn’t mean you have to give up enjoying yourself on the trip. Find a day during your vacation and designated as your cheat day. Just let yourself eat whatever you want.

On the other days, however, stick to your healthy eating that you hopefully have already been working on back home. If you want to get a dessert, great. You’re on vacation. But instead of eating the entire dessert yourself, share one with someone else. Or have just a few bites instead of an entire one yourself.

2. Eat to Kill Carb Cravings

If you’re craving carbs while you’re out, then order protein and veggies. That’s going to be one of the best ways to kill those carb cravings while you’re out. It also is better at helping you control your blood sugar.

Many times when people are craving carbs they end up choosing what’s in front of them even if it doesn’t look like a great cheat snack. When you eat to kill those carb cravings you get to be more in control of your choices. You can wait and select that amazing looking treat instead of the closest carb at hand.

3. Use an App

For restaurants, you’ll want to find healthy restaurants. You can use apps for that now. We use Yelp and we’ll Yelp healthy restaurants in the area. We’ll then look through their menu and find out something that both looks delicious and healthy to give us a meal and experience that we really want.

4. Get Up and Move

Use the gym or get up early and go for a brisk walk. If you have the option of doing that while you’re traveling, it’s so crucial for improving your circulation, getting blood flow to your brain and throughout your body and just staying active. A lot of times people will take vacations as an excuse to just lay around. Work that into your day even if it’s just 15 or 20 minutes.

5. Drink in Moderation

And the last thing I’m going to say is don’t drink too much alcohol because that can wreck your blood sugar. In fact, I mentioned alcohol both Parts 1 & 2 on this health travel tips series. When you drink too much alcohol, it actually makes you crave more sugar. So if you want to have a drink, enjoy, but if you start getting drunk, your cravings for sugar can go up and your ability to make good choices goes down. And that’s a recipe for leaving you regretting more than just the alcohol the next day and for feeling sluggish and crummy.

So everything in moderation. Enjoy your vacation. Have a blast. When you implement these tips you’ll maximize your fun, your time and your energy while you’re away. And you’ll definitely be getting your money’s worth on what I hope is an amazing trip.