In my day job as an Executive Producer, I travel A LOT for shoots and post production. Sometimes, we’re away for up to three weeks at a time.

I’ve learned some hacks along the way to help keep me healthy, but most importantly, help keep me mentally and emotionally sane! I also help my wellness coaching clients who travel lots with some of these tips I’m sharing below.

How to stay healthy while on business travel

1. Hydrate

Often when we’re traveling, we could be moving across timezones. One of the most important things to do is always keep hydrated.

Some tips and tricks:

Bring your own water bottle. Once you’ve crossed immigration/ X-ray machines, you can fill it up in the airport water coolers.
Buy a bottle of water at the airport to bring on the plane. They never give you enough hydration with the small plastic cups of water on board.
Refill at the hotel gym water cooler. Practically every hotel gym has a water filter/ cooler. So head there with your water bottle to sneak in a free refill! ;)

2. Reduce Caffeine Consumption

When traveling for work, we’re often racing to get to various different places for meetings, and if we’re in an unfamiliar city - this can add to our daily stress, as we’ve got to be more focussed on not only the upcoming presentation(s), but also trying to get there on time.

Caffeine is an artificial stimulant that can add to our cortisol load - stressing ourselves out further.

Black teas and coffee are high in caffeine, which are diuretics - meaning they increase the excretion of water from your bodies. In normal person’s talk - this means they’re really dehydrating.

So on top of increasing your water consumption, also limit the amount of caffeine you’re drinking.

3. Do a 5-Minute Fitness Training in Your Hotel Room

When we’re on-the-road and out of our usual routine, trying to get to a gym or fitness class could prove to be a little tricky. But don’t let that stop you.

Fitness experts agree that even a 5-minute strength training can be very effective when done a few times a week, paired with cardio trainings too.

Here are some easy YouTube videos you don’t even have to head to the hotel gym to do - you can do them in your own hotel room. I’ve even used the mini-bar soft drinks or production company welcome wine gift as weights whenever I’ve wanted to add a bit more weight training too. ;)

*Besides, HIIT trainings can add more cortisol load to your already stressed adrenal glands. Less intense trainings are easier on your adrenals. Think: yoga/ pilates, brisk walk, light weight trainings, or shorter fitness trainings like these will do you more good.

4. Sneak a Fruit from the Breakfast Buffet/ Hotel Gym to Bring with You

Having a healthy snack on you ensures you always reach for the better option. If I didn’t have time to stock up before my trip, I usually try to find the nearest health food store to my hotel through Google Maps.

But if I just don’t have the time to, the next best thing to do:

Sneak a banana/ apple/ orange from the breakfast buffet into your bag to take with you during the day.
Most hotel gyms have a basket of apples or bananas next to the water cooler, so grab a few to bring along with you.

5. Don’t Eat More Than 2 Fists Full at Dinner

Traveling for work often involves lots of eating out, wining-and-dining clients, and eating a lot of rich food.

We’re already out of our usual ‘healthy eating’ routines and probably already eating more than we’re used to.

So when it comes down to dinner time, limiting what you eat can help reduce not only the amount of crap you’re eating in a day, but also having a lighter dinner ensures you’ll get a better night’s sleep. Especially if you’re jet-lagged, it helps to reduce the amount of food you’re eating in a day to try and reset your body’s natural rhythms again.

A good guide is having one or maximum two fistfuls of food.

Some tips and tricks:

Have only a starter and dessert.
Have only a main course.
Have only two starters.

6. Google-Map Your Nearest Gym/ Fitness/ Yoga/ Barre/ Pilates Studio Before Your Trip

If you start your own list of gyms/ yoga/ pilates/ fitness studios in whichever city you travel to before you get there, it makes your life that much easier the moment you have 1 - 2 hours’ down time and decide you want to head out for a longer training session.

7. Bring Your Own Wellness Toolkit

What are the things that feel like home and bring you comfort? Bring those along with you!

Some ideas:

Herbal Teabags. I like Pukka Relax tea.
Thermos. So you always have something to bring your tea around with!
Water Bottle. See point 1: Hydration.
Essential Oils/ Diffuser. Lavender/ Peppermint/ Bergamot can be both relaxing and invigorating, depending what you need. Muji makes a great travel diffuser you plug into the wall so it’s not a fire hazard!
Supplement Kit. I always bring my own supplies of Magnesium, Zinc, Omega-3, Turmeric, Probiotics, and other stress-busting and immune boosting supplements.
Palo Santo/ Incense Sticks. If you like clearing the space you’re in, also bring your own incense or palo santo sticks!

Whatever makes you feel that little bit more comfy, especially if you’ll be away for a few weeks.

8. Do a 5-Minute Power-Up Morning Routine

I find that the busier I get, the more I need to create space first thing in the morning to re-centre and re-focus. That could be a short meditation or breathwork practice, anything that helps me connect back to me.

You could try:

5-minute meditation practice. Try any of the “stress” or “anxiety” meditations on Insight Timer.
5-minute breathwork practice to reduce stress. Try this one.
Journalling. A brain dump of anything that’s giving your stress/ anxiety for that day. Or it could simply be your intention for that day. Or you can do it Morning Pages style where it’s flowing-stream-of-consciousness style free writing.

9. Do a 5-Minute Power-Down Evening Routine

How you wind down at the end of the day is just as important as how you start your day. Depending how it went, you might like to try:

5-minute legs-up-the-wall. Say what? More on that yoga pose here.
5-minute yin yoga. If meditation is not your thing, try a yin yoga sequence like this!
Reading. Some people find it helps take them out of their brain to focus on something else (that’s not a screen).

Need More Help?

If you’ve been struggling with “I HAVE NO TIME TO STAY HEALTHY!” and looking for some guidance on how to create your own personal rituals around the right nutrition and fitness activities that work for you through your crazy, busy life - I can help.

Get organised, create and stick to your personal routines, so you can go onto do the things that matter in your life while looking and feeling amazing! (yes, it’s possible!)

Read some of the results I’ve helped people achieve, then book a free 30-minute call with me and let’s chat if any of my coaching programs might help you.