I admit that sometimes it is not easy to eat 5 times a day like we all should. And personally, depending on the country visited, I have problems with what to choose for dinner. Fresh vegetables is definitely one of the best options. Go ahead and colour up your day with fresh vegetables. If you can’t make your own salad, in many countries it’s very easy even to get food on the street.
There are hundreds if not thousands of different kinds of tea around the world so for those not knowledgeable in this area might difficult to choose the right one.
I have been drinking tea since I was a baby and still cannot live without it. As a non-coffee drinker, I get all the energy from the tein and the caffeine in the tea I sip. Tea definitely belongs into the best drinks to stay fit when traveling.
1. Green tea is essential – I really do sip green tea every morning. Antioxidants help your body to fight against toxins, cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis. It also strengthens your teeth and bones and burns calories.
2. Sea buckthorn tea – I am surprised seabuckthorn is still not so globally known and used plant. It fights carcinogens, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-anemic and decreases appetite. It contains more vitamin C than citrics and also many other vitamins and minerals, helps detoxication and is very useful dealing with liver illness. Sea buckthorn gives you energy and resolves skin diseases and diarrhea.
sea buckthorn tea in my Christmas mug
3. White tea – similar to green tea, it prevents cancer (contains even more polyphenols than the green tea) and radicals to damage the body cells, reduces the bad cholesterol and increases the good one; and lowers the blood pressure. White tea is antiviral and antibacterial, gets you radiant skin and strong teeth. If unsweetened green tea is too bitter for you, opt for white tea instead for its sweeter natural flavour.
4. Mint tea – relaxes muscles and helps your digestion (also the digestion of fats) and liver. It can also help with rheumatism, stress, fatigue and depresion. Mint tea is antibacterial and a source of vitamin C with sedative properties.
5. Nettle tea – beta-carotene, vitamins B2, C, K, calcium and magnesium make it the best to cure the urinary problems as it is strongly diuretic. Also great for detoxication and for diabetes as it decreases blood sugar levels.
6. Ginger tea – its vitamins and minerals together with other healthy benefits prevent vomiting, nausea and headache. It also decreases menstrual and stomach discomfort, stress and reduces inflammation of joints and muscles. As well helps with respiratory problems, cough and cold.
I have to confess that I drink at least one or two of these teas every day. Nettle and ginger tea only when I am on holidays in Slovakia, green, sea buckthorn and white mostly everywhere.
Avoid fruit tea bags – fruit tea from tea bags usually have a lot of colorings which are not good for your teeth, nor your stomach. Also herbal teas with lemon or any other flavour to make it sweeter and easier for those who do not enjoy herbal teas, most of the time they do not have the natural lemon or other fruit in it, but only some chemicals that do not have any vitamins. Be careful with it and check the ingredients.
Mostly, tea is best accompanied by lemon and honey, no adding of sugar, ok?
Would you add any of your favorite teas into this list of the best teas to drink to stay fit when traveling?
It is not just food, how much calories you burn doing sports or walking but also what to drink to be fit when traveling that is important.
1. I have to say what you know already – water remains the most important drink even when you are traveling. Some people never drink tap water and spend money on bottled water no matter in which country they are. But I try to do both things as there is chlorine in tap water which is not good for you but on the other hand plastic bottles get chemicals into the water you drink then and you don’t want this. The best way to start your day is drinking warm water with lemon which will boost your metabolism. It used to make me sick even when I thought of it but now even in restaurants/bars I tend to ask for still water and lemon. Or when I get lemon/lime with my food, I squeeze it in in my glass with water. Also remember what some studies say: sparkling water and some other fizzy drinks containing also phosphorous can remove Calcium from your bones, so go for still drinks instead just to be sure.
2. Tea – I am a sucker for tea and when I travel it is very difficult for me to spend even a day without any cup of tea. It is not the best thing for your white teeth (you can drink it through a straw to avoid teeth colouring) but does help many other things.
3. Fresh juice – no, I don’t mean to drink juices bought in groceries as they contain a lot of sugar and I have read about some studies in the past few years saying they can increase the number of cancer cells. Fresh juice is made from fresh fruit/vegetables and squeezed just before drinking. In many countries you can easily get cheap fresh juice at the street, in stalls inside the shopping malls and also in restaurants. You can even drink fresh juice or smoothies with no added sugar instead of snack in between big meals and count them into 5 times you should eat per day.
4. Coconut water – When visiting some countries, such as Thailand, Mexico, Philippines just to name a few, you should drink fresh coconut water every day. When I am there, I spend up to a few euros for coconut water every day as it is hard to get in Europe. Coconut water contains B and C vitamin, potassium, minerals, it fights against diarrhea and cancer, it is anti-ageing, helps digestion and it makes your skin look fresh among other benefits.
drinking coconut water in the Philippines
5. Avoid alcoholic beverages – apart from the fact that most of them have many unhealthy qualities, they also contain a huge amount of sugar, unnatural flavours, colourings etc. I quit drinking alcohol on the 1st January 2009 and never got back to it ever since.
6. Avoid sodas – you will never see me drinking a cola or any other fizzy soda drink. They have so much sugar your body does not need and happily saves it on your belly. There are girls who asks me how I keep my good figure when traveling and they ask me this while they are drinking a cola and me with my healthy water or green tea?!
7. Avoid energy drinks – no, you really don’t need them nor their sugars and they also have a very bad effect on your heart. I remember each time I had a very difficult exam at the University and drank an energy drink before it to keep awake, my heart started beating fast like hell!
Next time try to drink what I recommended in the first 4 points and avoid the other 3 drinks. You will be surprised about the difference.
Do you have any other tips what to drink to stay fit when traveling?
I hope you finally know for sure that skipping breakfast is NOT a good idea. Saying that you don’t have time to eat in the morning before you start exploring the city or take a train/plane somewhere else is bullshit.
But do you know what you should eat for breakfast? I bet it is not easy to get something healthy so I would like to give you some ideas.
I personally prefer to have oatmeal with fruit and nuts for breakfast. As weird as it may sound, I got this habit a few years ago when I was in Scotland for the first time and I got oatmeal with berries in my B&B. I fell in love with it the very first day. In Slovakia where I am from people don´t tend to eat oatmeal but bread with vegetables, cheese, sausages and ham which I never really liked. So when traveling, I adapted a healthier habit and then also made it a habit when visiting Slovakia.
I try to carry oatmeal with me when I travel as a pack lasts for a few days. If I cannot make oatmeal with fruits (my favorite ones are bananas and berries) and nuts, honey and cinnamon, at least I get oats with soy milk. Every night before going to bed I already look forward to my oatmeal in the morning. It is very easy to prepare.
oatmeal, berries, nuts, cinnamon, honey and flaxseed
If I am in a hotel/hostel with breakfast, I try to get cereals with milk and fresh fruit/fresh juice for healthy breakfast. If possible I finish it with a whole-grain bread with cheese and eggs to get some protein too.
Remember, egg whites are always healthier than whole eggs. If I have hardboiled eggs, I never eat the egg yolks as they are full of unhealthy cholesterol.
You can also eat fresh fruit salad, just chop fruit you love. These are sold in many countries at the street or also train and bus stations/airports so no excuse when traveling.
Smoothies/protein shake/freshly squeezed juices (many of those bought in packs in stores are not the best choice, always check out what they contain) can be also easily purchased around the world in case you cannot make your own.
If you are a cheese lover, than the best cheese you can get for breakfast is protein-filled cottage cheese. Plain you can eat with fruit, cinammon and honey or the herbal one even with ham. Also tofu cheese is a great option. It can be prepard with eggs and vegetables, for example.
A soy yogurt or a low-fat yogurt could be a possibility instead of oats. Add granola, any whole-grain cereals, fruit, honey and seeds to get a lot of energy. Please always check cereals before buying them as those chocolate ones, coloured ones and all those containing fruit already contain a lof ot sugar too. Better buy plain whole-grain cereals and then mix them with fresh/frozen/dried fruit (some dried fruit also has a lot of added sugar, so be careful too).
As well, I love adding sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, ground flax-seeds (they have to be ground to make the nutrients available as whole ones just pass through your body and get out without anything), buckwheat or millet.
Each time I travel, I observe what people do and eat and then they complain about how they look like. Yes, people have breakfast included in their hostels and hotels most of the time but guess what? They just go and have a coffee at empty stomach or even worse, they just don’t go to eat at all. And I wonder why because when I choose a place to stay, logically I also check if there is breakfast because I want it.
What they expect from their body is like not giving gas to their car and still hoping it will take them a long way that day. Yes it still can go using the remains of the gas but it is not the same. This is probably the easiest comparison.
It can take only 10 – 15 minutes to prepare and eat breakfast so trust me, if you prefer 15 minutes of longer sleep or just smoking a cigarette while having a cup of morning coffee it is not worth it. But breakfast is necessary for both your body and brain to function the best way they can. And like I already mentioned, you really should eat 5 times per day in order not to gain weight but lose it. Studies show that people skipping breakfast tend to get obese after some time.
And also, how do you want your body to work at the fullest without eating for hours? Just imagine that after dinner you slept for a few hours and then you don’t eat until lunch? That can be easily 12 hours our of 24 thta your body has no nutrition.
healthy breakfast
And it is not just to eat anything for breakfast so you can be happy saying you did have something. The problem then is obviously what you eat.
In many countries people have very unhealthy habits in the mornings which makes it difficult to stay fit. In many hostels the only breakfast you can get is bread with butter and marmalade with a cup of black tea or coffee. None of these could be considered as healthy breakfast. Or in Spain or France for example, if you go to a restaurant/cafeteria they usually only offer sweet pastries, pancakes, cakes or muffins. And in many other countries it is sausages, bacon or other fatty meals.
We don’t want any of these. Fat will just stay on our belly and all that sugar will boost our sugar levels and mood but then very quickly go down.
But what we really need in the morning is fiber, minerals and vitamins. And there are hotels or B&B with healthy breakfast. The other day in Genoa I stayed in a B&B where I could get a very tasty and healthy morning meals. And also just recently in Liguria and Costa Brava I stayed in hotels with fresh made vegetable and fruit juices and a lot of kinds of cereals.
Eating breakfast is one of the best habits you can develop. Start tomorrow morning. I can proudly say that if I counted all the days of my 28 years of life when I had to skip breakfast, I think it would be easily equivalent to the number of fingers on one hand.
Do you eat breakfast every day? If not, will you try to after reading this post?
You would not believe it, but I always get a really bad reaction or a blank staring as answer to my
Yes, I do eat 5 times per day. Or sometimes even 6.
It is very surprising that so many people see never heard of it. Really??? It is the simplest rule to healthiness and been told and written down so many times. And still maybe around 90% of all people who spend some time with me when traveling get a shock.
The thing is that our body works in a very simple way that if more people understood it, it would be much easier for their body, stomach and also belly fat.
Do you ask how a person can stay slimmer eating more times per day and giving more food to the body than doing less? It does not make sense I hear you saying?
Well, it does!
Your body needs a routine. I know that we travelers are strongly against any kind of routine, but this should be one of the very few ones we better get in our life as soon as possible. And please, do not get rid of it. This is not one of those routines you should fight against. The opposite, do anything you can to apply eating 5 or 6 times per day. Right, every single day.
Still don’t understand why?
To make it easy for your brain, let’s just say this: your body needs energy every 2 or 3 hours again to function properly. Energy has to be from food and your body wants to use it all knowing that in another 2 or 3 hours it will get more. You have to create this routine. If this does not exist, your body is smart and will know it. Next time it will just ulozit something for later on. And that something will be fat on your belly. Do you really want that?
eat small portions often
Tomorrow start the day with breakfast, then get some fruit for snack as second meal of the day, lunch, more snacks (e.g. something with protein, or nuts, a salad) and then dinner. Do not snack eating chips or unhealthy white bread sandwiches. You want to get your body the best possible.
I will be honest with you now. This routine will be one of the most difficult things to keep up with when traveling and in some places around the world it will be pain in the ass (own experience) but your body and disappearing belly fat will thank you so much! It actually makes it harder for me to remember to bring healthy snacks with me in between the meals and my body got used to it so much that I get cranky when no food is delivered into my stomach for longer than 3 hours, but it has many more advantages behind it.
Just give it a try – smaller portions 5 or 6 times per day depending on how long you stay up. You will also feel so much lighter with more energy and not like having a siesta after each meal.
Want no belly? Eat often, the best 5 times per day! Remember to eat fruit and/or vegetables with every portion of food.
