Heading for a Vacation? Here’s a Guide to Stay Healthy While Away

Thanks to COVID-19, working from home no longer feels like a holiday; it actually feels like a chore and reeks of captivity. This virus has messed up all holiday plans too. So, utterly bored of working from home - it has, after all, been a good seven months of this terrible phase - a lot many of us are now headed to the hills or the beach (or any place as long as it is away from home) to stay at a homestay or at a friends holiday home for a week or two’s ‘work staycation’ - to work remotely, rejuvenate, and get a feel of a semblance of a holiday too

But while this break may be great for our soul and mind, the temptation to order in or to eat just easy to whip up or heat and eat meals (read Maggi etc) during this time is very high.

Even though there is usually a fully functional kitchenette at such places, no one wants to toil in there. It’s supposed to be a real break, after all. Fair enough! But that said, it's still important to not come back from this break unhealthier and heavier (yes, you can gain a lot of weight with a week of bad eating too!). So here are 10 simple tips and tricks to ensure you come back healthier from your break, while enjoying it fully.

Drink Enough

I mean water. Don’t take a holiday from hydration just because you are on a holiday. Most people come back completely dehydrated from vacations - and that can be the worst thing you can do to your body. Make a rule to drink every hour - and stick to it. Put an hourly alarm to remember to do this.

Try this: Soak 2 tbsp of chia seeds in 1 litre water, add the juice of half a lemon and keep sipping this through the day. It’s delicious, you’ll finish the bottle in no time.

Stock Up

Stock up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, and keep grazing on them throughout the day. This way you will end up eating healthy all day. Plus this is an easy way to cut those terrible cravings that always surface when your mind thinks you are on vacation, and it veers towards free for all.

Cook Some Meals

Cooking is definitely a more budget-friendly way to travel, and this will also give you control over what you are putting in your body all the time. Target eating at least two out of three main meals everyday that are home cooked.

Try this: if you have the time, take an online cooking class and learn to cook some of the delicious/healthy foods so that you can enjoy them once you’re back at home too!

Curb the Coffee Cups

If you are clocking insane working hours at the staycation too, don’t give in to the temptation of downing a caffeine jolt every hour or so. Lots of caffeine is not a good strategy for health. It’ll dehydrate you, and push you towards insomnia. Count your cups - no more than 2-4 cups a day.

Try this: boil 1 tbsp fennel seeds in 1 litre water, cool and sip trough the day. This water is a mild stimulant, will keep you charged minus the side effects of caffeine.

Juice Power Up

Use the juicer/smoothie maker in the kitchenette, or take one with you. It’s a perfect way to ensure a good, quick breakfast or even a mid-meal in case the main meals (lunch or dinner) are getting delayed because of some reason. Remember your brain needs good food to work properly, that is why small, healthy snacks like these can help keep your energy levels up and brain fog away.

Try this: A light drink of apple, beetroot, spinach mixed with a tbsp of sunflower seeds are perfect.
Try this: to make a smoothie just blend milk or curd (dairy or plant or nuts milk or curd) with a fruit and some nuts or seeds.

Eat Vegetables for Lunch

A veggie-heavy salad or stir fry with some protein is the way to go for lunch. This will help you boost your after-lunch productivity as the body doesn’t use up too much energy to digest them, as compared to what it needs to digest heavy protein (chicken, meat etc) meals. Remember you are on a break, but only from home, not from work.

Try this: Add one source of protein (boiled egg, tofu, cheese, lean cuts of some meat (chicken, fish, prawns), whatever greens you can lay your hands on (lettuce, baby spinach), add a fruit (orange segments, sliced strawberry/apple, pomegranate seeds), add a bit of oil (olive, sesame) in the dressing; the fat-soluble vitamins (A,D, E and K) need some fat to get properly absorbed in the body, add some crunch and a good dose of Monounsaturated fats and omega 3 via nuts (walnuts, almonds) or seeds (sesame, sunflower), finally dump some chaat masala and sprinkle the herb you have handy

Avoid Huge Meals

Even if your homestay serves delicious humongous meals, try not to eat a lot during any one meal. This may lead to digestion problems and also make you feel bloated. It is better instead to eat smaller meals throughout the day. So plan the daily meal menus properly, don’t leave things to chance.

Exercise Every Day

Don’t take a break from exercise. Tone it down maybe, but move yourself every day for some time. Maybe do the fun stuff like - go up and down a steep road or cliff (if staying at a hill station), run on the beach (if in a coastal area), or just put on some music and dance (if in an apartment in a city)… but do something every day. One smart thing to do is to do walking meetings (even if inside the apartment). You’ll be amazed at how the steps add up just by this one resolve. So do remember to pack your exercise gear and yes, your sneakers too.

Destress Consciously

Well, this is exactly why you have taken this trip - to destress, but it is easy to still forget to do it. So find ways to destress (otherwise the trip will go kaput), like reading a book, listening to music or meditating in the morning before you start your day, and at the end of the day. This twice a day ritual should keep you good.

(Kavita is a nutritionist, weight management consultant and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico), Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa) and Fix it with foods.)