During a long road trip you’ll want to make sure that you stay in good health by keeping your body moving and eating healthy foods. Unfortunately an RV trip offers many possible hang-ups or traps that you’ll need to avoid if you want to be your healthiest.
Plan Meals Ahead of Time
The Trap: You get into the road trip mentality and feel like you can eat whatever you want because you’re on vacation and have several hours to spend in the RV. Food becomes something to help with the boredom rather than something to nourish you and replenish your energy.
The Solution: Plan both meals and snacks ahead of time and make sure you have healthy options available. Know exactly when you’ll stop next and where so that you don’t get overly hungry to the point of just having whatever you want.
Follow the Good Weather
The Trap: Once winter weather sets in it is easier to rationalize not being as active. Seasonal Affective Disorder can set in and make it so you don’t feel like doing much of anything because of how short the days are and how cold it is outside.
The Solution: You’re in an RV so you can plan trips to Sunny locations no matter what time of year it is. Getting a good supply of vitamin D from the sunshine will keep you in good spirits, help you maintain a healthy weight, and avoid common diseases linked to a vitamin D deficiency.
Visit Places With Built-In Activity
The Trap: When you’re on vacation you might get into the habit of taking it too easy, and the thought of going sightseeing or doing a physical activity becomes just a passing thought.
The Solution: Visiting places that inherently get you moving and feature a nice walk or a good hike is something you should plan into each of your days on an RV trip. Take a hike in a national park or stroll through the Mall of America, anything that gets you up and moving.
Schedule In Rest and Relaxation
The Trap: Sometimes you try to pack too much stuff into your vacation to the point where you become stressed out and may have even uttered the phrase “I need a vacation from this vacation.”
The Solution: Added stress can cause heightened cortisol levels which will cause you to gain and retain weight, especially in the midsection. Be sure to schedule time to rest, relax, and recharge your batteries so that you feel great and look forward to another day of fun.
Buy a Fitness Tracker
The Trap: because your day is filled with so much activity you feel like you’ve done a lot during the day and are too exhausted to work on your fitness. Unfortunately, many of the tasks we do on an RV trip involve driving, or sitting around while someone else is driving.
The Solution: Getting a fitness tracker and wearing it on your wrist 24/7 is a way to bring objectivity to the table. It will tell you in black-and-white terms whether or not you’ve been active enough during the day. Newer models will even track your sleep and tell you how well you’ve been sleeping so you can see how well you’re holding up during the trip.