Earlier this month, we partnered up with Four Seasons Westlake just outside Los Angeles, California to try their Wellness Your Way experience, and we also partnered with Silvercar, which Candace loves, as she owns an Audi and is loyal to the brand. All opinions, as always, are our own. The post contains affiliate links which means if you happen to make a purchase, YBC® will earn a small commission. Thanks for the support!
One of the most frequent questions I get is how to stay healthy while traveling. It's tough because traveling can take such a toll on the body. But I travel quite often, sometimes for super long stretches at a time, and I've learned some tricks to keep my mind and body on track while traveling and thought I'd share them with you in the hopes that they'd be helpful as we approach the holiday season. If you have any to add, I'd love to hear down in the comments section below.
Start your path to health long before your trip
I've always found that if I haven't been taking great care of myself and then I travel, my body'll be a mess and I almost always get sick afterwards. I suggest making self care a lifestyle. Keep your immune system in check by taking a daily probiotic (I love this brand), drink and cook with homemade or high quality store-bought broths, get quality sleep, and try to keep your stress levels as low as possible in the weeks and months leading up to your travel. When your body is already in a good state of health, adding a little travel to the mix won't be as jarring.
2. Do some research for quality meals on the road
It took a little googling, but I wanted to find a high quality meal delivery service I could try while traveling. For my recent LA trip, we partnered with Crateful LA. They offer a number of meal options, and I opted for the Graceful Menu, which is designed with fitness goals in mind using minimally processed foods for a clean lifestyle. Lauren chose the Wonderful Menu, which is described as nutritionally balanced curated indulgence. It was such a fantastic experience. You place the order ahead of time, and someone will come by and drop off the meals in a cooler the night before, so you wake up and your meals for the day are literally at your doorstep. The quality was fantastic, and the meals were absolutely delicious. Further, I loved that they used a lot of local and grass-fed ingredients. You can use coupon code YOGABYCANDACE for 20% of your first order if you'd like to give it a shot!
Fish Tacos off the Sustained Living menu at Four Seasons Westlake
Be sure to ask your hotel if they have any specific wellness initiatives! I was lucky that at Four Seasons Westlake they had Sustained Living options on their menu which was denoted by a special character to let you know it was a truly great option if you're looking to stay healthy. I chose the fish tacos for lunch one day, and I felt great eating the meal knowing that is was at healthy as it was delicious.
Getting my VO2 test results at the California Health and Longevity Institute
3. Stay at a place that complements your healthy lifestyle goals
For part of this LA trip, Lauren and I stayed at an AirBnB, which is one of my favorite ways to travel. If you're new to AirBnB, you can use this link and get a $40 credit towards your first stay. No matter your budget, there are always options wherever you go, and one of the reasons why I like AirBnB is because you get access to a kitchen, so if you're trying to stay on track, you can easily whip up at least one healthy meal during your stay.
If AirBnB isn't your jam, though, pick a hotel that will make staying on track easier. So many hotels these days are jumping on board with a focus on wellness. Some hotels will offer complimentary yoga mats in room. Others will have an excellent fitness center. Some offer complimentary bikes you can use to cruise around and explore the town. At Four Seasons Westlake, they have the huge advantage of being directly connected to the California Health and Longevity Institute, which I was lucky enough to check out - more on that below.
Nothing is easier than renting a car with Silvercar
4. Make life easier on yourself by renting a car
I know many people avoid the hassle of car rental while traveling, but I’ve found that Silvercar is a hassle-free way to go. I am loyal to the Audi brand because I own one myself and there’s something so nice about driving a car you’re familiar with. As I Storied my adventures, I heard from many of you who felt the same way, and decided to check out Silvercar after seeing them on my snaps. I love that you can simply download the app, reserve your car, and be in before you know it. The service is so personalized - I love it - they pick you right up (no waiting in long lines, no waiting for crowded shuttles), and bring you right to the lot to scan your Audi and off you go. It is the easiest car rental procedure I’ve ever used, and that’s saying a lot, given how much I travel. Renting a car just makes like so much easier while traveling and can positively impact your health while on the road. With my rental, I did healthy activities I probably wouldn’t have done without the ease of my own rental car - I went to a CrossFit class, I hit up a yoga studio, and I went hiking.
5. Try a new wellness experience to bring another dimension to your healthy lifestyle
Whenever I travel, I try to take the opportunity to try something new that will bring me closer to my wellness goals. Sometimes I'll try a new type of massage to de-stress, or do a new-to-me activity like rent a bike and bike 24 miles for no particular reason. Trying a new wellness experience while traveling is a great way to not only stay on track, but explore what your destination has to offer. Or, if you're traveling to a small town to visit family over the holidays and you know there isn't a lot to choose from in town, you could always try something like our 4 week bodyweight fitness program which you can do right from the comfort of home. It incorporates gratitude journaling for a fun new twist on an approach to wellness. When I'm in LA, I love the gym Brick and always try to drop in for a weight lifting class. For this trip, I was lucky enough to check out a few different offerings at the California Health and Longevity Institute which is connected to Four Season Westlake.
In the Somadome
My first service with them was trying the Somadome guided meditation. It was a fully immersive meditation experience that combines color immersion therapy with a guided meditation that you listen to through headphones. As you get into the Somadome, you almost feel like you're in a spaceship - it truly is an experience unlike any other. You could choose from a number of meditations and I chose one for manifesting life goals. It was fantastic, and actually became the basis for the guided meditation I lead at my workshop the following day.
All hooked up and ready to rock and roll!
The second service I had at the California Health and Longevity Institute was the a VO2 Target Heart Rate Assessment. It's essentially considered that "gold standard" in cardio respiratory fitness testing, because it determines the amount of oxygen a person utilizes during exercise. Using this value and your heart rate, precise caloric expenditures can be determined at various training intensities. Then you can use that as a guide towards training smarter. I got all hooked up and started the testing, and am so happy to report I got a fantastic score. It was wonderful to sit down afterwards and get a step by step explanation of my report.
5. Schedule down time
Regardless of whether I'm traveling for work or pleasure, I always try to schedule some dedicated down time. I usually will take a bath (some hotels even offer bath salts, or you could bring your own travel sized version), or just take some time to read a good book and enjoy the comfort of the hotel or apartment where I'm staying. If I'm pressed for time, I'll wake up five minutes earlier than I need to and just sit in my bed and meditate. If there's an opportunity to be a little more mindful or enjoy the moment (and there's always time, believe me!), then I will try to take advantage of it because it helps me to de-stress and puts me in the position to have a more positive day.
I'd love to hear your tips for staying healthy while traveling! Let me know down in the comment section below!