For the Love of Travel: How Travel Motivates Me to Be Healthy

There is no greater motivation than travel.

At least, that’s how it is for me! Travel has influenced my life in so many ways. But today, I want to share about how travel motivates me to live a healthier life. Wondering how? Well…

You can’t travel if you’re nursing a cold!

Luke and I have gotten sick together for three straight months earlier this year. Because of this, we had to reschedule a staycation and a farm visit. We were stuck in our room nursing a cold instead of enjoying the sun and the outdoors.

My lightbulb moment came when I was thinking about our then upcoming Bali trip and how I was praying I won’t get sick, as though that were the norm instead of being healthy. So I resolved to change my habits and take proactive steps in making sure I stay healthy. All for the love of travel.

Travel has motivated me to eat healthier

Our health is greatly affected by what we take in. This is why I’m now trying my best to eat healthier. This means:

• Less sweets: Did you know that sweets can cripple your immune system cells that attack bacteria? Ugh, and this effect lasts for around 5 hours after you’ve eaten. No more sweets for me! Well, except on very special occasions and during trips, like for eating gelato in Italy or something like that!
• More greens: We drink veggie juice every morning at home already, but admittedly, I still don’t eat enough greens. But I’ve been trying!
• Steam > Fried: I love eating fried food and Luke has easily followed suit. He always says “crunchy, crunchy!” But now we’re trying to eat more steamed food rather than fried ones. We use our Tefal Mini Compact steamer, which is awesome btw because it looks big but can easily be stacked and stored. Pretty neat! (Perfect too because I’m Konmari-ing my house, which is another story for another day. Haha! )

Travel has motivated me to take my vitamins and supplements religiously

It’s one of my travel resolutions this year and I’m happy to report that I’ve been keeping at it so far! Aside from my multivitamins, vitamin C & D, omega-3 and collagen, here are two more that I’ve added to my daily roster. I swear by these because they have literally changed my life:

• Manuka Honey: My mom-in-law was the one who introduced me to Manuka honey years ago and as they say, moms know best. I take Manuka Health’s MGO 100 for daily maintenance. But I also have their MGO 400+ for when I have a really bad cough. (I also give Luke Manuka and he loves it, especially when I mix it with avocado!)
• Colostrum capsules: My doctor prescribed me to take Colostrum capsules for my immunity so I did. In that time, I’ve taken care of a sick toddler for 2 weeks but I remained in tip top shape. I’m so impressed with it that now, I take Colostrum capsules daily for maintenance and I recommend it to everyone!

Travel has motivated me to be physically fit

I don’t like exercise. I don’t like the gym. I don’t like sports. But the truth is, eating well and supplementing with vitamins is not enough. I need to get moving!

God also reminded me of all the things I wouldn’t be able to do if I didn’t shape up. Someday, I would like to go climb mountains in Nepal, hike in Machu Picchu and trek in Patagonia. I don’t wanna be like how I was before when I climbed Mt. Sinai unprepared! Next time, I need to be fit!!

It sounds so simple but that was what really got me so I started taking steps! I’ve been doing yoga (Disclaimer: as a physical exercise, NOT for any meditation or spiritual purposes) and video workouts at home when I can’t go out!

I’m not exactly super fit yet but I’m definitely in a better shape now than I was just a few months ago. And did you know that being active also boosts up your immune system? Yes!

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Has travel motivated you to live better? How? I would love to hear about it below. Let’s encourage each other to live healthy and continuously improve ourselves so that we can travel the world and experience life to the full!