Top 5 ways to stay healthy on the road

Sylvia Tarnuzzer of RVhealthy shares her favourite tips for staying healthy while RVing

I’m often asked how I stay healthy while travelling the roads in our motorhome. As a nutrition and weight-loss coach with RVhealthy, I hope some of these tips will keep you accountable to your weight-loss or healthy lifestyle goals.

Get active without exercising

OK, so what I really mean is find something you can do that’s both fun and active. So often we sit around the campsite with friends and family. This is definitely fun, but let’s get some activity going as well. As we age this is even more important because living a sedentary lifestyle can trigger more aches and pains. There are many ways to stay active; here are just a few.  At each rest stop take a brisk five- or 10-minute walk. Go for a hike on a trail through the campground. Play some bocce ball with your friends or simply go for a swim. Just make the activity fun so it’s something you actually want to do.

When you are at a rally or potluck, keep your choices from adding excess pounds

This is very important considering the number of rallies we have during the year. This is also a tool you can use for holiday celebrations with your family and friends. Fill your plate with vegetables, fruit and lean protein. If you have a small area left on your plate then add casseroles, carbs and items loaded with sauces. If you filled at least half your plate with the healthier options, you won’t have much area left to put items with high calories. Always bring a dish yourself that offers a healthy option. That way you’ll know which dish is a better choice for a larger portion.

When eating out at a local restaurant, make certain you review the menu online before you go

First, determine what your best choice will be and order that item. Don’t just look at the calories, but pay close attention to the sugar, sodium and fat levels. Second, do not order anything that features the words fried, gravy, sauce, au gratin or creamy. Go for the menu items that mention boiled, broiled, grilled, fresh and any whole food.  Lastly, always ask for items cooked your way. Don’t hesitate to ask for something cooked in a healthier format by leaving the butter off, putting dressing or sauces on the side or having a side salad in place of a potato.

Keep healthy snacks in your camper or motorhome

Some of the light and healthy snacks I keep handy in our motorhome on a regular basis are fresh fruit (always), Greek yogurt, healthy popcorn (natural popcorn topped with olive oil, sea salt and nutritional yeast), carrots, celery, crackers and peppers with fat-free dip or hummus—yum!

Don’t drink your calories 

It’s easy to forget the calories we are drinking. Did you know that someone who drinks a fancy coffee, has a sugared beverage and then a couple of alcoholic beverages typically consumes approximately 700 additional calories? This may seem hard to believe so I will break it down for you. The average fancy coffee adds up to about 350 calories; add a sweet tea or cola for another 200 calories. If, in the evening, you drink a couple of beers or glasses of wine then you can add another 300 calories. These drinks alone add up to 850 calories. Remember to count the liquid calories as they may be the calories that are keeping you from losing those excess pounds.

If you work with a few of these suggestions you should begin to see your chances of losing weight while enjoying the RVing lifestyle increase. Rvers enjoy time on the road visiting new locations, enjoying friends and relaxing with loved ones, so let’s also keep it active, healthy and fun.