You’ve left your gym, eating routine, and all your favorite snacks thousands of miles away. How do you balance wanting to try every new and delicious food abroad while preventing returning home having negated your last year of working out and eating healthy? Here are a few tips and tricks to stay healthy while studying and eating abroad.
1. Join a Gym
Although it may seem like you’re just living abroad temporarily, chances are you’re still going to be in one place for a few months, so joining a gym is definitely worth it. Joining in many countries can be pretty cheap (mine was around 25 euros a month), and simply having a membership you know you’ve paid for is a great way to motivate yourself to work out.
2. Run
Looking for a cheaper option than the gym? Just run. Running can be a great way to explore a city. The novelty of running in a foreign country (especially the views) makes your daily run much more interesting than at home.
3. Get Your Veggies
A huge number of diets abroad (especially in Europe… I’m looking at you Spain), have surprisingly few veggies. While you may not be able to get in as many veggies at home, try to order something with veggies at least once a day.
4. No American Fast Food!
You can get McDonald’s/Dominos/any other fast food back in the United States! Every other country has their own version of fast food or street food, so if you’re really in need of some comfort food, try the local foods (chances are it will be better for you than that Big Mac anyways).
5. Walk and Take the Stairs
With the subways hidden about ten stories beneath the city, your daily commute can serve as a great workout for your glutes. Challenge yourself to take the stairs out of the metro, or better yet, just walk everywhere. Trust me, you will have time to walk (your work load will likely be half of what it is normally).
6. One Healthy Meal a Day
If you’re in Italy, you need pasta. If you’re in London, you need fish and chips. Eat the local carb-filled delicious foods, just not every meal (you’ll get sick of them anyways). You have three meals a day (at least), so each day, choose one of them to be your healthy, not-covered-in-cheese-not-deep-fried meal.
7. Choose your Coffee Shop Snack Wisely
Sitting at a coffee shop table in a plaza is a perfect way to spend your afternoon, and the giant pieces of cake and 4 o’clock mojitos are always tempting. Instead of ordering a giant pastry every day, stop by a small bakery or sweet store on the way to the coffee shop to buy a small chocolate or treat to satisfy your sweet tooth before you see the giant brownie in the display case.
8. BYOS (Bring Your Own Snack)
Even better than stopping at the sweet shop, bring your own snack around to supplement your coffee. While I was abroad, I was notorious for carrying around an apple, peanut butter, and a pocket knife for my afternoon snack.
9. Sharing is Caring
If that carrot cake or chocolate croissant entire pizza is just too good to give up, share it with a friend. You get half the cake, but also half the bill.
10. Alcohol….
Yes, a decent bottle of Cava will cost you less than a bottle of water or bag of Skittles. But remember… all things in moderation. Choose your drinks wisely. Either limit yourself to a drink or two a day or pick a day or two (or three?) a week that you deem you “going out” days.
11. Carry Water
This one doesn’t need explaining.
12. Cook Your Own Food
If you have access to a kitchen, plan one or two nights a week when you cook dinner with your friends. It will undoubtedly be less expensive, and you can choose a healthy (and delicious) meal to concoct.
13. Join an Exercise Class
Joining a weekly weight lifting or dance class can help you motivate yourself to get moving, immerse yourself in the country and meet new people.
14. Eat Your Own Dessert
It’s okay. You’re abroad. Sometimes you just need to eat your own cake/brownie/cookie/ice cream and not share it with anyone. You will be okay.