Travelling healthily can be difficult when you consider that a lot of it involves the constant plight for the best afternoon tea in London, eating out regularly because you are staying in hotel rooms, and indulging in the sort of treats you sometimes deny yourself at home. Do both: there are ways to balance the indulgent elements of a trip with being healthy, and here are 15 ways to do that.
1. Walk places
It can be tempting in London to take the underground transport system wherever you go because it is so convenient. When staying at the Chilworth Hotel, though, you are within easy walking distance of numerous tourism-destinations. For instance, you have restaurants in Paddington London at your fingertips, Hyde Park just down the road, Little Venice canal just up the road, and you are less than an hour’s walk from Oxford Street. One of the most rewarding things at the end of a busy walking day in London can be to take a look at your step app on your phone and realise you have done the equivalent of a small work-out.
2. Drink water
When darting from smoothie bar to coffee shop to cocktail bar in London, one drink easily forgotten is water. If it helps you remember, buy a cute, reusable bottle to take around with you. You will find that just having it there makes you drink more. Staying hydrated is essential to healthy travelling, especially if you are following tip 1!
3. Relax
Relaxing activities are often traded in for the many theatre productions, museums and city tours available to you in London. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that you end up leaving tenser than you arrived. A great way to relax while still enjoying yourself is to enjoy the spa facilities at The Chilworth. Serenity has never been so attainable in the big smoke than from within this Paddington-paradise, from the vitamin-infused showers to the dreamy list of spa treatments. There are also yoga sessions available in the morning, which are a great way to relax into the day ahead and facilitate healthy, energetic choices thereafter.
4. Sleep
Similarly to the previous tip, getting some sleep is often passed up in favour of an exciting experience on offer. Getting a full night’s rest each night ensures you are feeling fresh and ready to make the most of the travel experience that awaits you. The Chilworth Hotel has a pillow menu – that’s right – where you can select the perfect pillow for you, making sure a bad neck or a disruptive night’s sleep is never on the cards when staying in these luxurious rooms.
5. Eat fruit
While travelling, you no doubt want to treat yourself to plenty of hearty food, but remember the 5-a-day rule. Fruit is available for purchase throughout London, whether you are grabbing something from the fruit bowl at breakfast buffet, or a pot of berries from coffee shops around the city, it’s important you get all those nutrients in, even when enjoying a travel-diet.
6. Make itineraries
Visiting London can be very overwhelming, as there’s so much to do and see. Just walking to the iconic Trafalgar Square from your hotel will see you past the Marble Arch, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Palace. While life is all about stopping to smell the roses, and you shouldn’t just blindly go from one landmark to the other ignoring what falls between, making an itinerary can help you feel as if you will eventually get to things, and make it less like you have to see everything at once.
7. Make picnics
One of the best parts of travelling is all the incredible restaurants you can visit. However, eating out for every meal of your travels can be incredibly unhealthy – and often you are too full for so much rich food! Pop into a bakery and buy some fresh bread, a butcher for some cold meats or a supermarket for some dip, and sit in any of London’s awesome parks and enjoy a lighter meal.
8. Do a class
Most exercise classes offer options to do a once-off session and London is teeming with options for fun but energetic activities. Whether you head to a yoga session in the park, a salsa dancing class, a high-paced spin class or even a wacky hula hooping class, there’s something fun but healthy for every preference and skillset.
9. Try healthy restaurants
You don’t even need to resist eating out if you don’t want to – you could just pick restaurants serving up fresh, healthy food instead. There are several restaurants in Paddington and scattered around London serving raw food with superfood ingredients. For instance, Mildred’s Vegetarian Restaurant in Soho, Kings Cross, Camden and Dalston serves up delicious, organic, seasonal meals that check all the health-boxes. There are also a number of juice bars around the city, like Joe & The Juice, where you can get an immune-boosting smoothie of note.
Of course, you don’t even have to leave your hotel for delicious and healthy food. Check out The Chilworth’s menus for breakfast, lunch, smoothies and more here.
10. Read
Take a book with you when you travel – it’s healthy for the mind and a great way to unwind. Try reading a chapter before bed overusing your phone. The reduced screen time will lead to a better night’s sleep, too, which compounds these healthy choices. If you don’t have space to pack a book, London tube stations have little free libraries, where the only stipulation is that you return or replace the book. Otherwise, head to Covent Garden’s Cecil Court – a road that has been affectionately nicknamed “Bookseller’s Row” for a reason.
11. Carry hand sanitiser
You don’t need to be overboard concerned, but travelling often involves a lot of new germs – especially on public transport or at public spaces like museums or theatres. Carrying a little tub of hand sanitiser can be a good idea for keeping the germs at bay and your immune system happy.
12. Get outside
You spend a lot of time in a busy city outside, as that’s how you get most places. However, there’s a definite difference from the “outside” that’s on the street outside your hotel or public square in the city centre, and the outside where you actually breathe in some clean, fresh air. When taking advantage of London hotels deals special offers, you are likely on the doorstep of numerous parks – find out which and b-line for these green spaces. Often, nestled under a canopy of trees and surrounded by beautiful flowers, you completely forget you are in a big city.
13. Be creative
Challenging your creativity is a great way to stay positive and consequently healthy mentally while travelling, but it can often be easier said than done. If your usual creative outlet is playing musical instruments, for instance, you will struggle to do this away from home. However, there are a number of places where you can engage in fun, creative activities, like painting ceramics or writing in a journal.
14. Drink decaf
Not every caffeinated drink you have needs to be decaf, but it can be beneficial to start ordering this way after your first couple. Exploring coffee shops is a tourism activity in itself, but is also a go-to break when you are touring the city and need a rest. Everyone knows the implications of drinking too much coffee, so maybe consider going decaf or ordering another variation of hot drink when you are on your 5th pit stop of the day.
15. Avoid fast food
When travelling, it can be really tempting to eat fast food – especially if you are trying to keep to a budget, or are hungry, don’t know the area and see a brand you recognise. There are too many incredible restaurants in London to waste time eating at chain fast food restaurants that you can likely get at home or at the airport. Read around, ask locals, or even see if the concierge at your hotel has any recommendations. Save your meals for something special.
You don’t have to deny yourself a trip to delicious restaurants in Paddington London, nor do you need to lift weights every morning to stay healthy when travelling. Instead, you can follow these tips and realise that staying healthy is easier than you think. Keep in mind, it’s the little things that make all the difference!
55 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 3UY
