One of the challenges of creating and/or maintaining your health when you are abroad is the tendency to fall into habits and routines that do not prioritize healthy living. I have found that the longer I wait to create healthy habits and routines the less likely I am to create them at all. It has always been hard for me to find the energy to do the things I need to do to be healthy when I first hit the ground. Why? Because I'm busy, tired, don't know the language, there isn't enough time in the day, pastries are the most convenient snacks etc. It takes a serious extra burst of energy to
find those extra hours in the day when you first hit the ground to go out and figure out what you need to figure out to start healthy habits and routines ASAP.For me, the two things that I want to figure out within the first few days are:
1) What food do I have assess to and what can I make and
2) Where/how will I exercise
Figure out FoodWithin a few days of arriving I make sure to find the time and energy to go on a grocery store/market exploration. I want to know as soon as possible what my food options are and where I have to go to get it. I want to get over the hurdle of having to seek out where to find food ASAP so that it no longer feels like a daunting task and I understand the resources I have access to. With this I can better plan out how I am going to maintain healthy eating habits.
In Sierra Leone I quickly located the best grocery stores and discovered a fruit and vegetable market down the street. I immediately started to buy cucumbers and avocados from the fruit stand and a salad dressing from the grocery store for daily salads. I learned that the grocery stores were Lebanese owned so I had access to all of the supplies I needed to make hummus. Beans and rice were readily available as was pita bread. I had brought my own oatmeal for breakfast. Pretty basic, but within a few days I had the ingredients for healthy meals that would sustain me until I had more time and energy to get more creative with my cooking.
Here in Santo Domingo I have access to many more ingredients. However, I would not have known this (and therefore has access to it) had I not devoted 3 hours on one of my first afternoons to get myself to the biggest grocery store in order to explore it aisle by aisle. I made mental notes of what was there so that I could start planning my cooking around that. I also brought a list of basic ingredients with me to see if they were there so that I could make another list of things to buy when I am next back in the US. I did one big grocery shop right away to get some of the basics i.e. rice, beans, lentils, olive oil, salt, balsamic, noodles, frozen vegetables etc. things that will allow me to quickly throw together a healthy meal even when I'm exhausted at the end of the day.
Now that I know where the grocery store is, how to get there, and what is has, it no longer feels like a daunting errand to run. I know how to do it and I now feel comfortable doing it. As a result I am more likely to buy healthy food to support healthier cooking from the get go.
Figure out ExerciseFiguring out what you will do for exercise can either be the easiest task or the most challenging. If you are staying in a hotel that has a gym, great! Just make sure you use it! Chances are, however, that you don't have immediate access to a gym and you might be living somewhere where it feels slightly less comfortable/safe to go for a run on your own. Some things that I think about/do:
- I bring my yoga mat. I also make sure that I have guided yoga classes either on DVD, on my computer or on my ipod because I often lack the energy to guide myself through a practice.
- I try to figure out where there is a gym, if there is one. If there is one I next try to figure out how I will fit it into my daily routine and try to implement it right away.
- Is there a local running group? The Hash House Harriers are all over the world and contacting the local group can be a great way to meet people and exercise with them. If you aren't so into the organization, you can go, meet people and then set up smaller running dates on your own.
- No gym? Not comfortable running in your neighborhood? Bring guided workout DVDs, download programs onto your computer or ipod. For example, P90X, while expensive, provides you with a series of workout programs that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Iamplify has a wide range of workouts that you can download to have on your ipod including ones designed to be carried out in your hotel room.
Whatever you discover my advice is to discover it ASAP and start integrating it into your daily routine. If you're going to go to the gym, figure out if you need to do it in the morning in order to fit it into your day. If you are going to do at home workouts, then start setting aside designated time to do your workout. I find that it is hard, initially, to motivate to do an at home workout so sometimes I designate the time and for the first few days I use that time just for stretching or moderate movement. Doing this I at least get into the routine of using that time for my well being. I then try to add more movement every day until it builds up into a full on workout.
Moral of the story? Create the time and energy during your first days abroad to establish your foundation of healthy food and exercise. It doesn't have to be perfect or elaborate (refer back to my initial meal plan in Sierra Leone), but that's why I call it the foundation. You can build whatever you like as you settle into your life abroad. Having a sturdy foundation from the start will give you a great advantage in maintaining your healthy abroad.