12 Clever Healthy Hotel Room Hacks

I. Travel. A lot.

In fact, we were living in a hotel room for 4 weeks when I first wrote this, which could explain the bizarre periods I used in the first sentence.

Regardless of my days on the road for travel writing, seeing friends and oh yes racecations, I’ve found some easy hacks to stay on track with my clean eats and workouts.

You know I love running in new places, so let’s pull out some more creative ideas that you may not have seen! First we’ll start with some hotel room cooking and then move on to some other healthy travel strategies.

Hotel Room Cooking Hacks

All right, time and space are short…so here’s what you may not have thought of for hotel food hacks.

#1 Find Groceries

Most hotels have a mini fridge already in the room, but did you know that many hotels will give you a fridge for free if you don’t? You just need to ask!

Pop over to the nearest grocery store (yes I’ve probably been to Whole Foods in every city!), and stock up on things like green juice, some veggies, or your favorite healthy travel snacks. Because let’s be honest veggies tend to be light on the menu during many events.

#2 InstaCart Groceries

If you don’t have a way to go to the grocery store, then get them delivered. This is one of the great things to come out of the last couple of years! Don’t let lack of time or a vehicle stop you from getting some healthy foods delivered, especially because you can order these in advance before you leave home.

#3 Meal Delivery – Not Fast Food!

For those of you who have extended stays or travel frequently to the same hotel for work, consider something like Daily Harvest or Splended. These meals arrive frozen and you can quickly heat them or bring them with you to an office for lunch.

#4 Use the Coffee Pot for More than Coffee

Did you know you can use that hotel room coffee pot for more than just coffee? Woah! Cook hard boiled eggs or oatmeal in the coffee pot and you have no excuse to skip breakfast.

Check out this fun graphic from Yumiverse on more ideas for cooking, like steaming broccoli!

#5 Prepared Healthy Foods

Another key thing is to come prepared with some of your own foods!

• Protein packets which you can simply mix with water (I bring a shaker cup and pack the packets in there)
• Oatmeal packets – only require hot water from that coffee pot
• Ramen – not on my normal healthy list, but David is all about the just add hot water factor
• Jerky – a quick high protein snack
• Almonds – another filling healthy snack
• If possible apple and baby carrots
• Read my entire easy travel snack hacks

Healthy Travel Strategies and Hacks

Looking for a few more ways to just feel your best while traveling?! Checkout these tips.

Power Up Your Devices:

So you’ve got more devices to charge than you do wall chargers? Checkout the USB port on the back of your TV for an additional charging source!

Keep the Lights On

Have a room that requires you to put the room key in to keep the lights on? Love the eco-friendly feel, but hate that you never seem to get your gadgets charged?

Good news, you can put any plastic card from a gift card to a credit card in the slot to keep the power running always so you don’t have to worry.

Grab a Towel:

If you’re staying at a Kimpton hotel there is a yoga mat in every room, but if you don’t have that  – throw down a bath towel and get your OM on. A good stretch can really help relax and settle you after a day spent sitting on a plane or in meetings. Sometimes it’s just a chance to breathe and others it might wake you up and get you out the door.

You can also use hand towels to do slider workouts – get in a plank position with feet on a towel and pull yourself in to a pike position. Or place your hands on a towel with knees on the floor and reach forward. Awesome core work!

Finally, if you need a little cardio grab that towel to wipe down your sweat from doing the following workout:

Find the hotel stairs
Run up 2 flights, stop and do 10 squats
Run up 2 flights, stop and do 10 push ups against the wall
Run up 2 flights, stop and do 10 lunges per leg
Repeat to top, then run down

Keep Your Sweaty Gear Separate

Take the dry cleaning bag from the closet and roll your post-workout gear in it to keep the smell and sweat off of your other clothing.

And if you’re as lucky as I was in Prague to have heated towel racks in your bathroom, this is the perfect place to drape post workout gear so it’s dry before you need to pack up.

Be prepared before you go:

While most hotels now have decent internet connection, some can be a little spotty or even make you pay to use the internet after a certain amount of time! It’s best to get prepared before you travel so you don’t have to worry – download workouts, books, podcasts, or even your favorite movie – whatever you need to help keep you in your regular routine!

Download yoga workouts on your Kindle before leaving home – no worries about Internet connection! – Courtney

Don’t forget the essentials:

I know running in new places is one of my favorite things, but yes running shoes take up space…so I typically wear them on the plane so I never forget them! Checkout how to pack a carry-on for 10 days for more specific tips.

I also bring a shaker cup and squish a couple Vega protein packets inside. That ensures I get some good nutrition first thing regardless of any food availability.

I bring a little baggie of magnesium so I can make my nightly drink, which will help me sleep, keep my bowels moving right and curb those sweet cravings. (You can read more on that here).

Focus on Staying Healthy

If you’re like me and travel a lot, it’s easy to cross paths with a lot of germs. While the hotel staff will always clean your room before you stay, go the extra step when you arrive and give it all a quick wipe down.

At any given time, in my suitcase, you will find Lysol wipes. The first thing I do when I get into any hotel room is wrap the remote in a wipe and let it sit to really make sure it gets disinfected. Then I wipe down all the surfaces I can think of as well. – Katie

Bonus ideas – checkout these tips to boost your immune system >>

Hotel Room Workouts are Doable

Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you need to skip your workouts!

Whether you run outside, use the hotel gym, or just stay in your room – there are plenty of way s to stay active. Of course you can do plenty of bodyweight exercises and here is a great little graphic from Fix.com to get you thinking.

Adjust your Sleep Temperature

A cool room makes for better sleep and this is a great chance to make it cold and dark for terrific sleep by cranking it down to an optimal 68 degrees.

Don’t forget to pack those sprays:

• Spray it in your workout shoes to eliminate a little post workout odor before packing
• Spray it on if you’ve forgotten your Body Glide to help with chaffing
• Spray it on to eliminate itching from a bug bite
• Spray it on to help with razor burn (you know from shaving in the sink last minute)
• Spray it on to slither in to those tight pants, great for post shower when you’re still sticky, but need to get going!

And don’t forget at the end of the day, travel makes you healthier!

A stroll on the beach can lower cortisol, remind you to slow down and take in the moment.
You’re free of normal day-to-day responsibilities which can mean an extra hour or two of sleep for many.
Breaking out of your routine helps you be more creative, problem solve and reignites your curiosity!

Do you have a clever hotel room way to stay healthy?

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