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As of this year, at least one in four couples want to tie the knot amidst the culture and adventure of a different country, especially in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Traveling abroad also means closely monitoring your health, especially if you’re getting married. After all, not everyone works well with climate and food change.
This guide will help you with everything related to travel and health to ensure a blissful destination wedding without hiccups interrupting your experience.
Why deal with unnecessary interruptions when you can stay fit and enjoy every second of your destination wedding?
Benefits Of Staying Healthy On A Destination Wedding
If you’re wondering why you should take care of yourself even when traveling to a new destination, here’s why:
- Maintaining Health and Wellness
Long periods of sitting during flights, train rides, or car journeys can negatively impact your physical health. Adding exercise to your travel routine can help counteract these effects, improving cardiovascular health and metabolism and preventing muscle stiffness; this means your body is ready to take on the celebration rush,
- Reduces Stress
Wedding travel has its fair share of stressors due to tight schedules, unfamiliar environments, and unexpected delays. Whether a yoga session or a brisk walk, exercise helps reduce stress by releasing endorphins – your body’s natural stress relievers; this lets you stay calm and collected during your celebrations and improves your overall mood.
- Immerse in the Cultural
Exercising while abroad also allows you to immerse yourself in the local culture. Whether meditating on the beach, taking a picturesque hike, or joining local dance classes, such activities provide you with unique opportunities to interact with locals, make different friends, and experience your destination wedding more meaningfully.
- Enjoy Every Moment
For wedding travelers, staying active on the road can improve cognitive function and productivity, enhancing your presence of mind. Plus, your body and mind feel more energized, allowing you to enjoy every part of your wedding without your health disrupting special moments.
Start With A Pre-Wedding Routine
Everyone knows there isn’t a quick fix to become fit and healthy. While this may be hard to swallow, you must prepare in advance to look and feel stunning for your big day.
The Earlier, The Better
It’s essential to start preparing early and set long-term goals to achieve your dream wedding look. Establish a fitness routine by incorporating sustainable lifestyle changes 12 months before your big day.
Try different workouts like brisk walking or yoga to find what you enjoy. For beginners, focus on simple exercises such as squats, lunges, and push-ups while being mindful of hydration and proper form.
Consistency is vital, so make sure to establish a regular workout routine. As you progress, consider adding weighted squats, plyometric lunges, and pull-ups to elevate your routine. Incorporate training styles like HIIT or power yoga to focus on strength, cardio, and flexibility.
When using heavy weights, prioritize safety by exercising with racks and rigs; this also improves your workout performance by letting you perform various exercises within a compact space.
Start Slow, Intensify Gradually
When you hit the 9-month mark, it’s time to solidify your workout routine. Focus on core strength and full-body workouts at least four times a week; this includes exercises like planks, twists, bicycle crunches, and leg raises.
Incorporate balance with yoga or Pilates to enhance core toning and flexibility. Gradually increasing workout intensity is essential, along with maintaining a balanced diet, proper hydration, and getting enough sleep.
As you progress, aim to increase workout frequency to five times a week, focusing on muscle toning and overall wellness. Don’t forget to pamper your skin with skincare routines, including monthly facials and dry brushing for radiant skin.
Remember to maintain a balanced, nutritious diet that supports physical activity and skin health. Hydration is critical, and it’s important to limit processed foods, sugar, and alcohol for optimal results.
Holistic Wellness
With two months remaining, focus on your overall well-being is crucial. Keep up with your fitness and dietary routines while incorporating stress-relief practices like meditation, massage, and clean eating. Mindful exercises such as yoga, brisk walking, jogging, or swimming can also be beneficial.
Both yoga and Pilates are great options as they combine physical postures with breath control, promoting relaxation and mindfulness. Deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises can be incredibly calming, effectively reducing anxiety and promoting tranquility.
Similarly, what you eat matters too; in the final weeks before your wedding, it’s essential to customize your diet to your body’s needs. Focus on complex carbohydrates like whole grains, quinoa, sweet potatoes, etc., for sustained energy.
Incorporate antioxidant-rich foods and healthy fats, such as berries, nuts, avocados, and salmon for radiant skin. Opt for high-fiber foods and probiotic-rich items like yogurt and kefir to support digestion. Remember, a balanced, nutrient-rich diet will help you feel vibrant and energized for your big day.
Health And Fitness Tips After Arriving At Your Wedding Destination
As the date approaches, it’s time to shift your routine to continue staying healthy and maintaining your fitness progress even in a different location. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Pack Smart
Arriving at a destination only to realize that you must pack suitable clothes can be highly stressful. You must scramble for proper clothing instead of enjoying your time and exploring the new location.
Avoid this by researching the weather in advance, especially when traveling to a tropical climate where the weather can be unpredictable. Planning and packing items like a rain jacket or sunglasses can save you from unnecessary inconvenience.
You can also bring simple exercise equipment like a skipping rope, resistance bands, or small dumbbells so you can work out in your hotel room.
Get Sufficient Exercise
Over the wedding weekend, you’ll indulge in exotic foods and booze. It’s okay, though! You can balance it out by finding the hotel gym, doing some laps in the pool, or jogging around the neighborhood. Before the wedding, check online if the hotel has a gym or where locals exercise. Stay active to offset those extra calories!
In case physical activity options are scarce, you can try the following get some exercise:
- Hotel-Room Workouts: If you’ve got equipment, use it to get creative with your exercises. But bodyweight exercises can get the job done without a gym or equipment. Mix and match exercises to target what you need. For example, push-ups and tricep dips can work for your chest and arms, while air squats, lunges, burpees, Russian twists, and mountain climbers are practical exercises that only require your body.
- Explore The Great Outdoors: For those tired of the typical gym scene, outdoor activities offer a fun way to stay fit and explore. Traveling to different countries allows you to experience various terrains and engage in activities like hiking, kayaking, skiing, rock climbing, swimming, and biking. It’s a great way to add adventure to your fitness routine.
- Join A Class: Consider joining group physical activities like dance, yoga, Jiu-Jitsu, CrossFit, or pilates. Group classes are beginner-friendly and create a light yet exhilarating vibe. It’s also a great way to meet new people and find a workout buddy while on vacation. Exploring different forms of exercise through various cultures adds to the travel experience.
Watch What You Eat
While traveling to a new country, you must be mindful of what you eat and drink to stay healthy. To ensure proper nutrition, consider eating collagen-rich foods like berries, chicken, fish, egg whites, leafy greens, beans, tomatoes, etc, as they can help maintain your nutrition levels and keep you feeling full.
This can be especially useful when attending events like wedding ceremonies, where you may be exposed to the sun for long periods and consuming sodium-rich foods and alcoholic beverages. It’s also a good idea to seek recommendations from the hotel concierge for safe dining options for you and your wedding guests.
Always Hydrate
Weddings can be endurance contests, especially for an outdoor ceremony. To stay healthy and enjoy the day, stay hydrated by bringing a reusable water bottle. Consider purchasing extra water bottles in places where tap water may be unsafe.
For summer weddings, it’s essential to drink more water than usual to stay hydrated, especially when you exercise. You can also sip some electrolytes to prevent hot flashes, fatigue, nausea, or dizziness. Similarly, you can also eat hydrating fruits like berries, watermelon, peaches, oranges.
Carry Supplements
When you travel, changing your diet is normal, and trying new foods can be stressful. To maintain your nutrition, consider bringing collagen protein powder with you. It helps keep you full and supports joint, hair, skin, and nail health.
Pack nutritious snacks, digestives, and supplements to handle any slip-ups. Look for multivitamins with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6 for breaking down protein and enhancing muscle development, strength, and growth.
Keep Skincare In Mind
Weather changes can significantly impact your skin, potentially leading to acne breakouts or dryness, so you must stay on top of your wedding skincare routine. When entering a high-humidity environment, acne breakouts are a genuine concern, while cold weather can cause dry and itchy skin.
Bring your skincare products, including moisturizers, acne treatments, and high-SPF sunscreen, especially in sunnier climates. Packing these items is crucial, especially when attending events like a destination wedding where you’ll want to look your best in photos. By being prepared, you can ensure your skin remains healthy and photo-ready in any climate.
Feeling Like A Million Bucks For Your Big Day
A destination wedding is a unique experience that can be memorable and fun if you take the proper precautions to remain healthy. Just remember that even though you should be having fun, you need to be mindful of your body’s limitations and the impact of traveling. Plus, you can get the whole experience with additional help to enjoy every moment without being burdened by all the planning.
Get in touch with Destify to know more.
