This is a guest article from Emma Grace Brown. You can read more from her at emmagracebrown.com.

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While traveling for work may be a welcome escape from routine, letting healthy habits fall by the wayside during your time away often wreaks havoc on your well-being. Fortunately, with a bit of effort, you can honor your commitment to self-care even when you’re on a business trip. Noelle Across The Pond shares tips for maintaining good health while away from home.

Plan Carefully

Healthy work trips begin with your flight booking. If you arrive at your destination haggard from travel, staying well is much harder. Avoid red-eye or early morning departures and book a direct flight whenever possible.

Choose accommodations near your meeting sites, so you have more free time to take care of yourself. While hotels offer fitness perks like gyms and pools, a rental home is often more comfortable and boasts an equipped kitchen for preparing healthy meals. Prioritize your needs, and if a hotel makes more sense avoid the temptation of room service and take advantage of the workout facilities.

Eat Well

While hotels aim to pamper, staying in one isn’t an excuse to eat poorly. After check-in, skim the room service menu to line up healthy choices and stick to yogurt and fresh fruit at the breakfast buffet. If you’re hitting the bar after a long day of meetings, order a single nightcap, and don’t request a refill on the snack bowl.

Choose lighter options when dining out with clients or coworkers and pass on the appetizers and dessert. Ducking out midday for a hearty grain bowl fills you up with healthier ingredients, so you’ll be less tempted by high-calorie menu items when you’re at a dinner meeting.

Stay Active

If you opted for a rental or your hotel doesn’t have a fitness center, there are other great ways to exercise while on the road. Start by checking with your home gym to see if they have outlets or partnerships with workout facilities in the city you’re visiting. If not, many local gyms offer inexpensive drop-in options.

Getting out and exploring an unfamiliar town allows you to see new sites while engaging in some cardio. Taking a hike is a cool way to blow off work steam while getting your heart pumping; just download a route app to find nearby trails.

When you don’t have much time to spare, experts note that as little as 15 minutes of walking provides health benefits, so hoof it to and from your meetings. Packing small workout items like resistance bands or a speed rope also allows you to squeeze fitness activities into a tight schedule.

Get the Care You Need

Be smart by knowing how to handle health care issues that arise when traveling. When you’re feeling under the weather while away from home, connecting with a telemedicine expert gets you the quick care you need.

When you consult with a health care professional right from your smartphone, any necessary prescriptions are sent electronically to a pharmacy near where you’re staying. Some telehealth providers even offer perks like medication discounts and automatic insurance billing.

Although it disrupts your normal good-health groove, traveling for work should be neither an excuse nor a temptation to stray from your at-home healthy habits. By planning and making smart choices once you’re at your destination, you’ll keep your wellness goals on track and return home feeling fit.

How do you stay well while traveling? Comment below!