Santa Fe A/S : How To Maintain Your Health & Fitness When Living Abroad

Moving abroad takes months of planning, and many of us forget to take into consideration ways to maintain our health and fitness when living abroad. Luckily, there are several ways you can keep on track. From becoming your own chef to building an exercise routine that is suitable for your new lifestyle, there are countless things you can do in order to prepare for maintaining your health and fitness, prior to making the move. Moreover, it is paramount that you stay socially active when living abroad, whether it is staying connected through social media or joining an expat community, as this can provide you with a much-needed support network in your new home. Below, we explore how you can maintain your health and fitness when living abroad in more detail.

Have Restrictions

One of the best ways to maintain your health and fitness when living abroad is to have restrictions, even if you have a 'cheat' day every now and then. Whilst you might want to indulge in the cuisine of your new home country - and rightly so - it is paramount that you restrict the amount of unhealthy appetizers you consume. By no means are we suggesting that you should avoid food vans you find in the local park selling sweet toasted waffles with cream and dreamy chocolate sauce, or the local deep-fried masterpiece, but you should aim to consume these delicacies in moderation to ensure you are enjoying a balanced diet.

Become Your Own Chef

Just like having restrictions and consuming unhealthy food in moderation, in order to maintain your health and fitness when living abroad, you should become your own chef. As exciting as it is to dress up and go to a fancy restaurant, making your own meals will help ensure you maintain a balanced diet, which is essential when living abroad. Moreover, remember that when you live abroad, you aren't on holiday, and we all know too well how easy it is to pile on the extra pounds during a weeklong break in the sun.

Using local ingredients from the markets can be a fun and exciting way to motivate yourself to cook your own meals. When you use local ingredients, you are able to experiment with brand new flavours which you may have never tried, or even seen, before. This is a great way to become further involved in the local culture of your new home country, and you may be able to share new recipes with your family back home.

Build An Exercise Routine

To maintain your health and fitness, you should build a new exercise routine or adapt the exercise routine you used at home in a way that is doable for your new lifestyle. One of the major benefits of having an exercise routine is that you are far more likely to follow it than if you simply have it in your head, and in time, you won't even need to remind yourself to exercise! Whilst an exercise routine will help ensure you fit exercising into your busy schedule, there are numerous reasons for exercising. Not only does regular exercise help maintain a healthy weight, but it can significantly boost your mood due to the hormones which are released when exercising, and this can be just what you need if you are experiencing the expat blues!

Drink Plenty Of Water

In order to maintain your health and fitness when living abroad, you should drink plenty of water just like you would (or should have) back home. There are several reasons why you should drink more water. Not only does drinking between 1.6 litres and 2.0 litres a day help increase your energy and relieve fatigue, and thus helping you focus, but it also promotes weight loss. Water removes by-products of fat, reduces hunger and increases your metabolism at the same time! This means that with your new and improved metabolism, you are far less likely to snack on unhealthy foods and burn off food you do eat much quicker. This is particularly important if you have moved to a country with a much warmer or drier climate than back home, and is key in helping your body to adjust to the culture shock.

Stay Socially Active

It is paramount that you stay socially active when living abroad, no matter your age. Staying socially engaged helps keep your brain active, and help to combat feelings of loneliness in some instances. In order to stay socially active, we strongly suggest keeping in touch with friends and family back home, and make plans in the country you are in! At times, you may not feel motivated enough to step foot out the door, and whilst you shouldn't force yourself to do anything you really don't want to, stepping out of your comfort zone is a great way to meet new people and make friends.

There are several ways you can maintain a healthy weight when living abroad, and it is paramount that you do, although we understand it is easy to get caught up in expat life enjoying everything your new home country has to offer you. From ensuring you stay socially active while living abroad to building an exercise routine suitable for your new lifestyle abroad, maintaining health and fitness whilst living abroad has never been easier.

Have you considered moving abroad? Contact a member of our friendly team today for more information regarding the pros and cons of moving abroad, and find out if it's the right decision for you!