Healthy choices you can travel by - honest!   

Thanks to Kimberly Ellis from Dr. Goddess for contributing this post to GoGirlfriend. We're a community-based travel blog and we welcome submissions from everyone. Whether you're a budget-baller or a first class only kinda traveler, we'd love to hear from you. Visit our Writer's Guidelines and learn how you can share your travel advice, stories and adventures!

carry healthy snack choicesI'm a frequent traveler to speaking engagements, conferences, teacher trainings and workshops, so it made me a travel blogger. I have health tips for everyone but especially those who, like me, have NOT mastered the balance of health, fitness and travel. I'm actually a former fitness instructor who has hypothyroidism and struggles with her weight (I should've known something was wrong when I was teaching nine aerobics classes per week and I was still over 200lbs).

I have to be ever-vigilant with my health, not because I am in tip top shape but because I am not. So, a few tips from me:

Water bottle! Water bottle! Water bottle!

Take a nifty water bottle from home or reuse the plastic bottle from your last purchase. Fill up at water fountains in the airport, in conferences rooms in hotels and in fitness centers. Take Crystal Light green tea and fruit mixes in powdered tubes to spruce up your water and fend off any cravings for sodas and other sugary drinks. Not only will it keep you hydrated and healthy, it will save you a ton of money.

Go Asian! Go Greek! Go Mexican!

spice up your foodsYou want something tasty on the road without having to eat an iceberg wedge? Get your stir-fried chicken and broccoli with steamed rice, your Greek salad with feta cheese and spanakopita (spinach pie) and a Southwestern salad with lime vinaigrette dressing on the road. Easy choices that won't load you up with carbs but will delight your traveling taste buds.

Walking trails and updated fitness centers

I injured myself this year and, temporarily, had to walk with a cane. Not being able to move happily and healthily is all you need to remind you that "your health is your wealth." Find the walking trails near you and explore the area on foot. Or find the updated fitness center in your hotel and enjoy the wonderful views from the window as you walk your way (back) to wealth. I struggle with finding the time when I travel but I am going to revamp my schedule to take my own advice, especially now that I can walk more comfortably again.

Stay armed with groceries

healthy foods from local marketsNo matter where I go, I travel with healthy snacks because I don't have much willpower, especially when I'm hungry and jet-lagged. So, I go shopping for almonds, yogurt bars and fruit and then I carry them with me. Sometimes, I slip some of my favorite drinks in my checked suitcase so I can spoil myself in my hotel room. This, again, saves time, money and your healthy heart. 

About Dr. Goddess

Kimberly Ellis, Dr. GoddessKimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D., is affectionately known as Dr. Goddess," and a true Renaissance Woman. She is a writer, an entertainer, an entrepreneur, a scholar (of American and Africana Studies), and an activist. Dr. Goddess engages Twitter and Facebook to promote a new age liberation ideology undergirded by revolutionary love and uses art, humor, scholarship and politics to do it. Her slogan is "Meet Dr. Goddess. Become a Believer."-a believer in empowerment, in Womanism, in freedom, justice, equality, citizenship and in the fullness of our humanity.

Ever indulged in a wellness vacation? We'd love to hear your story. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and let's start talking!