Keeping up a fitness routine and eating well can be hard at the best of times, but if you’re constantly travelling, it can feel impossible.
Lack of suitcase space, frequent in-flight meals, and all of the sugary, fizzy and alcoholic treats in Duty Free are more than enough reason to throw diet and exercise out the window.
However, Sophie Jones, a flight attendant for a big international airline, might just have the answer for staying fit while travelling.
Last January, the 26-year-old launched her Instagram account @theflyingfitfoodie as a way of documenting her travels as a long-haul flight attendant, jetting between the likes of the US and South Africa each week, and keeping her friends and family up-to-date with her favourite restaurants, cafes, and workout destinations around the world.
“I started the account as a way of keeping myself motivated to workout and eat well while travelling. I never expected it to be popular,” Jones says, having since amassed over 10,000 followers.
Having completed a year of shorter-haul trips and with a career of long-haul looming, Jones soon realised that maintaining a healthy fitness regime across so many different time zones was going to be a complicated affair.
“When you start flying, it’s quite common to gain weight due to sheer exhaustion. A lot of cabin crew go out drinking, eat plane food, order room service and stay in their rooms watching Netflix because the easy options are so tempting when you’re tired and can’t be bothered researching new restaurants when you land.
“Quite early on in my job, I got the idea in my head that I didn’t want it having a negative impact on my life and health,’ she admits.
As a result, Sophie fits in between four to five workouts a week, with a range of HIIT training, weights and yoga, into her busy schedule to maintain her fitness.
Here, we find out Sophie’s top tips to staying fit and healthy while travelling: