By: Jayne Williams, Nutritionist
Travel is exciting… but it can wreck your metabolism.
Between dehydration on planes, skipped meals on road trips, and disrupted sleep, it’s no wonder you often arrive feeling bloated, sluggish, and off your game.
The good news? With a few simple hacks (and my Beast Go), you can keep your digestion happy, your energy steady, and your body right no matter where you’re headed.
Quick Wins for Metabolism-Friendly Travel
Flying? Try My In-Flight Digestion Elixir
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What to do: Mix sparkling water with lemon, a pinch of sea salt, and a teaspoon of chia seeds.
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Why it works: Airplane cabins are pressurized and extremely dry, which accelerates fluid loss and bloating. This elixir helps restore electrolytes and keeps digestion moving. Even mild dehydration has been shown to impair cognition, slow digestion, and disrupt metabolic function ( Cleveland Clinic, 2023).
Driving? Pack Smarter Snacks
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What to do: Skip gas-station chips. Bring protein bars, roasted chickpeas, or apple slices with nut butter.
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Why it works: Combining protein, fiber, and healthy fats helps keep blood sugar steady, prevents cravings, and sustains energy. Research confirms that balanced macronutrients reduce glycemic variability and improve satiety (Ludwig & Ebbeling, 2018)
Hotel Life? Blend a Go-To Smoothie
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What to do: Pack single-serve protein, chia or flax, greens powder, and your Beast Go Cordless Blender.
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Why it works: A nutrient-dense smoothie resets digestion, balances blood sugar, and fuels metabolism after long travel days. Protein + fiber + healthy fats are the trifecta for satiety and metabolic health.
My Travel Reset Routine
Here’s how I reset my metabolism at every stage of the trip: morning, mid-flight, and after landing.
Morning Reset: Hydration Mocktail
Ingredients
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½ peeled lemon
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8 oz filtered water
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1 tsp chia seeds
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Fresh mint leaves
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Pinch of sea salt
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Optional: cucumber slices or drizzle of raw honey
What to do: Blend in your Beast Go for 20–30 seconds. Let sit a few minutes for chia to gel, then sip slowly.
Why it works: Lemon supports digestion, chia provides fiber and omega-3s, sea salt replaces electrolytes, and mint calms the gut. Together, they hydrate and refresh your metabolism from the inside out.
On the Plane:
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Pre-load your Beast Hydration System with lemon + chia for an easy in-flight elixir.
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Ask for warm water mid-flight to make a soothing ginger-lemon drink.
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Skip alcohol and excess caffeine (both dehydrate and irritate digestion).
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Snack on trail mix, roasted chickpeas, or a clean protein bar to help keep blood sugar stable.
When You Land: Hydrate + Move + Reset
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Hydrate right away with electrolytes or your hydration mocktail.
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Move for 10–15 minutes — a short walk or stretching helps reset circulation and reduces swelling. Long-haul sitting is linked to increased leg swelling and reduced lymphatic flow (Mittermayr et al., 2003).
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Blend a metabolism-reset smoothie with protein, fiber, healthy fats, and greens.
JWW Hydrating Spa Smoothie
Ingredients
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1 serving clean protein powder
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¼ avocado or 1 tbsp coconut oil
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1–2 tbsp chia seeds
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Juice of ½ lemon
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Fresh mint leaves
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1 Persian cucumber
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A handful of spinach or baby kale
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10 oz unsweetened nut milk or coconut water
What to do: Blend, sip, glow.
Why it works: This smoothie combines protein for repair and satiety support, healthy fats to help stabilize blood sugar, hydrating veggies, and gut-friendly herbs to help you feel lighter and energized after travel.
Why We Should Care
Your metabolism isn’t just about calories — it’s the control center for energy, hormones, digestion, and mood. Travel can stress it in ways that add up:
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Circulation: Sitting for long periods slows blood flow, reduces lymphatic drainage, and contributes to swelling. Research shows even healthy travelers can experience fluid shifts and edema after long-haul flights (Mittermayr et al., 2003).
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Dehydration: Losing just 1–2% of body water impairs mitochondrial energy production, enzyme activity, and detox pathways, often leaving you sluggish and foggy.
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Gut health disruption: Processed travel foods, irregular meal timing, and poor hydration can disrupt the gut microbiome, driving inflammation and metabolic slowdown (Sonnenburg & Sonnenburg, 2019).
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Blood sugar swings: Convenience foods often spike blood sugar, followed by rapid crashes, which worsen cravings and fatigue. Balanced macronutrients can help stabilize these fluctuations and improve energy levels (Ludwig & Ebbeling, 2018).
Supporting your metabolism while traveling doesn’t just help you survive the trip — it helps you thrive, bounce back faster, and feel like yourself no matter where you are.
Takeaway Checklist
✔ Pack your Beast Go
✔ Prep your hydration
✔ Prioritize protein + fiber
✔ Move after long travel days
✔ Blend a reset smoothie
Because when you feel good in your body, every trip gets better. And with the Beast Go on the road, staying on top of your health while traveling has never been easier.
Sources:
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Cleveland Clinic. (2023, October 20). How airplane travel affects your body. Retrieved from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dehydration-exhaustion-and-gas-what-flying-on-an-airplane-does-to-your-body
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Ludwig, D. S., & Ebbeling, C. B. (2018). The carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity: Beyond “calories in, calories out.” JAMA Internal Medicine, 178(8), 1098–1103.
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.2933 -
Mittermayr, M., Fries, D., Innerhofer, P., Streif, W., & Klingler, A. (2003). Formation of edema and fluid shifts during a long-haul flight. Journal of Travel Medicine, 10(6), 334–339. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14642200/
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Sonnenburg, E. D., & Sonnenburg, J. L. (2019). The ancestral and industrialized gut microbiota and implications for human health. Nature Medicine, 25(4), 569–576.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31089293/
About the Author: Jayne Williams Jayne is a Certified Nutritionist, wellness expert, television host, speaker, wellness business strategist, podcast host and soon to be author living in Central Florida with her husband, daughter and two bernedoodles.
Jayne received her bachelor’s degree from Marist College and completed post graduate work at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Maryland University of Integrative Health, Nutritious Life, completed a functional medicine certification in Gut Health and is currently pursuing her masters in clinical holistic nutrition at the American College of Healthcare Sciences.
Disclaimer: The content in this article is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health regimen.
