Go to any health site or read any healthy blog/article and one of the first tips to lose weight is drink more water. It’s good advice because you’re pretty much almost all water. Water literally powers most of your bodily functions and you’re constantly losing water by sweating and even exhaling. But I’m going to say what you should never say about water:
It’s boring and I just don’t like it. 
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Allow me to get up on my tiny pedestal for just a moment and talk to you about some things. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get too preachy. I just want to share some things that I’ve learned recently. 
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It’s almost here! Christmas is almost here! I am super excited to celebrate Christmas with my family and take some time to just relax and enjoy the season. While this is the most wonderful time of year, it can quickly become the most stressful time of year. Baking, buying and wrapping presents, going to concerts/programs/pageants, watching all the Christmas movies, planning the big dinner…. It can all add up to a pretty hectic month.
On top of all that, you’re probably going to be doing some kind of traveling this week. Whether it’s a few minutes, hours, or a day away, traveling can take a toll. Plus, being out of your normal routine and in a new place can sometimes put your whole body out of whack.
Traveling and Christmas doesn’t mean you have to throw all of your regular healthy habits out the window. In fact, this is the best time to keep up with your normal routine so that you can enjoy your holiday without feeling crummy.
Here are a few things that you can do to make sure you have the happiest, and healthiest, Christmas season!
Plan Your Food
Traveling is not the time to just wing it when it comes to your food. You wouldn’t show up to the airport without a ticket and hope there was a plane with an open seat just happening to go to your destination. Don’t leave your eating up to chance either!
Plan out a few healthy snacks to bring along with you. Things like fruit, nuts, seeds, hard boiled eggs, and cut up vegetables all make really good portable snacks. You never know if you’re going to be stranded somewhere where the best option for food is the local gas station. If you need a few ideas for some good snacks, check out these homemade ones on my recipe page!
Hydrate Like Crazy
This is really a reminder for me because I am horrible at drinking enough water regularly. I just get so busy doing things and then by the time dinner rolls around, I realize that I have had one glass of water all day. Hydration is important no matter what, but traveling really makes it a priority. Get a reusable water bottle before you leave home and make sure that you are always refilling it. You can set reminders on your phone or download an app to let you know that it’s time to have some more water.
Also, remember that things like fruit, vegetables, and hot tea all count towards your water intake. Just don’t let them totally replace glasses of water throughout the day.
Keep Moving
Yes, the place you’re traveling to this Christmas might not have a gym or your favorite Crossfit class, but that doesn’t mean you should totally give up on exercise. I’m not saying that you have to run a marathon every day of your break, but putting some activity in your day will keep your body, and you, at your best.
Take a walk with a family member. Go sledding with the kids in your family. Cross country ski with friends who are also home on break. Heck, go build a snowman or have a snowball fight. All of these will keep your body in motion and help you feel your best
Be Ready For An Emergency
Of course, you don’t want to have to worry about an emergency while you’re celebrating Christmas, but sometimes things happen. Whether you suddenly spike a fever, have an allergic reaction, or injure yourself in that snowball fight I told you to have (you can totally blame me for that one), things happen. If you are away from home and your doctor, it can be difficult to find the best care.
That’s where Amino comes in. They make finding a doctor in your area super easy and convenient. All you have to do is answer a few questions about your condition or what you are looking for, enter your insurance information and they will match you with the right doctors for your needs. This can be really helpful if you don’t know the area and need medical attention. It’s also good for when you get back home and want to find the perfect doctor in your area. Even better? It’s totally free.
Enjoy It All
Above everything else, enjoy your Christmas. It only comes once a year and most of us are so stressed about getting everything done that we don’t even take the time to slow down and enjoy the holiday. The best thing for your health this time of year is to really enjoy this time of year. Laugh with your family and friends, spend time with your loved ones, celebrate the love that was sent down to us this season, and don’t worry about the last present that needs to be wrapped or the batch of cookies you accidently burned. If you follow just one tip on this list, let it be this one! It will do you the most good.
I hope this helps you out as you get ready for your holiday traveling and make sure to check back here on Wednesday because I’m going to have a few last minute recipes for you to whip up!
Happy Monday before Christmas friends!
Water is important. Not to be Captain Obvious here, but without water you and your body do not function. Your body needs an adequate supply of water to carry out it’s everyday normal functions. Water helps move your blood through your system, which in turn helps your organs function, which then make you function. Water helps you perform at your best, not just with normal things like breathing but also with tougher things such as exercising. Being dehydrated even just 1% decreases your performance by 5%. Water also helps to keep your metabolism going, your skin glowing, your hair shiny, and your appetite in check. Just to make things even tougher, you’re constantly losing water. Not just through sweat, but even things like exhaling cause you to lose water. So you NEED to make sure you’re replacing all that water loss.
Summer time is usually when we really keep tabs on our hydration. Nothing like 90 degree weather to help remind you to drink water. But as we start to enter into fall and the colder months you still need to keep tabs on your hydration, maybe even more so than in the summer. During the winter (I know, I know, you don’t want to even be thinking about winter, but it’s coming) it is so easy to forget to drink water throughout the day. You’re not sweating profusely, the sun isn’t blazing down on you, and let’s face it, snuggling in front of the fireplace with a big glass of water doesn’t sound too cozy. But the colder months tend to be drier which can suck moisture out of your body. And because your body needs all that water, you have to make sure you replace it.
If you find it hard to get enough water into your day, or you need some ideas on how to make water a little more fun (it can be a little boring sometimes), here are a few tips to help keep you hydrated and healthy!
Making sure that you get enough water is a really important part of being healthy. The rule for a long time has been eight 8 oz glasses a day, but don’t focus on a certain number of glasses or ounces. As long as you drink water throughout the day, you should be properly hydrated. If you workout, make sure you replace the extra water lost through sweating. Unless you’re an Olympic athlete, just stick with plain water. You don’t need any fancy rehydration drink full of vitamins and electrolytes. A healthy and balanced diet along with enough regular water will help you function just fine! Long story short, go drink some water!
It seems like such an easy thing to do. Who really needs a tutorial on how to pack a lunch? I mean, most of us have been packing a lunch since grade school. That’s where I see the problem. Most of us still pack a lunch like we’re in grade school. PB&J, package of chips, package of cookies, can of soda, and maybe an apple that won’t get eaten. Or maybe you haven’t packed a lunch since grade school and choose to eat out and spend a lot of money on food that might not be all that healthy. I thought it would be good to show you how easy, health, and budget friendly it is to pack your own lunch for work, school, or wherever you’re headed for the day.
Pick a main course. There is such a variety of food out there that you can pack as the main bulk of your lunch. You should step outside your realm of quickly thrown together sandwiches. The easiest and cheapest thing to do is to use leftovers as the bulk of your meal. I like to make more food than Adam and I can eat for dinner, and then use the leftovers for lunch the rest of the week. You could also spend some time on the weekend and make a big batch of a few different meals and use that. Salads are a really great and easy way to make a bunch of food that won’t spoil quickly throughout the week. Try my Simple Vegetable Millet or Curried Quinoa Salad. Get creative too. Use the grilled chicken you made over the weekend in a whole wheat pita pocket, add some lettuce, tomato, and mustard and you have a yummy pita pocket. Or buy a bunch of collard greens and scoop quinoa salad into the middle and make a lettuce wrap. The possibilities are endless and you never have to have a boring main meal for lunch.
Slice up some sides. Rather than grabbing a bag of chips or crackers, slice up your own sides. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a lot healthier than most of the fair you will find in the snack aisle of your grocery store. Yes, it’s really easy to buy a big case of chips and then just grab a bag each day. It’s really simple to just walk to the vending machine in your office and get some pretzels or crackers too. But it isn’t helping your health or wallet either. Buy a big bag of carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, radishes, or any other vegetable that strikes your fancy. Then cut it all up and portion it out at home, then voila! You now have an easy to grab and healthy side for your lunch. Bring along hummus or homemade BBQ sauce to dip your vegetables in and you won’t have to be crunching on boring celery (although I don’t think any vegetable is boring… is that just me?). Fruit is also a great thing to have in your lunch and apple, pear, or orange slices are delicious and portable. The other good thing about eating fruit and vegetables for your sides is that they will fill you up with healthy fiber and help keep you fuller longer. That’s a win-win!
Hydrate up. This isn’t just a tip for lunch, you should be drinking water all day long. Invest in a really good water bottle that you can fill up and just keep sipping throughout your day. If you’re not into plain water, jazz it up with some lemon or lime slices, berries, cucumber, mint, or even watermelon. Just keep yourself hydrated. Often when we think that we are hungry, we’re really thirsty. Instead of reaching for food, try a glass of water first and see if your body just needed some water instead.
Plan for a snack. 3:00 pm rolls around and you find yourself wandering to the vending machine looking for a candy bar to tide you over until dinner. Or maybe you start downing cups of coffee to help you push through the last few hours of work. Instead of doing that, plan to bring a snack with your lunch. Adam likes hard-boiled eggs as his afternoon snack, and those are really easy to make a bunch at the beginning of the week. Plus they are portable. Eggs aren’t your thing? Try making a mix of dry-roasted almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds to keep you going. Need a little sweet? Add some raisins or other dried fruit to the mix. Just make sure to read your labels and check to see that there isn’t any added sugar. If you’re looking for salty and crunchy, try some roasted chickpeas. Also, don’t go overboard with your afternoon snack, just enough to keep you going until it’s time for dinner!
See? Packing a lunch doesn’t have to be hard or boring. Take a little time to plan what you are going to have for the week and then just throw it all in your lunch box and head out the door. Packing your own lunch is a great way to save money and support your healthy lifestyle. And if every once in a while a cookie finds it’s way into your lunch, that’s ok too!
Life Healthfully Lived 