Off To The States I Go!

This trip makes me wonder if I’ll be flying back and forth between countries every 6 months. Or if eventually I’ll fully settle in one place with all aspects of my life in the same location. That would probably make everything easier, wouldn’t it? But I never aim for easy… just interesting.

I finally packed for my trip today!

I did this video while I was packing because I HATE packing and I figured it would make it more fun. I waited as long as I could to start packing  I have two different types of packing: one way is fast and one way allows you to bring as much stuff as possible. This time I chose the fast method since I’m not taking much. On the way back I’ll do the opposite!

Anyway, enjoy the video.

In just a few hours I’ll be headed to the airport, then Australia, then back to the US. I wish it was a faster trip but I’ll make it.

I would be nicer if I didn’t have to be at the airport before 5 am.

I haven’t been anywhere in six months but I’m no stranger to traveling. I’ve lost count of my long flights as this point! I do have a healthy plan for the trip as I always do. Here’s my favorite tips to stay healthy especially on long haul flights:

Drink lots of water! This is especially important on the long flights. It’s so easy to get dehydrated. Dehydration plus not moving increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis, aka blood clots in your veins. Drink plenty the night before, at the airport, and on the plane.Walk! Walk as much as you can. Walk at the airport and skip those travelators. Walk up and down the aisles every hour or so on the plane during a long flight. Walk while you can because you will be sitting on the plane plenty.Stretch! Stretch whenever you get up to get your blood flowing and stop cramps and prevent pain.Bring tools for comfort. On a long flight you need things like a neck pillow, headphones, eye mask, and ear plugs. Nothing is worse than spending 15 hours on a plane uncomfortable and unable to sleep or tune out the other people. Take some healthy snacks. Pack some trail mix or some granola bars in your carry on if you can.Pick healthy food choices at the airport. It’s tempting to pick junk at the airport but choosing healthier options will make you feel better and make the flight easier. Try to grab whole foods or something simple like a turkey sandwich and apple and skip the fast food. It might take more work to put together that kind of meal but it’s worth it.Wear comfortable clothes. You don’t have to look like a complete slacker but you need to be comfortable. It makes a huge difference!

Those are my tips for staying healthy on a long haul flight. At least, that’s my plan for the next day and this post was my personal reminder!

See you on the other side!

What are your tips for traveling healthy?

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Breaking Bad Eating Habits is the Key to a Healthy Weight

Do you eat your kid’s leftovers? Or lick the baking bowl clean?

When working to achieve a healthy weight and lifestyle it is important to consider the things that we do during the day – things that we may not even realize we are doing. Such as, licking the cake batter from your fingers or eating the children’s leftovers – these are all things which may contribute to a slowing down of our weight loss or even cause weight gain. It is a good idea to spend some time taking note of the things we do without thinking when eating – keeping a food journal is something many people already do. Once you have identified your bad habits you will be able to set the changes you need to make in place.

Not making plans about when or what you will eat leaves you vulnerable to making bad food choices. If you are going to be away from home for a long period of time it may be worthwhile taking some healthy snacks with you – a piece of fruit or ready prepared raw vegetables, a few nuts, seeds and dried fruit. These types of healthy snacks will help stave of hunger and remove the necessity of grabbing a quick, processed snack or even going to the drive through of your local fast food outlet.

It is an excellent idea to create a weekly menu plan, this can often be a great way of saving some money too as it means you are able to do all your food shopping in one trip. If you go out to work or school plan and prepare your own lunches to take with you, there are many healthy recipes for lunch box meals available online and in magazines. If you also plan your main meal and snacks you will be able to minimize the temptations of binging on food that just is not healthy.

Using food as a reward is a big mistake and something that you should avoid doing with your children as you instil them with healthy eating habits. Children should realize that food is only for nourishing the body and must not learn to associate food with good or bad behavior. Promising yourself a ‘treat’ after a hectic day, or when you have worked hard at the gym, can ruin all your hard work in one fell swoop.

If you feel you, or your children, deserve a treat then choose non-food rewards – a pedicure or a massage for yourself; a comic or a trip for the children.

It is important not to go for long periods without eating – this will cause us to make the wrong food choices and overeat. When planning your meals take into account any times you are going to need to take food or snacks with you. Build your menu plan around eating small meals every three to four hours – this will prevent blood sugar swings by stabilising your levels and help prevent cravings.
In order to manage your blood sugar levels you should eat a variety of foods at each meal or with each snack. So, eat some healthy carbohydrate in the form of a piece of fruit or a few vegetables, along with some lean protein for example. A few nuts with half an avocado provides you with long lasting energy and heart healthy fats that makes them a great snack to enjoy at any time.

You have probably heard, many times, ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ – well, it is true. Skipping breakfast is a mistake many of us make when trying to lose weight. We convince ourselves that not eating will breakfast will help us lose more weight or enable us to eat more food later. The truth is that missing breakfast is more likely to make you binge and graze all day and, so studies show, cause you to put weight on!

Latest research shows that the best way to start the day is with a high protein breakfast, protein helps to feel fuller for longer and that means lasting until lunchtime without reaching for the donuts!

As most of us lead increasingly busy lifestyles it is often tempting, at the end of a hard day, to go for a ready-made meal that needs no little or no preparation and, if it has the word ‘healthy’ across it may even be good for us. Sadly, this is generally not the case. Foods, which are labelled as ‘healthy’ low calorie low fat or ‘diet’ may, are often full of saturated fats, preservatives, sugar, sodium not to mention artificial colors and flavors.

A healthy, well balanced diet should consist, almost entirely, of fresh, natural foods prepared at home. Fresh food provides us with many essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber that are simply not available or present in processed food products. Eat natural foods whenever and wherever it is possible and if you do use processed or pre-packed products be sure to check the labels – avoid any food products containing ingredients you fail to recognize.

This article was written by Natalia Z. She is a one of the specialists on Webctor.com – a new health center that is responsible for bringing free and accurate medical information to the Internet. You can follow the portal on Twitter @webctor_com

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How to Lose Weight After Pregnancy

After pregnancy, most women wish to lose their weight and get back in shape as they were before pregnancy. However, it is very easier said than done. Women need to be very careful about the kind of diet which they choose after pregnancy for losing weight. After delivering a child, women can get back in good shape by following various ways. Here, we tell you how to lose weight after pregnancy.

Before women start any kind of weight loss diet after pregnancy; they should consult their doctor. Till the time, they get a green signal from their doctor, they should wait. Women who are breastfeeding their babies should not cut their diet as they need more calories to milk their babies.

Women who wish to lose weight after pregnancy should do aerobic and resistance exercises. However, they should tell their doctors about the exercises which they will be doing. Some exercises might not be safe for women after pregnancy because their joints may be lax and certain exercises may hurt them.

After pregnancy, women should realize that their bodies have gone through a lot of tough experience. They should not try to be too hard on themselves. Women should make small weight loss goals and be practical while making these goals. Don’t try to push yourself too hard as it may hurt you.

Women should eat more green fresh vegetables, fruits and salads in order to lose weight after pregnancy. They should stay away from fast food and foods which have more fat. To follow a healthy diet is the best way to reduce weight after pregnancy. More water should also be consumed by women as it will help them to avoid the habit of overeating.

When women bear a baby in their womb, all people advise them to work less and take less strain. They also get used to a lethargic lifestyle where they can binge on whatever food item they like. After delivering their babies, women should realize that now that time period when it was fine for them to stay lazy and do less work is over. Women should start doing household work and move their bodies. Also, they should have control on their food instincts. They should neither overeat nor eat those foods which are fatty.

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Shock on the Scale – Weekly Weigh In

Well…wonders never cease.  After this post on Sunday, I was all prepared for the worst!

I woke up on Monday morning, jumped on the scale like I always do and was shocked when I was down 3.6 pounds.  Wowzers!

Then, I went to Weight Watchers and weighed and was shocked again when I was down 2.6 pounds!  Wowzers again!

How did this happen?!?  I guess maybe my body is allergic to exercise?!?  When I DON’T exercise, I lose weight?  No, just kidding!

In all actuality, it could have been a number of things.

I had a very salty day the day before weigh-in last week.I drank a nice big drink after school, which I normally don’t do.I also had on “regular” clothes when the week before I had on workout clothes!

All of these factors probably contributed to my gain last week so it would make sense that I was down this week even though my eating and exercising wasn’t stellar sucked!

This brings up a good point.  We should really listen to our bodies and not the scale.  Also, we shouldn’t let one “bad” week ruin our moods or our thoughts of our future.  This is our journey and we need to just enjoy the ride!

Speaking of ride.  My husband and I love those commercials of the Geico pig zip-lining.  Yes, we know they are some of the dumbest commercials ever but they make us laugh!

This is what I felt like when I weighed in this week:

Enjoy the Ride!

No..I didn’t feel like a pig!  I felt so happy I could just say “Whee…whee…wheee….wheee!”

I am Thankful for a new week and ready to rock it!  What are your goals for this week?  Have you ever been shocked when you weighed to find that you LOST weight when you thought you would GAIN?

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The Highlight From A Bad Day

This was the highlight of yesterday:

Obviously there weren’t many highlights.

It was a bad day. Emotionally I fell over an obstacle and scraped my knees. I felt like a 5 year old.

My anxiety kicked itself into overdrive. Sometimes I want to rip that part of my brain out.

But I’m moving on. Today is and will be a better day. Things heal and get better.

Taco salads help.

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Foods To Keep Your Cholesterol In Control

Guest Post by Kelly Jones….

Are you suffering from cholesterol and before eating anything you first thing of its effect on your cholesterol rate? How about eating a salmon fish for dinner tonight, or grabbing a handful of nuts or even better to lick that dark chocolate. Yes, a person having cholesterol can enjoy all this guilt-free! All these foods and many more help in keeping your cholesterol level in control. All you need to do is whatever you eat just eat healthy food.

So here is a list of 9 Foods which help you in fighting with cholesterol:

Fats are always not bad; our body needs some healthy fats for proper functioning. Fats like Mono-unsaturated fats, poly-saturated fats and saturated fats are good for your health. So Nuts provide you good amount of all these healthy fats to your body.

If you don’t like that doctors prescribed boiled food on your breakfast than try having Oats, which also helps a lot in keeping your cholesterol in control. Take two servings of oats in a day to lower LCL cholesterol by 5.3% in 6 weeks.

Yes raise a toast to your health with the best of the red wine. The red grapes used in the manufacturing of the red wine helps to lower the cholesterol level. Just two glasses of red wine in a week can do the magic.

Green vegetables are like a lifeline of healthy life. So just add beans to your diet add get those cholesterol levels down by 8%.

Chocolates have those cholesterol reducing antioxidants in them. Studies done have proved that dark chocolates prevent blood vessels in lever from rupturing.

Not only Popeye you can also build that muscle power with spinach. It is proven that spinach contains around 13 falconoid elements which keep you away from harmful diseases like cancer, heart diseases and many more.

If you are non vegetarian than, salmon is like a health wonder for you. It keeps your heart safe from conditions like heart attack, stroke, and keep cholesterol levels at bay. Fishes like salmon, sardines help in increasing good cholesterol levels.

One should prefer tea than coffee, as tea has antioxidants in it and less amount of caffeine content is present in it. Your bones become strong due to presence of phytochemicals in tea. It also helps in increasing your defense mechanism of the body against LDL cholesterol levels.

This is the most common which everyone knew that cholesterol patients should use olive oil instead of normal cooking oil in eating. It has many health benefits, also helps in lowering bad cholesterol level in body.

So add these foods in your daily diet and enjoy a healthy life and those cholesterol levels low.

Kelly Jones writes for Tustin Auto Center. She is a freelance blogger and likes to write about various topics like social media, latest technology trends.

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5 Apps for Tracking Fitness and Weight Loss

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Guest Post by Ashlee McCullen…..

Losing weight and maintaining fitness is a holistic endeavor, and tracking your progress is vital to realizing the greatest levels of success.

I’m recommending a group of apps, free and paid, that will help you plan and maintain a healthy lifestyle. These apps track everything from what you eat to strength training and cardio exercises. Put together, they make a powerful package not only for tracking progress, but also for providing ideas, inspiration, and motivation.

I’ve tested these apps on my Samsung Galaxy from T-Mobile, but most are also available on the iPhone and iPad. So here is the ultimate list of 5 Apps for Keeping Track of Your Fitness and Weight Loss:

(iOS and Android)

Of all the apps for planning and tracking workouts, FitnessBuilder for Android and iPhone is the most robust and useful. In this app, you’ll find suggested workouts, a workout builder, and tons of exercises organized by muscle group and equipment used. Each exercise includes a written description, photos, and a video, so you can incorporate new exercises.

That said, the app is a bit complicated and takes time to learn. Plus, to take full advantage of this app, you’ll need to sign up for a $10 a month membership to PumpOne. I would still call this a bargain when compared to the cost of a personal trainer. The app includes a free month trial.

For a lower cost alternative, I recommend iFitness.

(iOS and Android)
One of the best ways to improve your running and cardio activities is to keep close track of your progress. RunKeeper brings this idea to the next level and is the kind of app that was made for the smartphone era. Using GPS and other technologies, this app keeps track of where you run, how fast you do, and how long the run takes. I love this app’s graphical approach to run tracking, as I can easily see the spots where my pace lower and rise again.

Use RunKeeper to set up and maintain a routine; you’ll love watching as you make both major and incremental progress.

(iOS and Android)
While this free app does include workout trackers, its focus lies primarily with excellent content. Here, you’ll find a plethora of articles on workout tips, nutrition and diet trends, and articles for inspiration and education.  I find the supplement reviews handy when I’m out shopping, and the blogs are frequently updated, so I find myself returning to this app again and again.

(iOS and Android)
Calorie Counter makes tracking nutrition easier than ever. I simply love this app for watching what I eat. Enter foods manually, or find them in a huge library that has everything from pickles to lattes. In the past, I’ve quickly given up on attempts at counting calories; writing everything down on paper is just a nightmare. Fortunately, this app is so easy to use (and pleasing to the eyes), it’s fun to make tracking a habit.

And with bar charts and other visual motivators, Calorie Counter also makes it easier to maintain your limits and even to know when you have the freedom to splurge.

(iOS and Android)
The idea behind this sounds cheesy, but it works. Keep this app on during a workout and you’ll hear motivation straight from the mouths of professional athletes like Lance Armstrong and Jerry Rice. While Nike Boom doesn’t track workouts like other apps, its music and sound effects will motivate you through workouts. From warming up to cooling down and intervals in between, this app provides a soundtrack to suit what you’re doing at the moment.

Ashlee McCullen is a staff writer for ApronAddicts.com, a site about fashionable aprons and kitchen style.

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