Muncher Cruncher Healthy Travel Tips

I am ALWAYS so excited to leave on trips. Traveling is so fun. However, I always get a little stressed too...probably because I hate packing. I leave tomorrow for my Arizona/Austin Christmas, and I can hardly wait! It was 10 degrees when I got in my car this morning...get me out of here. If you were wondering how the packing is coming, it is looking a little something like this...

and that is only just the beginning. According to my dad I have inherited my inability to pack lightly from my mother. What can I say? She is a good woman, and she always looks fantastic! :)

When it comes to traveling people will quite often use it as an excuse to throw in the healthy towel, if you know what I mean. Here are a few tips that will help you to avoid doing just that.

Muncher Cruncher Healthy Travel Tips:
- Bring your own snacks! Sometimes traveling puts us in situations where we are foodless for quite a while. These are the times we usually get so hungry that that the..."I don't even care give me that entire Cinnabon NOW," monster kicks in. Instead of letting your body get there bring your own snacks. Some of my favorites are almonds, turkey jerky, Larabars, protein bars, string cheese, apples, bananas, clementines, oranges, healthy cookies, etc.
- Bring a water bottle. When we aren't at home or in our normal element, we tend to drink much less water than normal. Bring a water bottle with you so you can fill up wherever you are and keep yourself healthy and hydrated.
- Eat before you go. If you know food may be an issue on your travel day, don't wait to see what the airport or convenience store may have that fits into your healthy eating plan, eat something beforehand that will fill you up and keep you from becoming ravenous.
- Bring your workout clothes! Even if you are going to an unknown destination in which you may not have a lot of options as far as working out is concerned, there is always something you can do. Bring your own workout DVD's, bands, or a jump rope if you are worried your options may be limited. If you are staying with family, go for a walk! If you are staying at a hotel, find out before hand what their amenities are. You can always use their gym, or swim some laps in the pool.

These are just a few simple things that you can do that can certainly make a big difference in how well you do on your vacation. I've said it about one million times, the key to success is preparation and planning. If you don't set yourself up for success, finding it may be a wee bit difficult.

Happy and SAFE travels to all those who are venturing to their Christmas destinations this week!!

The 1-10-20-30 Workout

I'm home! Arizona home that is. I planned on sleeping in...which for me means not setting my alarm and getting up whenever I happen to wake up. Today that was 7:00 AM, and instead of lying in bed I decided to get up and go for a run. The weather here is SO nice! I was loving my life. Just running along, listening to T-Swift as the sun came up...delightful.

I got back from my run and I wanted to do some core/strength exercises to finish, but I didn't want to be too loud so I went through this simple series of exercises a few times. This is an AWESOME workout that you can literally do anywhere. On vacation, in your bedroom, at the gym, at the park...you name it...chances are you can do it there too.

Start with a one minute plank. You can make this harder by taking it to one foot, widening your leg stance, or adding in hip dips, etc.
Next, go to your walking push ups. Start standing, keep your legs straight and bend at the hips, putting your hands down on the floor. Walk yourself out to a push up position. Do a push up, walk back, and stand up. That counts as one.
Next, do 20 air squats in place. Go as deep as you possibly can, and stand and tuck those glutes. The bigger the motion the more you will be working it!
Lastly, do 30 full sit ups. Start lying all the way down on the ground, arms over your head, knees bent. Bring your arms over your head and sit up, until you can touch your shoe laces. That counts as one.

The great thing about this workout is you can repeat this simple process as many times as you need to. You could even add in some cardio bursts after the sit ups to elevate that heart rate. Awesome right? Try it out!

Going Going Gone.

Whenever I know I am leaving to go out of town my supply of fresh fruits and veggies tends to dwindle. I HATE not having fresh produce. It is one thing that really stresses me out. I know that lack of good food leads to increase of poor eating decisions. It's all about the preparation people. Luckily, one of my favorite salad bars is just down the street.

Enter, Brick Oven.

Doesn't that look awesome? If you only knew how excited I get when I am the first one to dive into this fresh deliciousness. I highly suggest you find a healthy "go to" quick place to get some healthy food, so you don't turn to bad decisions when you are short on time or groceries!

Today I am driving to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with my family, and I can hardly wait!!! My sister sent me this yesterday...

Yes, Nichole. Yes, I am ready.

Jet Setting Tips to Keep You On Track

Traveling is one of the fun things we get to do in life. Vacations are wonderful, and they are definitely a great time to allow yourself to be a little bit lax with your diet and exercise if you are really needing a break from the regimen. BUT...they surely don't have to be. We could think of a million reasons why we are going to "put our diet on hold" for some period of time for another. I hate to break it to ya...that just gets you nowhere. Instead, why not do your best to stick to some principles that will keep you from feeling like you need to be wheeled into your room on a luggage dolly at the end of the day. Here are some of the things I do to stay on track when I'm away from home.

- Pack snacks. I always plan ahead when I leave for trips because you never know what is going to be available to you. It is better to be prepared! My standards are almonds, Larabars, turkey jerky, apples, and other nuts. Breakfast is usually the hardest meal when you are traveling, so I plan on eating the things that I bring instead of going for a stack of pancakes or something else that is likely to start my day on an insulin rush.

- WALK. You may not have the opportunity to exercise wherever it is that you are going. If you can. AWESOME. In fact, it is very possible to do squats, planks, push ups, lunges, sit ups, heck...even burpees in your hotel room. But, if nothing else choose to walk. When you are doing your sight seeing, strap on a good pair of walking shoes (yep, be that tourist) and get your walk on. You will burn a ton of calories as you get to enjoy your sights, and it will help to make up for your lack of exercising.

- Remember your moderation. It is pretty easy to make every meal like Thanksgiving when you are eating out on vacation. There are oftentimes restaurants that you are dying to try along the way, and a lot of crazy delicious food can sometimes me a lot of crazy outrageous calories. Instead of gorging all the time choose to share meals with the people you are with. This way you get to try a little bit of everything without going calorie crazy. You can also remember that you don't HAVE to fall into peer pressure while eating out. While I was in NY, the people I was with had a long list of eateries that they wanted to stop at...The Donut Plant, The Shake Shack, Max Brenner, and on and on...and guess what, I never ate at any of them...GASP. I know, crazy right? I was pretty sure if I would have, the chances of me feeling sick the whole day were fairly high, so I opted out. I actually managed to stay very close to my Paleo eating while I was gone. If I couldn't find something on the menu that suited the way I wanted to eat, I didn't just give in. The good news is that at almost every place you go to eat you can usually modify your meal to make it healthy and worthy of your hard working body. With that being said...it is totally fine to have some meals where you let loose and enjoy. Life is to be enjoyed! Just try to avoid being gluttonous.

- Drink a lot of water. I always notice that my water consumption drops a TON when I am traveling because it isn't as easy to grab a drink when you are nowhere near a drinking fountain or sink. Bring a water bottle with you and fill it up whenever you can. When you do stop to eat, be sure to drink a full glass of water first before you eat.

- Try for healthy eateries. Some of the best places I've eaten are fun health food spots. Try to find some fun local healthy options!

- Don't kick yourself. If you do feel like you go overboard, don't let it ruin your trip. Simple pick yourself up, start over, and move forward with the desire to do better. What's done is done, but there is always a new day with new decisions!

Lake Powell Recap

Lake Powell is one of those places that I think everyone should get to visit at least once in their life...or preferably at least once every summer. It is absolute paradise. I am fairly certain that if I was accidentally left there I wouldn't even mind. A few weeks ago I planned a trip for 40 people for a little weekend getaway in paradise. It was so much fun. I planning the trip I was also in charge of planning the food, which mean I was able to secretly healthify everything. Muah-hahahaha...I'll be posting my menu for the week tomorrow! 

Not too bad, right?

The Get Back At It Workout and a DANG Good Salad

If there is one reason I love coming home from vacations...and there is probably only one...it is because I really like to get back into my workout/eating routine. I have been out of my normal routine, and that was made clear to me when I became very sore after my Monday circuit workout. It was the perfect little boost towards getting me back into the swing of things, and so I thought I'd share.

One mile run to warm up OR 10 minute elliptical intervals

3 sets of the following alternating between exercises
15 squat, curl, presses with 20 lb db's
15 burpees with a push up
20 walking lunges with 20 lb dumbbells
2 minute plank hold (1st plank no weight, 2nd plank 10 lb plate on your back, 3rd plank 25 lb plate on your back)

and then...

3 sets of the following alternating between exercises
15 bent over rows with 20 lb dbs
15 squats with 35 lb dbs
2 minute plank hold (1st plank no weight, 2nd plank 10 lb plate on your back, 3rd plank 25 lb plate on your back)

finish with
1 mile run OR 10 minute elliptical intervals


DONE. I think it was the walking lunges that got me. I guess walking around New York City in boots uses different muscles.

So, while I was in the Big Apple I ate at a place called Chop't that I guess is a chain restaurant? Have you eaten there? I'm probably just out of the loop on this one, but I am a HUGE fan.
Basically you go through and pick your lettuce, your protein, your veggies/toppings, and then they chop it all up into one HUGE salad.

I had baby spinach and mixed greens, lemon pepper chicken, beets, tomatoes, broccoli, and sunflower seeds. Maybe it sounds strange to you...but it thought it was bomb. I ate every last bite. And I'd do it again. I love when I find new healthy options of places to eat that are good. Now, if they could just bring one of these to Utah...

I Forgot to Tell You...

So, there are a few things I forgot to mention from my AZ trip. 

1) Eat at Sauce. 
I think this makes like the 20,000th eating recommendation I have for Arizona. How about if you are ever planning on going there, consult with me first, K? Anyways, back to Sauce. Ever heard of it? My sister LOVES it, and for whatever reason in all of my Arizona visits I have never been there. Well, we took care of that. OHHHH. It's so good. We may or may not have eaten there for lunch two days in a row....annnnd I may or may not have eaten the same thing both times.

The Turkey Avocado Feta salad is BOMB. Just looking at this photo makes me hungry.

2) Driving in the car is not that fun.
Although Papa Les is a good time, Spending about 22 hours in a car within a period of three days is not what I'd consider the best form of exercises. You should avoid doing that.

The view may be pretty...but...still.

3) iPhones are essential for road trips. 
Well, they are essential for life too, but for road trips especially. Words With Friends, Scramble With Friends, Instagram, Twitter, surfing the web, texting, and my music library saved me. Thank you to all of you who participated in making life better for me :)

4) The olympics are still awesome
We spent a lot of evenings watching the olympics and I have decided that I'll take the body of a sprinter, thank you. WOW. They are unreal. I love when they show snippets of their training procedures and what their regimens are. They really really do work SO hard. I am sad that the games are drawing to a close because I have loved watching them so much!

5) My family is the best.
I love them so much, and it has been so fun to spend so much time with them!

Ok...so maybe I've mentioned that like 5,000 times...but it's still true!

My Last Day in the Grand Canyon State

That title makes it sound like my time here in AZ has been full of outdoorsy adventure like rock climbing, and hiking. That is complete false advertising. If there was a pie chart of what our time here has been like it would consist mainly of playing in the pool, shopping, going to matinees to get out of the heat, eating, and some working out as well. We climbed the stairs at the movie theater if you want to count some climbing, and my nephew braved a snow cone called Mt. Everest. Does that count?

 Last night my sister found a workout on pinterest that looked fun and she sent it to me. My mom and I decided to try it out this morning and I liked it a lot. The workout was from the blog Peanut Butter Fingers. It was quick and painful. Just the way I like it. It looked like this.

My mom braved the workout with me, and I really liked it! It is nice to mix things up and do something that someone else thought of every now and again :) Did you know that counting to 50 can seem pretty high when you are doing things like jump squats and chest presses? Well it can.

This gave me some inspiration for a July workout challenge that I think will be fun! Today, being July 1st Marks the first day of the challenge.

DAY #1 Hold a 1 minute plank. Add this challenge to your workout routine and we'll build on every day!

Next time you hear from me I'll be in the Beehive State! Farewell AZ! Have you found any of your workouts off of Pinterest? If so, link them here I'd love to see them!

Sunday St. George Outings

I saw on a friends instagram that the weather in Provo was not so great while we were away...which makes me glad that we got away to enjoy some warm sunshine. 
We spent Sunday doing some more relaxing and exploring.

It was an absolutely beautiful day.

Happy Memorial Day to You! 

Click HERE for some Memorial Day Recipe Inspiration!

Weekending and Tips for Eating Out

About 15 of my fabulous friends and I decided to take off to St. George this weekend to enjoy some care free sunshine. I am a huge fan of road trips, especially when they include all of my favorite people.

After we arrived to our condo we took all watched a movie/took a nap, and then I talked my friend Amanda into doing a circuit workout with me. We headed down to the resort gym and this was our view...not bad, right?

Amanda and I made it through a series of cardio intervals with burpees, pushups, squats, and some weights. I absolutely love having people to workout out with me. It makes getting through a workout so much more fun.

A workout is always by some good relaxation and a good meal...both of which we nailed perfectly.

Group gaming on the Ipad followed by some Texas Roadhouse.

I am usually not a huge Texas Roadhouse fan...GASPS...I know. Probably because I knew I was going to have to smell those cinnamon buttery rolls without delving in. However, I ordered a baked sweet potato and some fresh veggies and it hit the spot. Just another reminder to me that if you are willing to put some effort forth, you can almost ALWAYS find something healthy to eat on the menu. The safest bets when eating out...

- Dishes that are NOT a combination of lots of different things. AKA...noodles covered in cream, doused with fried shrimp and cheese. A better option? A grilled cut of meat with veggies. Ask to have your veggies steamed without butter.
- Avoid the pre-meal binge fest that can get a little out of control. With restaurants that serve appetizers before your meal like a loaf of bread, chips, or rolls, it is SO easy to sit down and dive in out of sheer starvation. If you feel like you are lacking self control, ask your waiter to skip the appetizer and order your meals right away.
- Watch your portions. Ask for a lunch portion, or ask your waiter to bring a to go box with your meal. As soon as you start to eat. take half of your food and box it up so you don't overeat.
- Remember that eating out doesn't have to mean taking a vacation from the healthy lifestyle you are trying to live. You can eat out and be healthy too! Far too many people use eating out as their excuse to choosing foods that aren't a great option. Using this excuse every now and again is fine, but when it happens ALL the time you are only stopping yourself from making any progress! A few healthy choices can go a LONG way!

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend has been great so far!

Do you tend to choose healthy options when you go out to eat, or do you fall victim to the vacation eating mentality? What helps you to make good decisions when you are ordering at restaurants?

Don't forget to enter May's Music to Move to Mix Giveaway!

Paleo On The Go (And other travel friendly eating tips)

I was surprised at how I was able to keep the paleo going over the weekend away. I had no idea what my eating situations were going to be, so I was pleasantly surprised. I know not all of you are looking to eat paleo, but because eating paleo could be synonymous with eating clean in many situations I think these tips could give some of you a few ideas of how to make eating out a little easier.


Breakfast: 
I personally think breakfast is the hardest meal when you are traveling or on the go. We had some continental breakfast options, so I was able to get some eggs. I also had some almonds and turkey jerky that I had brought with me in case I needed them.
Sometimes bringing your own goods is the only way to know you are going to be prepared. You CAN bring nuts, fruit, and jerky in your suitcase with you. Other non-paleo options...oatmeal packets, protein bars, pre-made healthy muffins. Avoid having to go to the convenience store. Look around for restaurants or locations that serve healthy breakfast options.
Stop in at Starbucks, Denny's or even Mcdonalds for some oatmeal. Just promise to skip over the hotcakes...
We went to a nearby Whole Foods one morning for breakfast and it was SO GOOD.

 

I ended up with some eggs, fruit, grilled zucchini, and some pulled chicken with a little Teriyaki sauce. It was tasty.  

Lunch: 

Lunch and dinner could probably be one and the same as far as do's and don'ts, but I'll split them up for the purpose of showing food you can choose vs. food that has been ordered for you. It just so happens that for both lunches in San Diego we had Mexican food. In eating out, I am a believer that you can find something just about anywhere you go. You simply have to be willing to stick to your plan. 

Lunch #1 was at Chipotle. I had never been there before and it was SO delicious. I ordered the chicken salad, with no beans and no rice. I added in grilled vegetables, and told them to load on the fresh salsa. Salsa is an AWESOME option when it comes to adding flavor without calories. I topped it off with some guacamole. YUM. This was perfectly paleo.

 Lunch #2 was at some hole in the wall mexican restaurant. You know, the kind where everything is doused in cheese and basted in lard. A definite caloric disaster in the making. Things to avoid in these scenarios...the chip basket, excess cheese, tortillas, and depending on the rest of your diet...rice and beans. Most restaurants cook their beans and tortillas with lard. If you are eating paleo the rice, beans, and tortillas aren't an option anyways, so it doesn't matter. I avoided the chips and salsa, and ordered another chicken salad. The salad came in a tostada shell which I left alone. I ordered my salad without beans and cheese. It came with lettuce, grilled chicken, veggies, salsa, fresh avocado slices, and tomatoes. It was tasty!
When ordering out I'd suggest you skip the bread baskets. Pick options that have a good amount of protein and lower amounts of carbs. Ask how meals are prepared if you are watching certain ingredients and don't be afraid to make special requests. Also, feel free to oder a combo of sides to make up your meal.

Today my mom and I went to one of my favorite places, Pita Jungle, for lunch. I ordered a side of grilled chicken and a side of grilled veggies. It was AWESOME.

Dinner: For both dinner options we had food pre ordered for us. Sometimes this is life. Not being in control of what you are ordering doesn't have to mean you go buckwild and ruin your good eating streak.
For our first meal we had bruchetta with artichoke dip, a green salad with chicken and veggies, a few different choices of pizza, and cake. I bypassed the bruchetta, loaded up on the salad, took a small piece of bbq chicken pizza, and bypassed the cake. I actually just ate the chicken off the pizza and didn't eat the rest of it. Nobody took note of what I was or wasn't eating. It is just a matter of sticking to what you are trying to accomplish.
Our second dinner was a dinner roll, a small dinner salad, chicken, green beans, potatoes, and wedding cake. I didn't take a roll, ate my salad, ate my chicken and green beans and passed on the potatoes and cake. I was perfectly fine, and once again, nobody took notice of what I did and didn't eat. Now, in some scenarios you may not have options that coincide with your health eating plan. In these situations, just do the best you can. Don't overdo it on the bread baskets or desserts. If you know your main course is something that doesn't align with your usual diet, don't make matters worse by caving completely into your appetizer and dessert.

Do the best you can, and you will be glad you did!

Do you have a hard time eating on vacation? Which meals seem to be the most difficult for you? How do you get by when you have food ordered for you?

Here it goes...

My life has been insane for the past couple days...

Shopping list.

Lots of food.

 Not a lot of sleep.

 Lake Powell  here we come.

See you next week :)

Sandwich On Golden Bread

Remember the time that I had a layover in PHX yesterday? I do. I was STARVING by the time I landed. I packed some almonds and a protein bar with me, but that didn't sound so great. That was about all I could muster up in the three minutes I had to get ready to head out the door. Usually I am a little more prepared for my traveling. You can read some tips for road trip preparedness HERE and HERE. 

I needed something substantial, and I searched the airport high and low. Finally I found a place that would make me a sandwich on whole wheat bread. It was pretty basic; turkey, iceburg lettuce, some tomato slices, and the mustard I added to it. 

Come to find out the bread must have been laced in gold. The sandwich cost me $11.

Now, I know I promised I'd quit with the blackberry photos...but I just needed a second opinion. Tell me that doesn't look like an $11 sandwich? Geez. It tasted fine and all, but I am pretty sure I could have made it better by about three million times at home. Oh yeah, that pickle on the side must have really upped the value too. I told Benita I was tempted to just throw in the towel and eat the $4 Cinnabon instead. I swear they must put scented crack in those things to waft in the air as you pass by. It smelled purely amazing.

Oh well...sometimes we go to lengths to eat healthy. Do you do what you can to try and find the healthy options or are you easily discouraged, using it as a reason to just get the Cinnabon? It is amazing how hunger can make us think crazy things sometimes, and can often cause us to throw out all our hard work. What situations do you find cause you to lose your willpower?

Mama Cita Gets an A+ For Road Trip Prepraredness

I decided last minute to make the weekend drive to Arizona with my mom and dad yesterday. I have talked before about some tips to keep yourself healthy on road trips. My mom definitely gets a gold star for her preparations yesterday.

She had a cooler prepped with...
Fresh cut veggies (carrots, tomatoes, and peppers) and hummus

 Fresh cherries

 apples and apricots

some frozen zucchini cookies which we had whipped up last week and stuck in the freezer.
(my whole fam kinda loves them...)

 some green and red grapes

almonds, fiber one bars, and reduced fat wheat thins

We also had plenty of mints, gum, and water. You did great mom. Reeaaaal great. 

It is amazing how much easier it is to avoid all the crappy junk food when you have plenty of healthy good options instead! 

What are your favorite road trip treats? I like to have a nice cold diet dr. pepper along side all these awesome goodies.

The Vacation Chronicles - Chapter 3; Been There Done That

In means of a quick recap...

 I've spent the last week in Duck Beach, North Carolina. It is probably one of the coolest places I've ever been.

 We spent a lot of time on the beach.

 We karaoked.

 We relaxed at our awesome beach house.

 We rode bikes all over Corolla.

 So. Much. Fun.

 We made lots of new friends.

 

We had some good eats. 

 It was such an incredible vacation. I already can't believe it's come and gone. Please cross your fingers that Utah decided summer was going to happen this year while I was gone.

That being said. I haven't worked out since Monday. Monday. MONDAY??
It's kind of freaking me out I'll be honest. 
I'm not counting walks, bike rides, morning yoga...those were more leisure than anything. We were definitely active, but I mean like a real, break a sweat workout. I can't even tell you the last time that I didn't put in a real workout 5 days in a row.
I said I'm freaked out, but more than anything I'm freaked out because I'm OK with the break. I think it has been really good for me. I tend to be obsessive about my workouts and my food. As I mentioned before I was still very careful with my food, it's kind of just second nature at this point. HOWEVER, I tried really hard to just be mentally OK with taking a break for once. I know that the body needs rest periods, and I think my foot probably appreciates the break as well.

I'm excited to get back to my routine. I am excited to put some good workout time in. I'm trying to ignore the little voice in my head that is telling me I probably gained 10 lbs while I was gone because I KNOW I didn't. I really am grateful for the break, and I am excited to get back to it as well.

Because of my job and my passions and hobbies exercise and eating healthy are what I think about all the time. I never escape it, and I'm OK with that. The reason I enjoy my job so much is because those are my passions. Sometimes it does get hard for me to remember that I need to separate myself from my job...that I'm still an awesome person even if I miss a workout...or FIVE. Let's be honest what is more fun... bike rides/beaching/gaming/laughing with friends/sitting by the pool or stressing over when you're going to get your workout in? For the record...I think you can, and sometimes should fit both in, but for this week I pick the first option. And I feel good about it.


Don't you want to visit Duck Beach now? You should. Do you feel guilty when you don't work out, or are you ok with taking some time off every now and again? I am working on this one. :) So long Duck Beach...been there. Done that...and I'd do it again in a heart beat!