Healthy Happy Holidays || Travel Tips!

In our second installment of my  Healthy Happy Holidays series, I want to share my strategies and tips on how to stick to your health and fitness routine while on the road!

Tis the season for traveling near and far to celebrate the holidays with our family and loved ones. I don't know about you, but travel ALWAYS throws off my workout and healthy eating groove.

First of all, I'm a creature of habit and routine, and if I'm taken out of my normal routine I lose all motivation and will power. Second, if I'm back in my parents' house for some reason I automatically revert to my high school self and have uncontrollable cravings for all the sugary cereal, snacks, and chips that are still stocked in the pantry for my younger siblings.

Also--workouts! So hard to fit them in when you're the only one in the house who wants to exercise. Everyone else is sleeping in, relaxing, eating cookies, going shopping, seeing movies, judging you for wanting to go out in the freezing air and get your sweat on, making you feel "different" for being an overachiever and caring about your goals. You might be sleeping in the basement with your family, and you don't have your gym or at-home equipment to take advantage of. Talk about motivation killer!

It's a constant battle and work in progress for me, but here are my best tips for sticking to your health and fitness routine when you're traveling!

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When you're on the road or in the air

BRING SNACKS!

Make sure to choose unprocessed, whole-foods based snacks. 

My fave airport security-approved snacks:

+Nitrate-free all natural jerky

+Shakeology packets

+Starkist tuna packets

+Nuts and dried fruit

+Kind bars and Lara bars

+Sliced apples (pack with a paper towel)

+Sliced veggies

+Nut butter packets

+Roasted chickpeas

+Make sure to bring an empty water bottle with you through security, and fill it up once you're at your gate!

If you like smoothies, bring a travel blender.

I purchased a cute little Hamilton Beach travel blender at Target for $18 because I know that if I can continue to drink Shakeology every day, that's at least one super nutrient-dense and healthy meal!

Take pit stops as often as you can.

If you're driving, try to get out of the car every 2 hours to stretch and move your body.

-Stay hydrated!

Forced air in cars and airplanes will suck all the water right out of your body. Plus, if you're drinking a lot of water you'll have to pee, which will force you to get out and move around!

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When you're a house guest

Again, SNACKS!

I've discovered that healthy lunch and snack options are usually the hardest to find when I'm away from my own kitchen.

My fave driving snacks:

+Everything listed in the Airport list

+Dried fruit and almond butter

When I have fridge access:

+Unsweetened almond milk for smoothies (you can get individual boxes that don't require refrigeration!)

+Coconut water for smoothies (again, no refrigeration necessary)

+Plain Greek Yogurt

+Snacking veggies (bell pepper, cucumber, baby carrots)

+Hummus

+Egg whites (good for late night Shakeo mug cakes!)

Resume control, when appropriate!

If you're visiting your parents or close family, volunteer to take over dinner duty for a couple nights. You'll win "star child" award AND you can decide the menu! Here are some healthy and delicious recipes that will win the whole family over. Just because it's not your kitchen doesn't mean you have no say on what you put into your body.

Relinquish control, when appropriate!

There's a line where being polite and gracious takes priority over your personal goals. Where this line is drawn is something you'll have to figure out based on your intuition, but it's probably where your extended family, grandma, new in-laws/partner's family are involved. If you're at a big dinner with your extended family or in-laws, sometimes you just have to go with the flow if making a fuss will cause tension. Don't use this as a platform to lecture everyone on the benefits of vegetables or clean eating, especially if there are once-a-year secret family recipe treats involved! Enjoy every bite of the things you LOVE, and pass on the things you merely like.

Pack indoor and outdoor workout clothes.

There is absolutely NO reason why you can't stick with your workout routine while traveling. This is much easier to control than your food! Wake up extra early and fit in at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, which will keep you focused, energized, and also give you extra wiggle room for treats. 

My favorite "do-anywhere" workout sources:

+Beachbody On Demand

+Tone It Up

+pumpsandiron.com

+Pinterest

+Melissa Bender Fitness

+Jessica Smith TV

Get outside and run!

+Winter running tips Part 1

+Winter running tips Part 2

Get outside for a walk with your family

No excuses :)

So there you have it! My best tips for sticking to your health and fitness goals while traveling and on the road. Do you have any tips or tricks to share? Leave them in the comments!

xo Anna

Healthy Happy Holidays || 6 tips to maintain balance AND enjoy the party season

Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to be sharing tips and tricks to make this your healthiest AND happiest holiday season ever so we can start 2015 feeling confident and strong! 

Buckle up, gorgeous. Consider this your roadmap to balanced living.

Alright, it's officially COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS! I woke up at 3 am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep because all of a sudden my brain realized that we're leaving in three days on our annual holiday road trip to visit our families for the holidays! So much to do! So much holiday spirit and Christmas cheer to absorb! This is my favorite time of year, but it always catches me off guard.

When you're trying to make healthy choices and maybe reach some fitness or weight loss goals, December throws more roadblocks and obstacles in the way than any other time of the year. Everywhere you look there are delicious treats in the office, peppermint mocha lattes on every corner,  and a party every other night. But don't give up! I want to help you navigate the way through the season so you can maintain a happy and healthy balance and arrive at January 2nd (because let's be real...January 1st is for mimosas, bloody marys, and my epic monkey bread) feeling EXCITED for what's in store instead of hating yourself for overindulging yet again.

I personally believe that it's entirely possible to make progress on your fitness and weight loss goals while still enjoying the holiday season to the fullest. You just have to focus on balance and priorities, and be a little more intentional and strategic with your decisions. There's a fine line between having fun, and having a leeeeeettle too much fun, yeah?

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE social events, party food, wine and fun holiday beverages, and most of all celebrating the culmination of another crazy year with the people I love the most, but there's no need to feel deprived when you're trying to make healthy choices. I promise!

Trust me, I'm right there in the passenger seat with you!

Here are 6 tips to maintain balance during the holiday party circuit -- AND enjoy every minute -- without derailing your goals!

1. Be objective, realistic, and intentional with your social calendar and goals.

Objective:

How many social obligations, trips, and family visits do you have? Block them out on the calendar so you're prepared.

Realistic:

You probably aren't going to lose five pounds this month. But how about feeling good instead of 'gross' come January? Or maintaining your weight instead of gaining? Small victories people! January is waiting for us. Make goals based on ACTIONS that you can control, like staying active and working out every single day, or eating only clean whole foods until 6 pm. Schedule in your "treat nights" so you can enjoy them guilt-free.

Intentional:

Prioritize your parties! Choose the ones that you're looking forward to the most, and make a decision in advance to enjoy yourself to the max. Then reign it in a little at the parties that aren't worth it.

Family Christmas weekend with your siblings you never get to see?

Party On! 

Your husband's work party at a bar called She-nanigans?

Club soda and lime with an early bedtime it is!

It's all about the plan.

2. When you're at a party with a buffet, stay away from the food table!

The purpose of a party is to enjoy the PEOPLE, not the mini meatballs.

3. Alternate alcoholic drinks with a glass of water. 

Better yet: soda water! You'll drink it slower and the bubbles will fill your tummy.

4. Set yourself up for success!

If you're heading to a potluck, bring a healthy option!

Don't give yourself ultimatums like "I'm not oging to touch the cheese" if you really really really love cheese. Put a couple pieces on a plate, and then walk away from the cheese.

If you're tracking your weight, give yourself a buffer of a few days after a party for your system to normalize. Better yet: weigh yourself on Friday BEFORE you head into a festive weekend, after you've been eating healthy for the whole week!

5. Strive for balance, not perfection.

When you have control over your schedule and meals, choose the healthy option. When you're at Grandma's and she's dishing up her famous lasagna and cake, for gosh sake enjoy every bite!

Stay consistent with your workouts and nutrition the majority of the time during the week, and you'll have a little wiggle room to play with.

Plus, it's been shown that people who indulge a little on the weekends actually end up

losing more weight over time! It's science, it's official ;)

6. Surround yourself with a support system.

You're not going to be able to stick to your plan if no one in your life understands your motivation. Don't make your personal choices into a dinner table defense trial! Enlist a friend to be your success partner and check in with each other when you need a boost of support.

Or find a few friends and set up a secret accountability group on Facebook! When there's someone out there holding you accountable, it's so much easier to stay on track.

And if you do over-indulge?

Don't give up. Just bounce back and keep moving forward.

We've got this!

xo Anna

How To: edit photos without fancy technology

Over the past couple of years I've gotten obsessed with digital photo editing (which is probably obvious on this blog!)

I love how you can take a boring normal photo and instantly turn it into a gorgeous technicolor piece of art that makes the world look much better and brighter than it does in real life.

I've discovered that you don't actually need expensive software like Photoshop or an expensive fancy camera to do some very fun things, and it is so easy! (although I do want to get a fancy camera someday)

I take all my pictures with a 7.1 megapixel Canon Powershot SD1000 Digital Elph from 2007.

I highly recommend Canon Powershots if you are looking for a small, portable point and shoot camera.  I love mine, and these days they are even cheaper and better.

I usually edit my photos with the photo program that came with my computer.

With this computer (Windows Vista) I use Windows Live Photo Gallery.

I also sometimes use Microsoft Office Picture Manager, which is especially good for cropping your pictures into different sizes if you want to print them out.

When I upload a picture and then click "Fix" on the menu bar (or Edit in Micosoft OPM) a screen like this opens:

On the right hand side are lots of things you can change using the slide bars.

The most dramatic and fastest category is "Adjust Exposure"

Sliding the contrast bar almost all the way to the right results in this:

Usually all I do to my photos is increase the contrast. 

It makes the colors pop.

You can also do this using free online picture editing programs like Picnik.  It's fun to play around!

If my picture looks a little dark after I increase the contrast, I increase the Brightness bar and play with the Shadows and Highlights.

You can also boost the color under "Adjust Color" by increasing Saturation and make your photo look sunnier by increasing Color Temperature.

So here is the original picture (which still looks pretty good because of the sunset lighting):

And here is the final technicolor-edited version:

(which is kinda intense, I probably would have stopped after the contrast!)

Here's another before and after:

Before

After increasing Contrast and Color Saturation

You can also make people look better!!

Ben and me Halloween Before

After (contrast and brightness)

hmm. looking at this picture makes me realize I need a haircut...

So there you go!

All my magical photo secrets revealed on the internet.

Go try editing your own photos if you have never tried before.

Use your computer photo editing program or Picnik.com and increase the contrast first, then see what happens! 

You can always hit "undo."