Let's Travel Healthy!

If you're traveling, here are some tips on how to travel healthy! Because vacations aren't fun if you can't have fun!

Let's take a trip! It's summertime which means travel time for many of us; getting to see new places, relax, slow down and enjoy life. Enjoying life sometimes means making choices that may not be the healthiest.

Soooooo, as Gr8 Friends should do, we are here to help you out. Here are some reminders of how to have a healthy...okay, maybe semi-healthy, vacation...I mean, c'mon, it's fun to get that candy bar out of the vending machine at midnight, right?

First and foremost, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

Staying hydrated, with water, or other no- or low-calorie beverages, will offset some of the other fun, but perhaps less than healthy habits. An easy trick is to drink two eight-ounce glasses first thing in the morning, then you only have six glasses of water to go to meet the goal! Hint: Measure out 8-ounces so you get a good visual of how much liquid that is. It really isn't too much!

Move!

Sitting on a plane or in a car, (or on a bus or in the bar) is boring and bad for us. And as Newton said, "An object at rest will remain at rest...and an object in motion continues in motion." It seems that sitting still encourages us to want to be lazy and still! So force yourself to move. When in the airport, walk, if that means foregoing the moving sidewalks, then so be it. And in the plane, get up every once in a while and walk up and down the aisle. Take the stairs at the hotel. On a car trip, park further away than necessary to force yourself to walk more.

Wherever you are staying, get out and explore the surroundings, it's the only way to really soak up the local culture. And some of the best meals we've experienced have been because we were walking around and happened upon a restaurant or café.

And here's a Gr8 hint: The more you move, the more calories you burn, hence the more you can eat! Enjoy that regional dessert, or have another helping of that gravy laden goodness.

Pack Snacks

The easiest way to sabotage a healthy diet is by being hungry and not having any good food available. So keep a bag close with easy and healthy food:

• Fruit - apples, bananas, tangerines, grapes, etc. Full of vitamins and fiber, terrific when traveling.
• Nuts - preferably unsalted, the salt will retain water and can cause swelling, not good when sitting for long periods of time.
• Protein bars - in case you have to skip a meal, this is an easy way to feel full for a while.
• Granola - Try Debbie's homemade and healthy Granola; easy to pack and delicious to eat!
• Dark chocolate, that's right, dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa is full of antioxidants and can lower blood pressure. See this article in WebMD.

We are all about Gr8 Food and Gr8 Fun, and in order to keep enjoying life we need to remain healthy. Here is a Gr8 article on Thrillist with some more helpful hints; 10 Easy Ways to be a Healthier Traveler.

Some fun summer recipes if you're staying home