Holiday Travel Essentials

• Workout Gear – Pack workout gear before anything else. Think about when you will have time for fitness, rather than if you will have time.
• Healthy Snacks – Bring along healthy snacks to keep your hunger under control. Fruit, such as apples, are great snacks.  Apples are great to fight off hunger and have lots of pectin on the skin. Kashi GoLean bars and trail mix also make great snacks.
• Sleep – Sleep is essential to get energy for working out and to stay in a balanced zone. Many find it difficult to sleep in strange environments, hence melatonin or other natural products can help with sleep and improving sleeping patterns.
• Water Bottle – Although you can’t bring liquids through airport security, you can bring an empty reusable water bottle. Fill up the bottle at a drinking fountain after passing through security to stay hydrated. Read out blog post about the importance of staying hydrated: The Importance of Staying Hydrated to Manage your Weight

Holiday Travel Essentials for Kids

• Comfortable Walking Shoes or a Stroller – After a big holiday meal, you will want to take a walk to burn calories and to help digest the food. If you have a stroller or comfortable walking shoes for your kids, bring them along.
• Healthy Snacks – If there is one thing you can count on during the holidays, it’s travel delays. Keep your children’s health in mind. Have healthy snacks accessible for your children so you don’t end up racing to the nearest fast food restaurant and eating garbage. Some ideas for healthy travel snacks include: dried fruit, granola bars with low sugar, whole grain sandwiches and whole grain cereal.
• Drinks – Sodas are a temptation for kids when you travel and juice is usually more expensive. Avoid these issues by packing your own juices and water, even if you have to check them in with your bags to take them out later.
• Portable Electronics – Although portable electronics are not a health essential, they will help you maintain your sanity! Keep kids entertained with movies or games to make holiday travel an enjoyable adventure.

Find ways to add fruits and vegetables on the road. It’s always a challenge, so if you are traveling abroad or just can’t get them , you can buy in pill form as on over-the-counter in pharmacies and grocery stores. Juice Plus is always a good brand to trust.

For More great tips, read Tips for Choosing the Right Foods at Holiday Parties

lean snacks

Beat the Beverage Ban. Many airlines restrict what beverages you can take onboard, so focus on getting well hydrated the day before a flight. Once on the plane, limit the amount of tea, soda, alcohol or coffee you consume, as experts say these drinks can cause dehydration. Stick to bottled water while traveling, to avoid contamination.
 
Pump Up the Protein. Prior to boarding your flight, eat a meal high in protein. This will stave off hunger pangs longer than a meal high in carbohydrates.
 
Focus on Fiber. Fill up on foods that are high in fiber, such as old-fashioned oatmeal, advise the experts. But steer clear of the instant oatmeal cereals, which are loaded with sugar.
 
Pack Snacks. Carrying on healthful snacks, such as raisins, almonds and low-fat granola, can prevent you from packing on the pounds. To comply with federal aviation rules, put your snacks in a clear plastic sandwich bag (this also serves as a way to control portion sizes). Other snacks that are healthy and easily portable include grapes, trail mix, baby carrots, whole-wheat muffins and oatmeal cookies, all of which appeal to children. A word of caution: Never take a jar of peanut butter onto a flight; this food is prohibited, owing to the high risk of allergic reaction among other passengers.

Adopting one new habit at a time: 85% chance of success

Adopting two new habits at once: 35% chance of success

Adopting three or more habits at once : less than 10% of success

Habits need to be clearly defined and easy to measure. We need to simplify things by translation. Hence “eat more veggies” = eat two servings or more per day. “Incorporate exercise” = exercise three times per week = 30 mins per session. Much more achievable.

Interview with Jodi McDonald on Sunday July 15th

   Seasoned ESPN radio host Jodi McDonald interviews Dr. Veronica Tomor on smart eating on the go for ESPN NY 98.7

Check out the fourth, and final, installment in this series of films. The Weight of the Nation: Part 4 – Challenges.

The Weight of the Nation: Part 2 – Choices

Check out the third installment in this series of films. The Weight of the Nation: Part 3 – Children in Crisis: