What Should I Eat When I'm Traveling?

Hey friends! Long time no talk, how are you?

Time goes by so fast these days it's a little scary. I took a little break from the blog but I'm back.  As you may know I travel for work and often find myself on the road for meals. Traveling and eating healthy can be a challenge. I wanted to share some tips that help me stay on track. With fast food restaurants on every corner these days it's often easy to grab something processed and greasy.

 Most week days start for me with oatmeal. I usually use the coffee maker in my hotel room for hot water for my oatmeal. From there I add cinnamon, nuts and a banana to it. 😍 This energizes me for my workout. I start with some black coffee and attempt to chug a glass of water. I've found that drinking water right when I get up helps energize me. It's like filling up my tank for the day.

 Next I usually get my workout in and get cleaned up for the work day. Post workout I usually have my chocolate superfood shake. By this time my coffee is usually cold if I haven't finished it so I mix that with my superfood.

If I find myself wanting coffee during the day it's usually an americano from Starbucks with a splash of coconut or soy milk.

After the work day begins if I get hungry again before lunch I'll have a handful of cashews or almonds or a banana.

For lunch this can be a hard meal especially if it's a lunch appointment. I try to include some type of veggie. Lately it's been soup and salad combo. If I'm on the run and between appointments Starbucks is usually my stop. They have an awesome hearty veggie salad, unsweetened yummy tea or I'll get a spinach feta wrap. At a Mexican restaurant I try to stick with tacos on corn tortillas.

 Once the afternoon hits around that 3 o'clock time I'm usually hungry again. 😜 I usually have an apple or maybe some trail mix.

For dinner if I had more carbs during the day I will try to do less for supper. If I haven't had too many carbs I'll have a little more. I love sushi but I stay away from fried and cream cheese filled. Most recently I've even tried a no rice roll. If I'm not eating sushi I'll sometimes get room service or do a pick up at Chilis or Applebees and order chicken or salmon with veggies and potatoes. My other go to is Panera. I love their chicken Apple salad. If I'm still hungry after dinner I'll go for a piece of fruit. Sometimes being on the road can make it easier because I don't have wine or goodies with me.

 Here are some tips for staying on track
- Stock up before your trip on fruit and healthy portable snacks like nuts.
- Stay hydrated, pack water bottles if needed.
- Starbucks has yummy unsweetened teas both hot and iced like the passion tea
- Plan where your going to eat and brainstorm on a healthy option
- Don't wait to eat until you are hangry to eat
- Take it one meal at a time
- Don't beat yourself up for a not so healthy meal just pick back up on the next meal

Hope this helped. What works for you?

Alaska Trip 2015!

Happy July! Got back yesterday from a cruise to Alaska! It was an awesome week! Here's a little preview from our trip.

 Last Saturday Eric and I flew up to Seattle before the trip started. We spent the afternoon in downtown Seattle which included a stop to the public market place to see the original Starbucks :) and the fish market. It was really cool! The flowers were beautiful here! There were some awesome art items too! We got to see what happens when a fish is purchased at  the fish market, video included! It was great!

Sunday morning we had a little bit of time before we boarded the cruise ship. Eric found the Black Bear Diner so we had to go for breakfast :). My morning started early, I was up at 5:30 bursting with energy and excitement for the trip so I got in a workout at the hotel gym. After that we headed towards Black bear Diner.

There ended up being a total wine and more store next to the restaurant so after we ate breakfast we headed to shop for a bottle of wine to bring on the ship. We had fun wandering the store looking at all the different labels on the wine bottles. With some help we ended up picking the Kinneybrook Zinfandel it was very good!


 Soon after we headed towards the cruise ship. We bought rain ponchos on the way but didn't end up needing them. On all of the excursions we did they ended up providing them when needed. Once we boarded the ship we went to the top of the cruise ship, deck 16 and explored each floor figuring out where everything was at. It was a huge ship and held about 3600 people. After that we of course headed to the buffet line for our first meal.

 Our first full day at sea was Monday. We did some wine tasting, enjoyed yummy food and watched the evening concert. They also started a singing competition similar to the Voice, so Monday night was heat 1 for guests to try out. It was pretty entertaining.

Tuesday morning we were up bright and early for salmon fishing in Ketchikan. We met our  boat captain Al and jumped  on his boat with another family of 3 people. I'm excited to report that I caught the first fish of the trip! We ended up getting a total of 8 salmon between me and Eric. They were mostly pink salmon and I caught one king salmon. We got lucky with awesome weather & gorgeous views! After that we boarded the ship and enjoyed the view on the deck as we moved to the next stop.


Wednesday morning we woke up in Tracy Arm with some great views! The water was turquoise, there were waterfalls and it was stunning. The nickname for this area is called "Little Yosemite." We sat on the deck with coffee in hand and got tons of pictures.


That afternoon we arrived in Juneau where we hoped in a van for our next excursion. We hiked to the Mendenhall glacier. We had a great tour guide and even met people from Canada, Spain and Socal on our hike. There was a chance of rain that afternoon but we got lucky and dodged it. It was nice to get outside and get some exercise after all that cruise food. I clocked almost 10 miles that day on my fitbit! Steps were not a problem on this cruise. The ship was so big I got at least my 10,000 steps in each day so that was great to off set all of the eating and wine a little. :)

 

 

Thursday morning we arrived in Skagway our original excursion had been cancelled so we signed up for the wild river tour. The weather had changed quite a bit on Thursday. We boarded the ferry over to Haines, Alaska and then boarded a bus. There we got a tour of Haines and got to see Parker Schnabel's parents house from the Alaskan Gold rush tv show! We then geared up for the rain in ponchos, blankets and jackets and boarded small boats to tour the river. Not going to lie it was freezing! I was glad I brought my scarf that day, it protected some of my face from the rain blasting it. We did get to see a moose and eagles so that was cool. When we got back they served everyone chili and homemade brownies in a heated tent. It was nice to get out of the rain.

Soon after we rode back to Skagway and toured the downtown in the rain lol. I found a really cool turtle night light and we got some hot chocolate. The hot shower was much need after we got back on the ship.

Friday was a much needed day at sea to recoup a little from all of the fun. We celebrated our anniversary (a little early) this day! The cruise put balloons on our room door and a sign to say happy anniversary! We got dressed up and went to a formal dinner that night. We even had professional pictures taken which was fun. It was a great night!











                                     













 Saturday we spent the morning on the ship, I enjoyed a much needed workout. In the afternoon we went to a show on the ship by Steve Moris. It was a comedy/concert, he was awesome! We arrived in Victoria, B.C. in the evening for our last stop before home. It was beautiful here! We toured the Craigdarroch castle & the city. This is definitely a city we would like to spend more time in. They have a coffee chain called Tim Horton's that is said to be really good. I would like to try it some day.

After we got back on the ship on Saturday night we grabbed some goodies from the buffet area and headed to the top of the ship to see if we could see any fireworks. We were so close to the border for the U.S. that it was said that you could still see the fireworks. We didn't have any luck but the views were incredible.



 The cruise ended on Sunday morning, feeling so blessed to be able to take this trip and unplug from reality. So many great memories made. Can't wait for the next trip! Hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip! Below are some more pictures from the trip.

Getting Extreme with the 21 Day Fix!

Hello again! How was your week? Hope you enjoyed the last blog! After completing 3 rounds of the 21 day fix program I was ready for another challenge! Around this time the 21 day fix extreme program came out and I decided I was up for the challenge!! Back in October before starting this journey if someone had asked me to do the extreme challenge I would probably have some excuse for it and not end up doing it.

Things were different this time though, I had the determination and the support. I was starting another 21 accountability/challenge group so I knew if I started I would have the accountability and support from everyone in the group. I would have to check in daily on my meals and activity so that would help me stay on track.

As a health/wellness coach I run monthly 21 day challenge groups to help others on their journey to health. These groups provide an awesome support system to help others stay accountable and motivated on their journeys. These challenge groups have helped me SO much. They help me stay on track with consistent healthy eating & fitness. It's also super inspiring to help others on their journey.


So I ordered the program and got started. This program was no cheese, wine, chocolate or white bread for 3 weeks. There were no cheat meals allowed and the workouts were even harder. If you know me you know not eating chocolate or drinking wine is a tough one. Chocolate was a daily staple for me. Also not being able to have a cheat meal once a week was going to be hard. Weekends are usually my hardest time with all of the temptation and easy unhealthy food options.

Needless to say I started, the first week went really good I was super determined to get through this. I wanted to be a motivation for the girls in my challenge group so I pushed through. I surprisingly didn't have any issues until a few days before the challenge was over. I was pretty proud of myself. It taught me to really focus on healthy carbs and that I didn't need to eat chocolate all the time. It also gave me a new perspective on weekends.

Not drinking wine was good, I felt more energized on the weekends and didn't end up having a glass until about a month after starting this challenge. Cutting out cheese was really good because I shouldn't be eating it with my cholesterol anyway. Sharing my journey with it on social media helped also keep me accountable. When I went out with friends and family they would be super encouraging and expect me to stay on track.

I'm excited to say I finished the challenge! This was a big confidence booster that I could show myself that I was capable of this. I also created some healthier habits which was awesome. When I first finished it my thoughts were that I wouldn't do it again but now looking back I know I could do it again and if I really want to dial things on it would be a good option.

Going on a 7 day cruise at the end of the month, this program might be a good program for me after the cruise to get back on track. :)

This program is more designed for prepping for a competition or getting ready for an event in a short period of time. Starting out on programs I really like just the regular 21 day fix since it allows for some wine, chocolate and other items. That program to me allows for some balance which seems realistic in an everyday life.

Here are my pictures of the before and after. I ended up losing a total of 3 inches!!

Let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to send me an email if you'd like to join the next challenge group. Thanks for stopping by! <3

hmorois@gmail.com

Adventures with 21 Day Fix!

Happy June! This year is definitely flying by! Things have been going well! Very busy lately but it's a good thing! I'm having fun and getting results every day with my at home fitness programs and that's when I realized I should be sharing this information with others!! :) Down about 16 pounds since starting my journey!! Woo hoo!!

Wanted to do a quick review on the 21 day fix program. Have you heard of it? It's the BEST!!!! This program comes with some simple awesome tools that help dial in nutrition and keep exercises to 30 minutes which get results. Before starting this program I didn't know vegetables like peas and edamame should actually be tracked as a carbohydrate.

The program came with these color coded portion control containers which at first I was really nervous with. They looked so small and I thought I was going to be starving. Much to my surprise I wasn't. The program still allows some chocolate & wine so I was a happy camper. With adding in my daily superfood I haven't felt restricted at all which is amazing!! That's what has stopped my progress in the past.

The program also recommends eating peanut butter every day! I was stoked lol! This program really helps you keep track of what your eating. I'm more focused on getting my veggies in this way too. This has definitely been the healthiest I've felt ever! I love fueling my body now. When I first saw the containers another thought was that I would have to be in a resturaunt measuring my food out. That wasn't the case though. After a few days I got the idea of portions and was able to have a better guage without the containers. Every so often I use them though just to make sure I'm not over doing it.

I've honestly learned so much about nutrition through this program. Before I never knew if I was eating too many or too little carbs and this gives you a daily amount so it takes the guess work out of it. The works are also great! I just pop them in the dvd player and before I know it the workout is done. Autumn the instructor of the program does an awesome job! There are a variety of workouts so for the three weeks the program doesn't get boring.

Here are my results from when I started the program. In the 21 day period I lost a total of 5.5 inches throughout my body!! Woo Hoo! I submitted my results online and got a free shirt! I was excited!! My journey has progressed much more than the below picture. Today I continue to follow the same nutrition plan to get closer to a healthier me. I'm so grateful for finding this program. It has taught my how to fuel my body and eat healthy and enjoy the process. This program was what inspired me to begin as a health/wellness coach and help others on their journey to health. If you need a little help or motivation on your journey I would love to help. :)

Hope you enjoyed this review! Would love to hear from you! Let me know if you have any questions <3
 hmorois@gmail.com