Staying Healthy This Summer!

Hi readers! This is a kind of a different post than what you’re used to from me but I’m excited to share something a little outside of the box with you! I’m also featuring a guest blogger in this post 🙂

A few weeks ago I got an email from the gorgeous Kendra Thornton. She reached out about the possibility of doing a collaboration post on various way to stay active and healthy during the super busy summer months! I was super excited and obviously said yes. Being healthy, fit, active, and making smart choices are things I strive hard to do and love helping others do the same!

Kendra is quite the impressive lady. She left a job as Director of Corporate Communications at Orbitz.com to persue her dreams and do exactly what she loves. Currently she is travel guru (travel industry publicist) and runs her own PR business. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC and CW affiliates across the country sharing her wealth of knowledge on various things!

You should definitely check her out on Twitter.

Kendra has shared her top secrets for staying fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle while on vacation(which we all know can be pretty hard to do sometimes!)

My Top Secrets For Staying Fit on Vacation

Following a healthy lifestyle is always challenging, but when you’re traveling you have to be extra conscientious. Now that I’m going to be having family members visiting me in Chicago next month, I’m trying to think of some useful tips I can share with them. After all, I do try my best to keep my immediate family as fit as possible throughout the year, whether we’re at home or on the road. Hopefully some of what I’ve learned can be helpful to you.

One of my secrets for keeping my whole family energized when we’re traveling is to keep a good supply of healthy snacks on hand. This is something that takes some preparation, but it’s not difficult at all. Items such as energy bars, trail mix, containers of yogurt and fresh fruit are so much better than junk food you might find at a concession stand or in a vending machine. I really notice the difference with my kids, who are less cranky and hyperactive when they munch on these natural goodies rather than sugary snacks. Whenever we pass a farmer’s market, which you can now find in many cities, I always pick up some items for either immediate or future consumption.

When we’re on vacation, I’ve noticed that there’s usually a choice between a physical activity and a sedentary one. I always make sure we get in plenty of exercise rather than spend the whole time doing passive things like watching performances or sitting in tour buses. Sometimes we even rent bikes, which can often be arranged with your concierge at the hotel. Making little choices such as taking stairs rather than elevators means getting in some extra activity. Luckily for my family, Chicago offers a number of hotel options that have great gyms. Not only do they have great facilities, but they are also close to all the sites.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use your vacation as an excuse to try out new and exciting sports. For example, kayaking, snorkeling, rock climbing or zip line courses are not only more interesting than typical tourist activities, they keep you moving. You don’t have to be an adrenaline junkie to have fun participating in adventure sports. When planning our vacations, I always check out what kind of sports and activities are available and arrange for us to do something like this. Even big cities now offer opportunities to experience such adventures, such as indoor rock climbing walls.

One way I stay fit when traveling is to always choose hotels that have good fitness centers. I find that starting the day with a vigorous workout gets me is the best possible way to get myself energized for a day of sightseeing. Many hotels have gyms, but it’s good to check before you book. If there’s also a swimming pool, you could finish your workout with a few laps around the pool. This doesn’t have to be time consuming. Even a half hour workout makes a big difference in how you feel the rest of the day.

I do my best to keep my family as healthy as possible, whether we’re at home or on vacation. This takes a certain amount of concentration and planning ahead. For example, I buy nutritious groceries and prepare healthy snacks for my kids. I also encourage them to be active in sports and to play outdoors rather than spending all of their free time online. I try to keep these principles in mind and will be encouraging my extended family to do the same when they arrive in town next month.

Thank you SO much Kendra! Those are some great things to keep in mind and remind us that with a little planning and prepping we can help facilitate healthy choices with ourselves and our loved ones.

When thinking about what I do to stay active while vacationing and during the go-go-go months of summer it’s very much the same as Kendra. We try to plan vacations and trips that involve activities. Camping, hiking, biking, swimming etc… we make sure to bring re-usable water bottles to make sure to stay hydrated and we bring plenty of good drinking water with us if we are unsure of the quality of water at our location. Water can’t ever go to waste and as I’ve sadly learned before, better safe than sorry! We prep and bring plenty of healthy food too. Just because you’re camping or on the go doesn’t mean you have to eat fast food or over processed food! I prep veggies(Peppers, celery, carrots, cucumbers) and fruit(oranges, grapes,apples) to bring along and KIND bars are a favorite around here too 🙂

Lastly, thinking of summer and traveling, here are some places I would give my left leg to be at right about now: 🙂