Travel can be one of the toughest obstacles when trying to live healthy. Whether it’s holiday travel or for work, we know from personal experience that it can quickly unravel your health momentum. But have no fear, because today we are bringing you our tips to stay healthy while you travel.

Let’s start off with giving you our overall philosophy on healthy travel. Because of all the added challenges, we recommend that your goal is all about maintaining your health and feeling good. Don’t stress over keeping your exact routine, eating perfectly, or shunning every temptation. You should enjoy travel (especially during the holidays!) and more important than anything else, your goal should be to return from travelling refocused and re-energized.

But the most critical action you can take to get through your holiday travel as healthy as possible is… plan for it. Before you go, make sure you spend some time to set yourself up for success using our tips below.

Part 1: Eating

Bring Lots of Snacks

To give yourself the best chance possible at staying healthy on the road (or in the air), we recommend coming prepared with plenty of snacks. We know that when we are hungry, tired and don’t have good food available, that’s when we’re most likely to slip and end up in a food coma. Some great options are nuts, jerky, fruit, or your favorite nutrition bar. These will curb your hunger while you’re travelling and can even work as a meal in a pinch.

Bring a Cooler (Note: We only recommend this option if you are driving)

Bringing a cooler is a great way to ensure a healthier trip and also save some dollars. This can go even further if you are staying at a rental or house where you have access to a kitchen. Most hotels will have at least a fridge so you can store food and snacks.

You certainly don’t need to pack for every meal, but if you have some healthy food available you are going to be a lot less likely to eat out 3 times a day. For instance, bring some healthy breakfast (or brunch) food which means you will always start the day with something nutritious. This will help you keep you on track for the rest of the day. Even if you splurge a little later in the day, it won’t have as big an effect.

Choose Wisely When Eating Out

Some people don’t want to cook while travelling and we totally get that. We want to put you in a position where you can choose when you want to indulge a bit, and not have it forced on you by circumstances. When you do eat out keep in mind most restaurants will have some healthy options. Base your meal around protein, veggies, and healthy fats. Be wary of mystery sauces and never hesitate to ask your server what they suggest for healthy yet tasty options.

Don’t Be Afraid to Fast a Little

A lot of people use travel as an opportunity to intermittent fast. We won’t go into all the benefits of intermittent fasting here, but just know it can be great for your health! The best meal option may be no meal and that’s ok. You don’t have to go overboard, we are talking about skipping one or two meals max and then going about your normal eating for the next meal. If you’ve done intermittent fasting before, this can be an ideal time for it. If you are new to it, you may want to read up a little and try it before your trip to see if it’s right for you.

Part 2: In Transit

While you are travelling you are most likely going to be doing a lot of sitting. We are big advocates of movement throughout the day and sitting for long periods of time isn’t great for you (haven’t you heard the saying sitting is the new smoking?). Here are some tips to minimize the impact of your long distance sitting session.

In the Air

While flying, we recommend getting up every hour or so to walk down the aisle. We know it can be a hassle waking up the napping person next to you, but it’s worth it. Go to the bathroom and do a few minimal stretches. A great mini stretch routine is to interlace your fingers and reach your hands above your head for 10-20 seconds. Keep your hands up, put your palms together, and extend your hands to the right and left getting a good stretch along your sides. Finally, keep your arms extended overhead and reach your hands slightly behind your head for a mini back stretch. If you are feeling ambitious, you can finish off your routine with a few air squats.

Pro Tip: Flying is a great opportunity to sneak in a meditation session. Travel can be stressful, so we recommend relaxing and doing a short session to keep calm. At your seat, close your eyes and focus on your breath for 5-10 minutes. Your flying companions will just think you are napping. If you happen to have some noise cancelling headphones and your favorite meditation app, even better.

On the Road

If you are driving, we recommend stopping to walk around every couple hours. We know you might be on a tight travel schedule, so use your gas stops as an opportunity to walk around a bit. You can also do the mini stretch routine at the gas station. If you are taking a longer trip (6+ hours) we recommend taking an extra 10 minutes to take a longer walk or even get in a short 10-minute bodyweight workout. If you are trying to keep it quick, knock out 10 burpees!

Part 3: Working out

Commit to 10 minutes a day

Our golden rule for travel is to commit to 10 minutes a day of activity. This can be in the form of a walk, a bike ride, or even a quick bodyweight circuit. Really anything that gets you sweating a little will do. If you are a gym person, find a place to stay that has a gym or one nearby so you don’t have any excuses.

One of the best 10-minute workouts we know can be done in your room or anywhere you like. Just pick three basic movements like pushups, leg lifts, and air squats. Do 10 reps of each as many times as possible in 10 minutes. If you have access to other equipment, feel free to use those (pull-up bar, chair, etc.) for some different movements. You will be surprised what you can do in 10 minutes!

Explore

One of our favorite things to do on the road is to go for a walk or run in our new location. Whether you are in a new city, at the beach, or in the country, this can be a great opportunity to learn your surroundings and see some sights. You might even meet some locals. We also recommend making this social and doing it with your family or those you are travelling with.

Try Something New

We kicked off this article talking about coming back from travel re-energized and one of the best ways to do this is to try new things. If you have the time, take a class that you don’t normally do. Find something ahead of time that interests you and give it a whirl. You likely won’t see anyone there again, so don’t be afraid to do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone (this may be a great chance to try that hip hop class!). Think spin class, a new type of yoga, or a boxing class. This will shake things up and allow you to refocus on your usual routine when you return.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our tips to help you stay healthy while travelling. Remember not to stress about staying perfectly healthy while travelling and enjoy the journey!

Yours in wellness,

The FC Squad

The holiday season means a lot of things for a lot of people. There’s plenty of family get togethers, catching up with old friends, and exchanging gifts, but there’s also temptations. We’re talking potlucks. Luncheons. Happy hours. Family dinners. Baked goods. You name it.

For those of us who are fitness-minded and trying to stay in shape, the holidays can throw a lot of curveballs our way, making it tough to stick to our regular routines and regimens. Of course, it’s important not to stress out and feel guilty if you indulge a little here and there. After all, it’s the holidays – don’t be afraid to enjoy yourself!

That said, we’ve put together 5 tips to help you navigate the holidays at the office and stay a little fitter and healthier throughout. Don’t worry: no one is talking about fasting here, or denying yourself every slice of that lemon loaf the coworkers bring in. However, keeping even just a few tabs on yourself can ensure you make it through the holidays feeling a little “health neutral” – and that in itself can be a big win!

1) Find the Salad, eat the salad

It’s pretty common around the holidays for coworkers to want to indulge a little at lunchtime or after work. Where you might find more healthy options during the rest of the year, not so much when the holidays roll in. Potlucks tend to be loaded with sweets and everyone always wants to go out for comfort food all of a sudden.

Wherever you find yourself, our secret is to always find the salad. If there’s a salad bar, top off your plate with those greens and dig in. Once you have a nice base layer going, it won’t be so bad if someone wants you to try a bit of their casserole or queso – just pop a scoop on top and it’ll still be a “salad”.

If you find yourself some place without a salad bar or a good option on the menu, see if you can stick to veggies and proteins. If it comes with a mystery sauce or gravy, avoid it or serve yourself so it doesn’t arrive drenched.

Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that salads have the potential to be just as calorie-heavy (if not more) than some meals, but at the end of the day a plate full of lettuce will be better than one filled with bread rolls, fried food, and treats galore.

2) Say “yes”, but only once

It seems like everyone busts out their best baking recipes around this time of year. Whether it’s apple crumble or cookies, there’s gonna be sweets at your office – guaranteed.

Telling yourself and others that you won’t eat anything (especially if you normally do) is gonna be tough and maybe even a little miserable when you see everyone else enjoying those treats. So, to make the best of it, don’t be afraid to say “yes” to the offer, but stick to just one piece (and hopefully a small one at that).

If you end up with a bigger piece than expected, don’t be afraid to just have a bite and then bring it back to your desk. Save it for later when you’re really hungry or have it with your apple or other healthy snacks you’d normally have.

3) Pick one meal and give yourself a free pass

Some people promise themselves they’ll stick to healthy food all holiday season. Most of them don’t make it through. While noble, it’s just about impossible to make it through December without indulging yourself just a little bit.

In the same way we encourage you to enjoy holiday snacks in moderation, give yourself a free pass to really dive into one holiday meal. It could be that potluck or family dinner or work party or whatever. Eat whatever you like and enjoy it while you’re there – but just that once! The rest of the time, try to stick to the salad and keep moderation as your rule of thumb.

If you can manage this, you’ll come out of the holidays better off than if you dove into every opportunity to feast. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a little feasting without feeling the effects of a week-long binge.

4) Stay on top of those Office WODS

We’ve talked about Office WODs a couple times in the past, so hopefully you’ve found a way to make them part of your regular routine (or if not the WODs, then the walking meetings or standing desks).

Our best advice here is that if the WODs are part of your routine, keep that routine going. Don’t cut them out, don’t slow them down, just keep them steady and consistent.

If you can manage to keep giving yourself micro bursts of fitness through the holidays, you’ll be able to get back into your regular routine and form quicker in the new year. There’s nothing worse than starting off the new year feeling sluggish and lethargic!

5) Stay hyper hydrated

Staying hydrated during the holidays is just as important if not more so than around the rest of the year. Water still has the benefit of clearing your head and keeping you focused, but it can also help wash away or stave off the sugar cravings you get after that first bite of something sweet – helping you stick to just one treat at a time.

Drinking lots of water can also help with the inevitable social drinking that happens around this time of year. In fact, it doesn’t have to be just water: a great way to mitigate some of the heaviness of alcohol is to alternate every beverage between an alcoholic one and a non-alcoholic one. Switch from that gin and tonic to a club soda or an ice tea.

Give yourself bonus points if you try to go undercover all night by sneaking a lime wedge onto the side of your non-alcoholic beverage (Protip: ask for a small glass). You might be surprised at how long you can go before your cover gets blown!

Yours in wellness,

The FC Squad

Combining Wellness with Your End of Week Treat

We all know what a Happy Hour is, but what on Earth is a Whappy Hour?

Well, the answer is actually fairly straightforward. It’s basically any “Happy Hour” treat combined with an additional Wellness activity. Putting the two together and we get a Wellness Happy Hour – or Whappy Hour.

Yes, we know the name sounds pretty corny, but we see that as a net positive. Try saying it out loud a few times and not laughing or feeling a little silly in the process. Feel that smile forming on your lips? That’s just a reminder that wealth and wellness doesn’t need to be so serious all the time. There should always be room for a little more fun in our lives.

Anyways, the goal of the Whappy Hour is to get some of your employees and colleagues who don’t normally do wellness activities to get tagged onto something that involves them. Our theory is that by promoting a treat that they really enjoy, like an outing or Happy Hour, and having one wellness activity simply attached to the main event, there’s a higher chance of them participating than were it a wellness event alone.

We’ve experimented this a little with our team. Even though we’re pretty fitness focused, sometimes the only thing on our mind at the end of a busy week is unwinding. We personally love our Happy Hour get togethers, especially when we celebrate milestones, but sometimes we’re so busy we forget about the wellness part.

Combining the two, having a wellness activity lead into the end of week treat, really makes a difference. It puts it in our minds that we have one more wellness activity coming up, along with the sweet sweet reward for our hard labor after.

We’ve had a blast with our Whappy Hours, so we recommend you give one a try too!

How do you set up your first Whappy Hour?

A Whappy Hour always has two components: 1 wellness activity and 1 treat activity.

Ideally, the wellness activity will also be something your team finds fun and enjoys, so that the treat makes your Whappy Hour a two-for-one where fun and team-building are concerned.

For your wellness activity, here are 7 options to get you started:

• Go for a hike. A good hike doesn’t have to involve a mountain or a hill in the middle of the woods. There’s a lot you can do even in urban centers. A large park might have a good wooden area, or even a hilly part of town could give your team a good workout and a quick break from the office.
• Play a round of Frisbee golf. Frisbee golf also involves a course with 9 to 18 holes, but instead of hitting a tiny ball you’re tossing a frisbee at a target! It’s more accessible than regular golf and a lot of fun with a big group.
• Take a cycle class. Cycling makes for great cardio, whether it’s outdoors in the streets or indoors on the stationary. A basic one hour class can give you and your whole team a real workout.
• Attend a yoga class. Yoga is one of those wellness.
• Enjoy a brief mediation session. Wellness isn’t all about burning calories and making your team sweat. Looking after yourselves and managing stress is a major part of it too. Meditation can take some getting used to, but its ability to calm our minds and ease our anxieties compared to other activities is basically unmatched.
• Walking. We love walking. As an activity, it doesn’t require a lot other than a comfy pair of shoes and a couple of safe streets or sidewalks near your office. Plus, if it’s a busy week, you can combine this activity with a walking meeting.
• Laser tag. If you missed out going to these kinds of places when you were young, rest assured that you can still have a blast here even when you’re in your 30s and beyond. Sure, you might feel out of place for the first few minutes, but once you get into the zone, you’ll probably find yourself laughing and sweating with your team at the same time.

Now, for that other part at the end. Here are 6 examples of awesome Treat Activities:

• Ice cream socials. Head down to the nearest ice cream shop with the team, grab a cone and lightly talk about your upcoming projects. If it’s nice outside and you’re in a walkable neighbourhood, why not combine this treat with your wellness activity and take a walk?
• Work from home. This is great if you have a wellness activity over lunch hour, because you can send the office home in the afternoon where they can shower up, cool down and get to work from the comfort of their own space. If you have projects to review, do it remotely over Skype or another conference call application.
• Power up with a smoothie or Acai bowl. Grab a healthy and delicious snack together as a team. These are great follow-up treats to any wellness activity for any team that’s consistently health-conscious.
• Take over a nearby tea or coffee bar. There’s nothing wrong with a little caffeine early in the afternoon. If there’s still work that needs to get done that afternoon, bring your laptops or notepads and turn it into a casual meeting.
• Have a kombucha tasting. Kombucha bars are becoming a common sight in North America, most major cities from Austin to Montreal have a couple of these spots (especially near the universities). Kombucha might not be for everyone, but with so many varieties it’s worth giving this healthy drink a try!
• Enjoy a classic Happy Hour. Happy Hours are popular for a lot of reasons. They help us unwind, bond with our coworkers, and be more social than we might normally be at the office. If you can, opt for a spot that offers food and some non-alcoholic varieties of drinks so that everyone on the team might find something to their tastes!

Your challenge for the office

Turn 1 Happy Hour or other outing you do as a team this quarter into a Whappy Hour. Let us know how it goes and if you can send us pictures!

If you’re not sure where to begin or need help brainstorming and putting together your plan for your next event outing, drop us a line – we’d love to get to know your company and help you make the move towards adding more wellness to your company culture!

Yours in wellness,

The FC Squad

What you wear can have a big impact on how your day at the office goes. Everything from your footwear to your shirt can affect your comfort levels, focus and even stress!

After all, clothing that lets you move will encourage you to stay on your feet and get more light exercise breaks in – which are a guaranteed way to destress and increase your focus and productivity.

Since not every office lets you wear gym clothes to work, you might need to be a little strategic when it comes to wearing the clothes that let you be active and healthier.

Today, we’ll be looking at clothing (shirts, pants, etc.), footwear and eyewear that can have a big impact on your productivity, stress and ability to stay active at the office.

1- Tips for Office Clothing

When it comes to your office outfit, aim for clothes that are breathable and have some flexibility.

Fabrics such as linen and silk are incredibly light-weight and breathable, helping reduce how much you sweat during the day. They’re also very comfortable and it’s not hard to find formal or semi-formal office wear made from either of them.

If you’re the kind that enjoys our Office WODs or whose office has gotten into walking meetings, you’ll want to make sure your clothes allow for some movement – especially when it comes to pants.

Thankfully it’s easy to find office clothes that have at least 1% spandex in them at most stores. Having just a little bit of spandex mixed with your other fabrics gives clothing a light stretch and added flexibility.

One of our favorite ways of trying out office clothing is to put them through the “air squat test.” Basically, if you can pull off an air squat while wearing them, then you’ve covered the full range of motions for most office workout or movement requirements!

If you’re not sure where to start looking, a lot of fitness brands are releasing their own lines of office clothing. There are a lot of options for both women’s and men’s clothing when it comes to athletic office wear. LuluLemon and Mizzen and Main have dress shirts and other business casual lines that are the right fit for any office.

2 – Tips for Office Footwear

When it comes to footwear, flexibility and comfort should be top priorities – especially if you want to get in some movement and light exercise at the office.

We recommend minimal footwear whenever possible. Nothing too fancy or out there is required. Aim for shoes with a wide toe box and a minimal heel or lift. After all, you don’t want to be stuck in anything that pinches your toes or that gives you sore feet if you stand up for too long. Brands like Vivobrefoot and Carets offer really decent options, but bear in mind that they can be pricey.

For some people, especially those with specific issues, orthopedic shoes or ones designed to give you more cushion might be your number one choice. These shoes often give you the flexibility and comfort you need to alleviate pain but also be able to move and get in some light exercise.

Also, remember that what you wear on your feet can have a big impact on your day, even if you spend most of the day sitting down. If your shoes are too tight, they can squeeze and rub your toes together all day no matter what activities you end up doing.

In an ideal world, we’d all be able to find that perfect pair of business shoes that meets our office dress code and offers the comfort and mobility we need to stay active. However, when that’s not possible, we recommend picking up a second pair of shoes to bring with you to work. Keep them in a bag by your desk and slip into them when more formal footwear isn’t required!

3 – Tips for Office Eyewear

If you have the kind of job that requires you to sit and work in front of a computer screen all day, you’re probably familiar with some of the consequences. Sore and strained eyes, daytime fatigue and haziness, and even a hard time falling asleep later at night.

Recent studies have suggested that excessive blue light, one of the types of lighting produced by our screens and monitors, is the likely culprit. Therefore, minimizing how much our eyes absorb is key to reducing our strain and soreness and keep us focused at the office.

The good thing is that there are affordable (and fashionable, as some might say) solutions to cutting down on blue light: eye glasses! Even if you don’t wear prescription glasses, you can pick up special blue light blocking glasses that don’t affect your normal vision.

A couple of things to bear in mind when looking to cut back on the blue light:

• You don’t have to cut out 100% of the blue light you frequent each day. Some blue light is healthy and any reduction will likely leave you feeling the difference.
• There are a number of companies out there producing high-quality blue light blocking glasses, such as Felix Gray, but you can also find more affordable ones on Amazon too! A lot of these brands offer clear lens options (no yellow tint) that will help you avoid some funny looks at the office.
• If you’re really susceptible to blue light, you might want to consider something like Swannies which can block considerably more light. Glasses like these will usually have a yellow tint so be prepared for some questions if you choose this option.

If you’ve been experiencing any of the symptoms of blue light, we strongly recommend you give the glasses a try! We’ve felt the difference ourselves.

Wrapping Things Up

These are just a couple of the ways you can tackle comfort, stress and ensure you get the chance to be more athletic, healthier, and even happier at the office. Ultimately, every office is a little different, but there are tons of options these days for navigating dress codes while still focusing on comfort and flexibility.

Yours in wellness,

The FC Squad