Keeping a healthy lifestyle while traveling

Hey friends! Hope you all are doing well. I've been busy, busy, busy getting ready to head back to the mainland for a couple of weeks. I've been running errands, planning out our trip, and finishing work projects so that I am able to relax a bit while I'm away! I am not one of those people that can just pick up and go somewhere- I like to have a plan. When I travel, I make it a priority to continue living a healthy lifestyle because nothing is worse than coming back from a trip completely exhausted, and snug in all your clothes! 

Since this is the time of year where people are packing up and taking road trips, visiting family, and checking travel locations off their bucket list, I thought I would share my travel tips on how I stay healthy even while traveling and being outside of my normal routine! 

*These tips may seem kind of extreme to some of you who are more "go with the flow" types of people, and I envy you if you are like that! My body does not handle traveling well, AT ALL. I have had to do all of these things out of necessity because if not, I usually end up getting sick. I have found that if I stick to a routine, take care of myself, and commit to being healthy while I'm vacation, I come home refreshed and revitalized, not exhausted and sick! 

1. Strive to keep a morning routine

 I am my best when I stick to a morning routine! Even if my daily plans are uncertain, if I can keep a simple morning routine, I know that I will feel healthier, be more energized and my body will handle the stress of traveling better.  I try to take some time every morning to read, journal, and fuel my body with a ton of nutrients. The biggest way I do that is to bring my vitamins, supplements, and other easy-to-pack ingredients with me so that I can make matcha lattes and smoothies in the mornings! I They sell individual packets of collagen peptides and coconut butter now and so it makes it so easy to keep some of my favorite things on hand while I travel! I know that some mornings I won't be able to keep up and that is okay! But just striving to keep a morning routine helps me stay on track for the rest of the day. 

2. Show yourself some TLC before the trip

Before a trip, I try to take a couple days before I leave to take care of myself, build up my immune system, and organize my home so that I feel centered and not stressed while I'm away. I will sometimes schedule a facial or a massage, I do a bentonite clay detox on my feet, I make sure I have plenty of sleep, and I take extra Vitamin C supplements so that I will have a strong immune system for the plane flight. I also give myself PLENTY of time to pack so I'm not running around like a crazy person right before I have to goto the airport. Traveling and vacation are supposed to bring JOY and there's nothing that sucks out the joy in things more than stress and so I try to keep excess stress away at all costs! 

3. Don't overbook yourself and allow yourself to naturally adjust with the timezone

This is a huge mistake I used to make! I am the type of person that likes to seize the day and not waste any time and so I used to book all my trips up by the minute as soon as I arrived at my destination. What I failed to take into consideration, though, was that I wasn't letting myself adjust to the time change, which meant I wasn't getting very much sleep. Oftentimes, this would lead me to get sick a few days into my trip because I was exhausted and sleep deprived. You can't seize the day when you are exhausted and sick! Now, I plan ahead and give myself plenty of buffer in case I need to sleep in or go-to bed earlier. 

Ex: I'll be in California for two weeks and so for the first week I am there, I am not scheduling anything before 11am because Hawaii is three hours behind California and so if I schedule a breakfast date at 8am, thats 5am Hawaii time! Instead, I am going to allow myself to sleep in so that I am rested and able to do more in the long run! 

4. Be prepared with healthy snacks at all times

This is a big one. There is nothing like being in a new place and not having any food on you when hunger hits. My favorite snacks to bring on trips are raw nuts or almond butter! I also always bring  vegan meal replacement shakes with me In case I'm on the run and need a quick protein boost! 

5. Move your body and STRETCH every day!

Oftentimes when you travel, you are walking a lot. It is super important to keep moving your body but also to make time to stretch! Long flights and car rides can cause stress and tension on the body and so it is important to stretch it out! Just google a simple stretching or yoga video on YouTube and spend 10 minutes for yourself. Your body will thank you! 

Those are all my best travel tips! Obviously there are plenty of more that I could add but these are my tried & true methods for keeping up a healthy lifestyle even while traveling. I hope they help keep you healthy, happy, and balanced on all of your travels this Summer!! Comment below with where you will be traveling to this summer! I'd love to know! 

Live Well,

Lo

Products Mentioned:

Stress: 5 tips on managing stress and keeping balance

I'm not sure about you, but stress is very much a part of my everyday life.Stress has seemed to follow me since I was a child and it’s something I have dealt with my entire life. I absolutely hate saying this, but I don't know what life looks like without stress. It makes me sad to acknowledge this. It's not that I like being stressed, but it’s all I have ever known. I am used to it. It is a part of my daily routine and it has been a tough character flaw to release of mine. Stress is something I have clung to when I need to get something done. Stress is something I crave when I feel "unproductive". Sometimes, I even get high off the adrenaline rush of stress. It's insane. I hate it. If you are a type B person, you will probably have no idea what the heck I am talking about. If you are a type A person, you probably know EXACTLY what I am saying and this may hit you to your core. 

Let’s talk about what the definition of stress is before we go into more detail. Wikipedia says that, “Stress is a feeling of strain and pressure.” Stress is a normal reaction in our bodies and when we get stressed, our bodies react in a “fight or flight” response which triggers cortisol levels to go up and puts strain on our adrenal glands. Stress, quite literally, puts strain and pressure on the body and nervous system. When we are stressed to finish an assignment, complete a project, run a mile, do the dishes, engage in an argument, or simply keep up with social media, it puts STRAIN AND PRESSURE on us. In small doses, like running a mile for example, stress can be beneficial; but for most of us, we are stressed out way more than we should be. 

Much of my childhood was very stressful. I don’t remember many times as a child that I wasn’t stressed. I did not have a care-free childhood which meant that my body was used to experiencing a high amount of stress on a daily basis. I plan on publishing a whole piece on my health story but in short, all of the stress caught up to me and I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, leaky gut, and adrenal fatigue at 19 years old. 

I am the first to know how damaging stress is for the body, yet I still engage in the act of being stressed every single day. It’s like a drug that I cannot quit. I choose to over-extend myself, take on too much and put unnecessary pressure on myself in order to feel like an accomplished person. Feeling accomplished and feeling stressed go hand-in-hand for me and it’s taken me a long time to realize that it is not normal or healthy. 

I think of stress like I think of grocery shopping. Little stressors add up just like I add items to my shopping cart. A new weekly commitment? Add it. A new goal to achieve? Add it. Someone else’s opinion? Add it. Something I SHOULDbe doing? Add it. A bed full of clothes to fold? (my current reality) Add it. Little stressors add up and up and I don’t even realize it until I am having a panic attack for no apparent reason. Do you ever find yourself at a grocery store with a cart full of items that weren’t on your list? That’s kind of how stress is, you add unnecessary stressors to your life without even realizing it until you have an overflowing cart. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. There are people DYING everyday over stress-related illnesses. We need to get better at managing stress before it completely consumes us. 

I am by no means an expert on managing stress but over the years I have developed a tool kit of things I do to manage my stress. I would encourage you to experiment with your own ideas and find things that work for YOU.

---

1.   Check in with yourself: This is probably the best way that I am able to manage my stress because oftentimes I am dealing with stress and I don’t even realize it. Every morning check-in with yourself. How are you feeling? What do you have to accomplish that day? Are you anxious or overwhelmed in any way? Asking these questions to myself helps me to pay attention to any stressors in my life that I may need to get rid of. It also helps me gauge if I need to change anything in my daily schedule in order to not take on too much. 

2.   Take breaks: No matter what you have going on during your day, it is vitally important that you take 1-2 breaks to do absolutely nothing. Allow yourself to be “unproductive” for 10 minute increments and see how amazing you feel. My favorite way to take breaks during my day is by stopping everything I am doing to do a 10 minute meditation. Truthfully, I am not good at taking breaks and so this is one that I need to get better at! 

3.   Create Rituals: This has been a game changer for me. Creating rituals in my everyday life has allowed me to think less and be still more. I have a morning ritual to prime myself for the day, a nighttime ritual to prepare to rest, and a self-care ritual (sauna + drybrushing) that I aim to do every day to keep me balanced. 

4.   Tea: This may seem pretty minuscule but never underestimate the power of a cup of herbal tea. Sipping on herbal tea reminds me to slow down, to not take things so seriously, and to enjoy the simple things in life. Below I will list my favorite herbal teas. I try to sip on tea 2-3 times a day! 

5.   Un-freaking-plugging: you guys I cannot stress this one enough. Working entirely online keeps my stress levels high pretty consistently. I release so much stress and gain so much clarity when I put my phone on airplane mode for simply 3 hours. THREE HOURS. That’s it! Unplugging doesn’t mean you are disengaging from your phone for a week, it simply means you are giving yourself a little break. I am also not great at doing this but I aim to do it a couple of times a week and whenever I do, I feel SO GOOD. 

---

Here are some other ways I treat stress: 

-Going for an evening walk

-Swimming in the ocean

-Painting or doing a craft

-Journaling

-Reading outside 

-Stretching

-Talking about what I am feeling with my husband or a close friend

---

I truly hope this helps you find more balance and manage the stress in your life. My encouragement to you would be to implement stress-balancing activities in your life and make them a non-negotiable part of your routine. Stress is a nasty beast to master, I’m right with you sister! Together, lets pledge to take off the busy badge in order to live lives of more meaning, more space, more inspiration, and less stress. 

live well,

Lo

PS- these are my favorite herbal teas... I always have a stash of all of these and I switch off depending on my mood!

Priming yourself for a successful day: Morning Routine

I am not a morning person. I never have been and I don't know if I will ever be that person that jumps out of bed ready to seize the day. I would much rather stay snuggled under the covers until the very last moment but that never served me well. From a young age I knew that I had to CHOOSE to be productive and get out of bed each day in order to be a successful human being. Starting in junior year of highschool, I did online school and so it was all on ME to wake up and get school work done. Now that I run my own business, it is more important than ever for me to prime my day for success. My morning makes or breaks my day and so over the years I've had to set some boundaries in my schedule so that I can stick to a routine. I am learning that boundaries are not bad or selfish or limiting. Setting boundaries is a way for me to show myself self-love and respect for doing things that keep me inspired. 

My boundaries for success:

1. SCHEDULE in your "Power Hour". I write this on my calendar every single night when I plan out each day. It takes me about an hour to get everything I need to get done in the morning to make me feel inspired to start my day (This doesn't include the gym or podcast listening which are also crucial components to my routine each day). Because I know this, I purposefully don't plan meetings or business calls in the mornings because I know I will feel stressed about starting on work rather than filling my cup with devotion & inspiration. 

2. WAKE UP an hour earlier. I am still not a morning person but I have SLOWLY trained myself over the last year to start waking up earlier. I don't know if I will ever be that person up before the sun rises but I try my hardest to start my morning as early as possible so that I have time to just BE before my day starts. 

3. PLAN your morning inspiration. This will be different for all of us! For me personally, I spend some time in my Bible and in prayer first thing in the morning and then I will pull out a current personal development book I am reading to read for twenty minutes or so while I drink my matcha. This may look different for you! Maybe you need to journal, maybe you need to stretch and do yoga or meditate. It may take some time and trial and error to figure out which activities are going to best inspire you in the mornings. Just keep devoting an hour each morning to YOURSELF and you will figure out what works best for you! 

4. CREATE an inspiring atmosphere. This is super important for me. I really like to diffuse essential oils in the morning and open all my windows and doors so I get natural light in my home. I will also play inspiring music. Lastly, I always make sure I have a warm beverage in hand whether thats herbal tea, coffee, or a matcha latte. 

my typical morning

-Wake up- 6:30-7

-Power Hour- 7-8ish

-Go to the gym or start my work day- 8:30-9am 

Because I work from home, I don't have to be as strict with my schedule as most people and I am very blessed for that. That being said, I try to stay as disciplined as possible to make sure I am on some sort of schedule because it truly impacts the productiveness of my day!! 

This photos are from today's morning power hour. Simple & quiet & perfect. Plus, I HIGHLY recommend this book Girl Wash Your Face. It will change your life. 

I hope these practical tips help you have a more productive morning and a more productive day! You've got this!

xo,

Lauren

THINGS I LOVE MENTIONED: