Blog

25 January 2013

Experienced Ashtanga and Zen Yoga teacher and one of Health and Fitness Travel’s Experts, Justine Glenton, gives her opinions and tips on how to stay healthy on holiday.

It's difficult enough to stay healthy and fit while travelling, but being out and about during the holidays sometimes make things even more complicated. Rich foods and drinks, lack of exercise and lots of stress can take a toll on your health. To avoid paying for it later on, it's important to take a few steps to remain healthy during the hectic holiday times. Simple but applicable things to remember are to get enough sleep. The holidays are often hectic and trying to combine that with flights or lengthy road trips usually ends up with you being sleep-deprived. Lack of sleep can make you overeat, cause dizziness, make you sluggish and affect your mood. Aim for six to nine hours a night and take a short nap in the afternoon if you need it. If you're short on sleep, try to rest while on the plane or in the passenger's seat of the car.

Find ways to deal with stress. If spending 24 hours with the family is too much, make some time for yourself and take a yoga class or treat yourself to a massage. If neither is available find a quiet space and allow your body to do any yoga poses that it feels inclined to do - we call this: spontaneous yoga. If you're religious or like to meditate, find places where you can pray or be alone for a few minutes each day, whether it's a temple or a quiet park.

Remain active. If you're staying in a hotel, use the swimming pool or the exercise room. If you're vacationing in warmer climates, take a lengthy walk on the beach or go for a jog early in the morning.

Eat a healthful breakfast. Once you arrive at your destination and start celebrating, chances are you won't be paying much attention to your meals, so make sure you eat well while you're travelling to and from your destination. Oatmeal with skim milk, eggs with a piece of fruit or a yogurt are all light, healthy options that will keep your body in tune and working effectively. Beware of the holiday cheer. Many hotels offer complimentary champagne, snacks or holiday cakes or cookies during the holidays. If you're attending events, you may also be served high-calorie holiday food. Having a bite or a sip is fine, but save the bulk of your calories for the big meals with your loved ones.

Always keep hydrated and drink lots of water, especially if you'll be flying. Spending long hours in a plane full of passengers with the re-cycled air conditioning can result in disaster and ruin your holiday plans. Carry a large bottle of water with you to have throughout the flight, and take some vitamin C or a multivitamin to keep your defences high. I like to inhale tea tree oil every so often during a flight that I put on a handkerchief prior to.

If you’re staying by the sea, eat lots of fresh grilled fish. Oily fish - including sardines, fresh tuna, salmon and mackerel - is particularly good as it’s rich in Omega 3, which keeps your skin hydrated and encourages healthy digestion as well as weight loss. Try to eat a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables – oranges, red peppers, green courgettes, yellow sweet corn - to get a wide range of antioxidants.

Lying in the sun feels great but you only need 10 minutes of unprotected sunshine to get your daily dose of vitamin D. After that you should use sunblock. As we get older, the collagen in our skin breaks down more rapidly, leading to lines, wrinkles and discolouring. To prevent the breaking down of collagen, eat lots of purple fruits, such as fresh blackberries, blueberries and black grapes. One study showed that eating tomatoes reduces your risk of turning red in the sun so have a glass of tomato juice - though it’s much safer to use sunblock!

Happy Holidays!

Health and Fitness Travel provide tailor-made active and wellness holidays worldwide. Visit www.healthandfitnesstravel.com or call 0845 5441936 for more information

12 January 2013

Create a bed time routine and start it early.

• Switch off all devices at least an hour before your bedtime and move them out of the bedroom.
• Have a warm bath. Write down everything you need to do the next day and then let it go.
• Go to a restorative classes after work  or meditate, it helps your brain to download everything that happened in the day to transition from action to rest.
• A few tips to help you relax

12 January 2013

Dr Michael Mosley’s investigation, into how restricting calories a few days a week can help you to live longer and have a positive effect on weight and health, totally works for me.

The idea is that for two days a week you restrict your calorie intake to just 500 calories. On alternate weekdays,  I drink only veg juices or simple homemade soups, I can easily  stay at my ideal weight and two days of juice every week is a doddle.  See the BBC website for more info.

You can buy the book here

2013 New Year Tip 4

12 January 2013

Move around more throughout the day. Don't just restrict movement to your classes. Sedentary lifestyles are making us all fat, break up your day sitting at a desk:

• Make your phone calls standing up
• Every 30 minutes get up stand on your toes reach for the ceiling, get everyone to do it and you won't feel quite so foolish!
• Every hour get up and walk up stairs or to someone in the furthest part of the office.
• Reclaim your lunchtime, your brain needs a rest. Go for walk outside or go to a class.
• Invest in a fitbit, they are great to get you monitoring your movements throughout the day and also count your steps, 10,000 a day should be your minimum number of steps per day.

Moving around throughout the day keeps your brain sharp and your body mobile.

2013 New Year Tip 3

4 January 2013

To make this year sing for you we have some fabulous new classes and workshops coming up, get booking good looking!

Fitzrovia studio:

January 7^th NEW Monday night later ride Spincycle class 45mins with Yannis 7.20pm

January 16^th NEW Wednesday 1 hour Spincycle Circuits class with Kate every Wednesday, book in for a full body workout 6.30pm

February 16^th Saturday 1pm Spincycle Marathon £25

2 hours and 25 minutes, 3 classes back to back, strength, endurance and interval training with Krys and his crew. Our first Spincycle workshop, a great way to ride out February.

Covent Garden Studio:

January 12^th Saturday Absolute Beginners 2 hour Yoga workshop with Clare 3pm - 5pm 

January 13^th NEW Sunday Glow Yoga Bliss & Yoga Nidra 1 hour class with Clive 3.45pm 

January 19^th  NEW Saturday Dynamic Yoga 75 minute class with Jess 1.30pm 

January 19^th Yoga for Runners and Cyclists 75 min class with Clare 3pm

For those who want a 5K run with Mollie beforehand, please meet ready to go at 2pm ( £5 to her)

January 26^th Saturday Glow Yoga Bliss 2 hour workshop for Detox and De-stress with Ruth  3pm £25 Start the year with good intentions

February 5^th Tuesday Beginners Pilates 6 week  course  with trainee Pilates teachers Nahid and Ruth 13.45pm  £40

February 16^th Saturday Absolute Beginners 2 hour Yoga workshop with Clare  3pm  £25

February 23^rd Saturday Power up your Practice 2 hour workshop with Adam  3pm £25

2 January 2013

Let 2013 be the year that you value the quality of your experiences and think about how well the things you do nourish you. A life long health regime should come from a place of love rather than a place of self denial. Mindfulness is the key to change, it’s only when we are in tune with our mind and body that we can make informed decisions about our lives. It takes 30 days to from a habit, stick to a few achievable changes that will, with consistent practice, improve your well being.

Here are our top tips for looking and feeling good way beyond January.

Meditate everyday. Try it for 3 minutes a day and then build up. As soon as I get out of bed I mediate for 5 minutes just to help me to set the tone for the rest of the day. I also mediate during the day for a few minutes if I feel overwhelmed. This daily practice has really allowed me to take the time to think about my responses rather than giving immediate reactions.

You can buy short meditation mp3s here, ( look under accessories) pop it on your phone, get started and commit to 30 days.

Add in more mindful classes to your routine, we offer weekly classes, try the restorative Glow Yoga Bliss or the Yin and Yang Yoga by candlelight and we hold regular workshops to help calm the mind.

2013 New Year Resolutions Tip 2