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The Surprising Truth About Travel Dehydration + Your 5-Step Plan to Fix It!

The Surprising Truth About Travel Dehydration + Your 5-Step Plan to Fix It!

Chelsea Gloeckner

Have you ever wondered why you feel so hungry after a flight?

Or that you have a headache and feel weirdly foggy as you walk off the plane?

By the end of a flight, the cabin can be significantly drier than the Sahara Desert!

Yes, that’s exactly why your skin feels so dry, your eyes and throat are scratchy, and you feel like you’ve just woken up from a 20-hour nap- hello, grogginess!

In a nutshell, dehydration wreaks havoc on our bodies.

We feel:

·        Hungry

·        Tired

·        Foggy

·        Groggy

And have:

·        Dry skin

·        Irritated eyes, nose, and throat

·        Nausea

·        Headaches

The main reason for feeling like this?

The air we breathe on the plane as we fly through the sky is 50% outside air.

Which has almost no moisture…

So, as we fly, the relative humidity drops from about 50% to 10%.

Dehydration then compounds:

·        That low humidity in the plane draws water out of our bodies

·        Drinking coffee, tea, and alcohol on flights leads to even more dehydration

·        Not to mention, we’re given a measly cup of water every 3 hours on a typical flight

·        Salty foods (“pretzels or peanuts?”) can further dehydrate us

And if you’re traveling to a place with high altitude, you’ll have to fight altitude sickness and further dehydration with more water.

Will all of that said, there’s still good news :)

You can actively fight off dehydration using these 5 simple steps:

1.      Fill up on water before getting on plane

2.      Drink one cup of water per hour on the plane

3.      Drink an extra cup of water for every serving of alcohol

4.      Bring hydrating snacks (apples + mini cucumbers travel well)

5.      Bring a greens powder to add to your water (you’ll benefit from extra nutrients, too)

Craving more travel tips?

Check out this article>> The One Thing I Ask Myself to Eat Healthier | Travel Edition

The One Food to Help You Be Happier

The One Food to Help You Be Happier

Chelsea Gloeckner

You know the expression, “Happy Wife, Happy Life?”

Well, I’m proposing an updated version of that:

Happy Gut, Happy Life!

You’re right, it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it…

But it does happen to be more accurate.

That’s because the happiness hormone, serotonin, is mostly made in our gut.

In fact, it’s a whopping 90% of serotonin that is made in our gut!

Serotonin is the “feel good” happy hormone that affects our:

  • Mood

  • Sleep

  • Appetite

  • Digestion

And if we’re low on serotonin, we:

  • Feel low

  • Have trouble sleeping

  • Feel anxious

  • Have cravings for sweet and starchy food

And chronically, low serotonin can increase the risk of:

  • IBS

  • Heart disease

  • Osteoporosis

So how do we make sure our bodies are producing enough serotonin?

Well, it all starts in the gut.

The microbes in our colon determine whether our cells make enough serotonin.

If we have a healthy and diverse group of microbes, then our cells can make serotonin.

And how do we make sure we have a healthy and diverse group of microbes?

We feed the good bugs in our gut!

And what do the good microbes eat?

FIBER!

Now, fiber comes in many shapes and sizes (soluble, insoluble, resistant) but there’s one type I want you to focus on:

PREBIOTICS!

Prebiotics are the specific fiber-rich, fermentable foods that feed the good microbes in our gut. 

Here’s your must-have list of prebiotics to add to your meals:

  • Bananas

  • Onions

  • Garlic

  • Artichokes

  • Soybeans

  • Oatmeal

  • Flax

  • Barley

  • Greens

  • Berries

When the microbes eat these foods, they grow and multiply and thrive.

And why is this all important?

Remember, Happy Gut, Happy Life!

When we feed the good microbes, they repay us by helping cells make serotonin.

And that serotonin, in turn, helps us live happier lives.

Need a few prebiotic-rich recipes to put in your meal rotation?

Try one of these to get you started:

>>Zero-Added Sugar Zucchini Muffins

>>Vegan Raspberry Muffins

>>Swiss Bircher Muesli

>>Rosemary White Bean Cauliflower Soup

>>Sweet Potato, Red Onion, and Spiced Chickpea Salad

 Your Action Step: Choose one prebiotic from that list that you will add to one of your meals this week!

Should You Eat Breakfast? Or Should You Be Skipping It?

Should You Eat Breakfast? Or Should You Be Skipping It?

Chelsea Gloeckner

You’ve probably heard that breakfast is an absolute must-have for young children and adolescents. 

But do adults need breakfast? 

And if they do, why?

Let’s take a look at what the research says:

Why you’re likely skipping breakfast:

Only about 30% of people eat breakfast!

Eating breakfast is a challenge for many people.

Do you resonate with any of the following reasons for skipping?

·        You don’t have enough time to eat breakfast.

·        You’re too busy to make breakfast. 

·        You’re trying to lose weight, so you don’t want the extra calories of breakfast. 

·        You think eating breakfast will make you hungrier throughout the day. 

·        You’re not hungry. 

·        You’d rather sleep those extra minutes

·        And then breakfast is controversial…

·        Should you be putting grass-fed butter in your coffee?? Well, that’s a whole ‘nother blog post…

If you’ve ever skipped breakfast or are in the habit of not eating breakfast, you’ll definitely want to keep reading. 

Once you see the benefits, you may just be motivated to become a breakfast eater 😊

Why you should NOT skip breakfast:

You ready for this? Here’s we go!

Want To Feel Healthier? This One Habit Could Change Everything

Want To Feel Healthier? This One Habit Could Change Everything

Chelsea Gloeckner

Want To Feel Healthier? This One Habit Could Change Everything

Happy Friday!

In less than 3 weeks, it will be January 2019!  Each year, most of us wake up on January 1 with some pretty hefty resolutions:

I’m going to eat healthy every single meal! And I’m going to workout for an hour every single day!

Then sometime mid January, we totally fall off the bandwagon. 

And when we stop eating healthy every single meal, and we miss a few workouts, we give up.  And feel guilty.  And sometimes feel like a failure.

But what if there was one small habit that could make other good habits fall into place?

Small wins lay the foundation for other, bigger wins. 

One healthy habit can lead to a better mood, more productivity, less stress, a healthier weight, better sleep, fewer junk food cravings, and more focus and clarity.

These habits that lead to other good habits and positive side effects are called “keystone habits.” 

A keystone habit is the first domino that makes all the other dominoes fall into place.  Here are a few examples:

  • Exercising for 20-30 minutes regularly

  • Practicing daily gratitude

  • Journaling daily

  • Reading for 30 minutes

  • Making the bed each day

  • Making a healthy breakfast

Let’s lay the groundwork for developing a single healthy habit NOW so that when 2019 arrives, we hit the ground running, feeling our best, with other healthy habits falling into place!

To learn my 3 tips for a healthy holiday season, and what my keystone habit is for the next 3 weeks, watch this video>>

And to track your keystone habit, download the free app, HabitBull.  It will be the key to making your keystone habit stick!

Action Step: What’s your keystone habit for the next 3 weeks?  Comment below and let's hold each other accountable with our keystone habits! 

I'll be posting daily on Instagram stories if I did my keystone habit, so come join me over there>>

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
— Aristotle