Helpful and Healthful Tips for Traveling

It’s Friday! It’s Friday!  

Hello friends How are we all doing today? Everyone happy the weekend is here? I sure am Currently, I am up in the air on my way to Winnipeg. We will be stopping in Winnipeg for only a short time, just to let some passengers off and some on, and then fly to Calgary. Yes, we fly right over top of Regina which is my final destination (well, Yorkton is technically my finally destination, but you catch my drift). The lay over in Calgary will also be a quick one, but I will be getting off of the plane to change flights. During this time, I will probably find myself grabbing a Starbucks I am always up for a Starbucks.

I had a three hour lecture of Food Science this morning. Typically, I love this class and am really engaged, but the excitement of going home took over and I didn’t pay attention at all. Alright, I thought this video of how they make tofu was pretty neat

But other than that, I couldn’t get into the lecture today. I was definitely way too excited to be in class. I was sitting with a friend who was also leaving for home today, so that definitely didn’t help! We were chatting the entire time about how excited we were to finally be going home!

As per usual, all I could think about was timing. Was I going to make it to the airport on time? Was class going to run late? Should I leave class early? Why was I so silly to schedule a group meeting for a class project today after this three hour lecture!?
Well, class did run late. We watched a movie about genetically modified farming and it was never-ending. Literally, it never ended. We will be resuming it next class! Luckily, the group meeting I schedule ever so foolishly went smoothly and didn’t take long at all!

Everything was working out All I needed was lunchtime traffic to be good to me now.

I heated up my lunch before leaving school so I could eat while I was driving.

Note to self: A saucy bowl of vermicelli noodles probably isn’t the easiest thing to eat while driving.
Seriously, what was I thinking? A sandwich probably would have been a bit easier to munch on as I drove. Oh well, the taste buds want what they want And this morning when I was packing my meals they were all over the idea of a spicy vermicelli bowl  
Hey, at least I didn’t try to eat my lunch with chopsticks while I was driving. That may have been more of an issue.

I am always so concerned I will miss the airport when I drive myself, but seriously, miss the airport? It’s like a dead end. You can’t miss it Meg. Stop stressing.

Seeing as how I am in the air now, we know I made it to the airport on time and caught my flight I’m on my way home guys!

It was silly of me to stress so much this morning. So, in order to save all of you the stress that comes along with travelling, I compiled a list of things that will help ensure that your day of flying goes as smoothly as possible  

With no further a do, here are some helpful and healthful tips that I often use when I travel!

Clothing

My number one priority when flying? Don’t set off the security alarm! To prevent this from happening I wear simple shoes. My go-to shoes for flying are TOMS, but any type of shoe without buckles, zippers, metal buttons, etc. will do. Nothing is more annoying that having to waste time taking your shoes off so they don’t set off the security alarm, so I fly with my beloved TOMS.

I also plan to wear pants without pockets. I usually opt for a pair of my Lululemon’s or any type of yoga pant for the day I fly, but any pant without pockets will do. The reason for the “no pocket” rule is so I don’t unintentionally shove something in my pocket that won’t be able to fly with me.
Today I wore my all-time favourite Lululemon capris (the very first pair I ever purchased!)

I developed a new rule since the last time I flew; no hats. I thought I’d be stylish the last time I flew home, but the hat was just a pain in the bum. I like to be in and out of security as quickly as possible, but each time I went through security I was asked to remove my hat so they could look inside of it. They would rub their fingers in my innocent chapeau in search for something that was not there. Waste of my time. Hats no more.

Your Carry-On Luggage

To make it simple, I limit myself to one carry-on bag, but I realize this is not an option for some. Personally, I take only take my school bag so I can throw it on my back and walk around hands free (easier to carry my Starbucks! )

For me, packing light is essential. I know sometimes this is also not an option, but I try to pack the least amount in my carry-on bag as possible. Of course I pack enough material to keep myself occupied for the trip, but I rather not be lugging around an unnecessarily heavy bag throughout the airport during a lay over. Lay overs can be long and you don’t want to be stuck with something as heavy as a ton of bricks as your sidekick. Today, my carry-on is slightly heavier than I would have liked it to be, but it is a long flight, so I took more textbooks than usual. My 18 inch PC laptop isn’t all that light either. No, I am not a Mac user (yet?)

I won’t give you all the well-known spiel about no gels or liquids over so many millilitres, but I travel without. I am at an advantage because I am flying home, so my Mom has all of the lotions, hair products, perfumes, etc. that I will need. If you don’t have this advantage, try to pack your gels and liquids into that handy dandy plastic baggy before heading to the airport. This saves a lot of time. We like time savers!

Eating

It’s much easier when traveling within your country because traveling with food isn’t such an issue. Many people don’t realize, but you don’t need to eat the fast food offered at the airport if you don’t want to! It’s all about planning people! Some of you would be very surprised at what I have taken with me on the plane to eat in the past! And don’t worry, it’s easy peasy to get through security, too No alarms going off, no questions from security guards, nada. Easy peasy. Quick and easy.

Don’t assume you will be fed on your flight. Number one no no. One time I did this and I starved. Starving Meg = irritable, grumpy, very unpleasant Meg. No one likes this girl. It is important to keep your body fuelled by feeding every 2- 4 hours (some people say 2 – 3, but just try not to go past 4). When keeping our bodies fuelled throughout the day (using the 2 – 4 hour rule of thumb), our blood glucose (sugar) levels will refrain from dipping too low, but when we let ourselves go too long without food our bodies experience a significant drop in blood glucose (sugar) levels. In order to prevent highs and lows from happening, plan your meals and snacks. Regular eating patterns are also healthy for our metabolism I never want my body to think that I am starving it.

It’s pretty much a guarantee that the lovely flight attendants on your plane will offer you cookies or pretzels, but, once again, you don’t have to settle for this option; however, if eating airplane pretzels is a flying tradition of yours, by all means, have at ‘em! I just want you to know that there are other options.
Things that I have packed for myself in the past include:

A homemade sandwich

A can of tuna, crackers, and veg (I made sure the can of tuna was able to be opened without a can opener of course!)

Hard boiled eggs

And today I brought Turkey Muffins!

Ok, so I realize tuna and hard boiled eggs are quite fragrant. Ok, stinky. But hey, if I want tuna, I’m going to eat my tuna Same goes for the eggs. Sorry neighbours.
On the bright side, the last time I flew with hard boiled eggs as my snack of choice (at the beginning of the school year), it allowed my to meet a boy We chatted the entire time about nutrition and fitness all because of my smelly eggs! So, take the chance, pack some smelly food, and you may meet some pretty sweet people!

The above list was just a few ideas that I have done in the past. There are so many more options! I just wanted to share with you that it is possible to stick to your normal eats while flying  
Just don’t go too crazy or anything, ok? Remember the whole “no liquids or gels rule”. Soup = bad, but steak and potatoes? Go for it if that’s what you want! The airplanes have microwaves you know  

I hope you enjoyed my list of helpful and healthful tips and tricks for flying for success! Snack time here!

Yummy.

Do you like flying?
Are there any “rules” you follow when flying to ensure a speedy trip through security?
Have you packed homemade meals to eat on the plane before?
Are you all about comfort when flying or do you dress to impress the people awaiting you?

Enjoy your Friday!

Love always,
Meg
xoxoxoxoxo