5 Tips to Get Back on Track After Vacation

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If you follow us on Snapchat (hesheeatclean) or our other social media accounts Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, you probably know already that we just got back from a vacation in San Diego. Scott had to go to LA for work for a few days so I tagged along and met up with some of my friends and business partners in San Diego.

Related: Read about our travels here.

Workout wise we didn't lift weights (we usually take our vacations as lifting breaks) but we did a lot of hiking while we were there, although we couldn't do everything we wanted because of the weather.

Nutrition wise we try to keep our meals healthy while on vacation. In order to save money we rent an Airbnb property (email us at thegang@heandsheeatclean.com for more information on Airbnb) or a hotel room with a kitchenette. While it may seem more expensive each night, it definitely pays off being able to eat a few meals in the room. We enjoyed the food in San Diego eating tacos multiple times, donuts from the Donut Bar, and cookie ice cream sandwiches from the Baked Bear (yes, it was all just as good as it sounds). On the other hand, many of our meals consisted of the Whole Foods salad bar and eggs and toast or oats for breakfast and turkey sandwiches for lunch (made in our condo). Even though we only ate out once a day at the most, my body was definitely feeling the oils and sodium that it isn't used to.

Related: Tips to Eat Healthy and Save Money While Traveling

This is what we call vacation balance:

As I "reset" my body this past week I decided that I would share this information since many of you will probably be taking vacations soon too. These tips don't apply to just vacations though, these are tips to get back on track at anytime!

5 Tips to Get Back on Track After Vacation

1. Don't Beat Yourself Up - You don't need to get back from vacation and "work off" what you ate. You don't need to do two hour cardio sessions. You don't need to mentally abuse yourself with negative thoughts about how you should have done things differently. There is absolutely nothing positive that will come of this behavior. 
2. Don't Weigh Yourself - If you feel sluggish and/or bloated, you know it. The scale is only going to tell you the same thing but will more than likely put you in a bad mood and maybe even make your behavior spiral out of control and send you into a binge. You know how you feel and how your pants fit, weighing yourself only to find out you've "gained" five pounds on vacation will do no good. Speaking of, most of the "weight" you gain will be in the form of water weight. Related: Stories from my scale and why you need to ditch yours for good.
3. Increase Water Consumption and Avoid Alcohol - Increase your water consumption when you return from your trip. Try making the Jillian Michaels' Detox Water, Refreshing Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Drink, or one of our many other flavored waters for a little different twist on just plain water. Try to only drink water or unsweetened tea - no juice or soda. Also, try to avoid alcohol.
4. Start/Continue Your Workout Plan - Now is a great time to start a new workout plan or pick up where you left off on your previous plan. Going into the gym (or your home workout space) with a clear direction will help you get back into the habit and reach your goals much faster. We have 4, 6, and 12 week workout plans to choose from! Related: 5 Reasons why you need a fitness plan.
5. Do A Short Detox/Eat Real, Whole Unprocessed Foods - You might be thinking, why are they talking about a detox. Well, we don't believe in juice cleanses or crazy restrictive detoxes. But we do like to do a detox once a quarter or every 6 months. This is basically just a push for us to jump back into eating real, whole foods as quickly as possible. Although prepping food might be the last thing you want to do, your body will thank you! You can learn about our preferred detox here and also request more information on our 21-Day Challenge here.

Gone Too Soon - Part II

A few months ago I shared my personal story regarding how cancer has affected my life. You can read more about that here. But to sum it up, I lost my dad (age 49) to cancer when I was only 16 years old. Many years later his passing prompted me to change my lifestyle which led to me discovering clean eating and lifting weights. We received countless emails, comments, and messages sharing similar stories and experiences. Thank you for all for sharing a little bit of your life with us!

In my prior post I also discussed 5 Ways to "Get Ahead of Cancer". One of those ways is proactive testing which Counsyl provides with their Inherited Cancer Screen. After my post they graciously offered me the opportunity to do my very own Inherited Cancer Screen for free. I accepted the opportunity so that I could share my experience with you.

The process of the screening was very simple and convenient as I was able to do everything from the comfort of my own home. First, I set up an account online so that they could contact my health care provider and a few days later I received a kit in the mail. It was packaged in a neat box with very easy-to-follow instructions. Also included was a tube, specimen bag, and a return shipping envelope. All I had to do was take a saliva sample, place it in the specimen bag and then into the shipping envelope and send it off. In less than two weeks I was able to view my results online. A few days later I received a call from a counselor to make sure I didn't have any further questions. I'm happy to report that I didn't because my screen came back negative.

Just because my screen came back negative doesn't mean that I am going to start living carelessly and abandon the lifestyle I've followed for the past seven years. I am going to do everything in my power to avoid cancer using the steps outlined previously:

• Eat healthy
• Stay active
• Limit exposure to toxins/carcinogens
• Protect my skin
• Proactive testing – check!

I want to live a healthy and fulfilling life so that I am able to do all of the activities that I enjoy such as hiking, backpacking, weight lifting, cycling, and mountain biking. My goal is that my story and the ability to use Counsyl screening reaches at least one person and changes their life for the better. If this information influences and saves just one person's life, then we are happy!

We loved working with Counsyl and hope that you will check out what they have to offer. I would first start by viewing this Counsyl Video. You can also explore the links below to learn more.

• Counsyl Website
• Counsyl Inherited Cancer Screen

The Counsyl Inherited Cancer Screen assesses your risks based on your DNA, and if you test positive, you have the power to act early on. By working with your doctor, you can build a proactive health and risk reduction plan including early detection. Detecting cancer early increases survival rates – the 5-year survival rate for localized breast cancer is 98.6% when caught in early stages.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Counsyl. The opinions and text are all mine.

Clean Eat Recipe: Gluten Free Cinnamon Vanilla Granola

Making your own granola is super easy. Like really easy. It's much less expensive and you know exactly what is in it! We love to make granola before going on our hiking trips. You can also make it to add to your yogurt for breakfast! Just be careful with the serving size - it's really easy to over-eat. I just made a batch of this to take on our most recent trip to San Diego and it didn't even make it past the first day, let alone on the hiking trail!

RELATED: Gluten Free Power Granola

Clean Eat Recipe: Gluten Free Cinnamon Vanilla Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (avoid HFCS)
• 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredient mixture and stir to combine (I used a fork)
5. Spoon out mixture onto lined baking sheet
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until desired crispness