How to Drink More Water During Colder Months

I am a cold person. Always cold, always bringing a jacket, always asking people to turn the air off or roll the windows up in a car. I drive my car with the seat heaters on the second October hits. I love the cold weather, but I have to to face it with preparation otherwise I ain't digging it. 

Cold water is about the last thing I want to sip on when it's 40 degrees out. Although, it is equally important to stay hydrated in the winter as it is the hot summer months. Cold air dries out our skin and can dehydrate you. I read even if you aren't sweating water vapor can escape through your breath, leaving you dehydrated. Drinking water is great for your kidneys, maintaining your appetite, and flu and cold prevention. I've found a couple ways to help me stomach the H2O when the weather gets as cold as my ice water. 

1. You've probably read it before, but hot lemon water is such a good way to start your day. Not only is it detoxifying and great for your skin, it's the perfect warm drink to pull you out of bed on a cold morning. I go through 1- 2 lemons a week and just cut them into 1/8s and store them in a container in my fridge. Each morning, I wake up squeeze a lemon into a mug, add water and microwave it for 2 minutes. I frequently will do it throughout the day when I'm shivering over my computer and can't stomach a glass of cold water.

2. Seasonal flavored water. I love adding fruit or mint to my water in the summer. I often keep a big pitcher in my fridge and refill it through the week. Right now I'm doing the same but changing up my usual lemon, and cucumber to a combo of orange and cloves. I cup the oranges up in wedges, dot the slices with whole cloves and throw a few extra in as well. I love how my cup of water has this vague holiday taste to it! Makes it much easier to sip down when it gets me in the holiday spirit!

Drinking herbal teas is another way to stay hydrated when plain water just won't cut it! Any tips on how you stay hydrated in the winter? Please share so we can all #takeasip together!

Annie

Guest Post: How to Stay Healthy in Your Everyday Life

via Birdie

Today's post is full of knowledge on how to stay healthy and active in your daily life through exercise. The knowledge in this post is better than anything I could try to make up for you-keep reading to see why! Jennifer McGregor and her classmate are both pre-med students and created PublicHealthLibrary.org as part of a class project.  They enjoyed developing the website so much that they decided to keep it running and continue to develop it. They are hoping for the site to become a go-to health and wellness resource online. 

Make a Schedule and Stick to It
Busy work schedules and personal life make it difficult to exercise. The truth, however, is that it is easier to make excuses than it is to make a commitment to an exercise schedule. By making fitness a priority in your life, you will find that it is much easier to create a schedule for daily exercise and to stick to it. Sometimes simply penciling this into your regular schedule makes it become an automatic part of your day.

via free people blog

Become a Morning Person (#teammorning-AT)
Okay, so being a morning person may not fit into your current routine. In getting up earlier, committed to exercising, your morning workout will soon become part of your routine. You can get your workout off your to-do list first thing in the morning, and not have to worry about squeezing it in later in the day. People who exercise in the morning often say that it energizes them and enhances their mood. That’s a great trade-off for getting up earlier!

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Get Paid to Exercise
Money is a great motivator. If you think that making a little extra cash while exercising sounds like a good idea, there are several options available. One option is to become a dog walker and/or pet sitter. Not only do you get the benefit of hanging out with some awesome dogs, but you get paid to exercise in a fun way. Other great ways to work exercise into your day while getting paid include becoming a mail carrier, guiding walking tours in your area, teaching fitness classes, becoming a ski instructor, or volunteering as a coach or referee.

via birdie

Put Down Your Phone
You may be surprised by just how much time you spend on social media, e-mail, or playing games on your phone. If you put down your phone and devote that down time to working out instead of vegging out, you will soon find that exercising can easily become part of your daily life. When you’re done, hop back onto social media and tell the world about your physical conquests!

via 52 thursdays

Move Every Time You Have the Chance
It may not be as structured as thirty minutes on the treadmill, but moving every chance you get will help work physical activity into your day. For example, instead of sitting on the couch while you watch your favorite show, do some squats, pushups, or lunges while you watch. If you keep a jump rope or weights nearby, you may get even more motivated to be active in that down time. Other ways to get active during the day include running in place while cooking, doing squats while folding laundry, or doing pushups with your kids.

via free people blog

Practice High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a quick way to work exercise into your daily routine. When you choose an activity, put full effort into it for 10-20 seconds, and then follow with 40-50 seconds of recovery time. You’ll want to include a 5-10 minute warmup, followed by 10-15 rounds of the activity, and then 5-10 minute cool down. You’ll find that you are burning loads of calories in a short amount of time with HIIT.

via a cup of jo

Once you start to really look for the time in your day, you’ll find that there are several options for working exercise in. You don’t have to drive to the gym and take an hour-long class to get active and fit. Simply choose some of these suggestions, and you’ll find that exercise quickly becomes a normal part of your day.

Jennifer

Jennifer McGregor has wanted to be a doctor since she was little. Now, as a pre-med student, she’s well on her way to achieving that dream. She helped create PublicHealthLibrary.org with a friend as part of a class project. With it, she hopes to provide access to trustworthy health and medical resources. When Jennifer isn’t working on the site, you can usually find her hitting the books in the campus library or spending some downtime with her dog at the local park.

It is so important for me to stay active and healthy, especially as I translate back onto the working grind. I sit most hours of the day. Waking up early and getting in meaningful workouts (barre3, HITT or cardio) is super important to me. If I don't do it in the morning the chances are slim I'll be motivated to by the end of the day. I'm also on my phone/computer allllll day (life of a social media job), so taking those breaks to get up and stretch, focus on something else, and rest my eyes is more and more apparent. Thank you for your knowledge Jennifer and for contributing to Take A Bite!

Annie

Packing Tips

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T-1 day until I'm officially on spring break! Instead of spending our break together all of my friends are splitting up this year. Inspired by some of my friends vacation destinations, I put together ideas for outfits and essentials for each location. 

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If you are going to the beach don't forget it can still get a little chilly this time of year. I love jean shirts worn as cover ups and maxi skirts to keep my legs warm at night. Also, this may seem obvious, but don't forget sunglasses. Trust me, no one needs to go through the traumatic experience of having your eyelids sunburned like I did on the Tucker Family Coasta Rica vay cay. 

Beach Vacation Packing List:
-chambray shirt
-swimsuits
-maxi skirt or dress
-sandals
-sunglasses

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If you are jumping the pond, make sure you have all your essentials. A jacket for those rainy London days, light layers and big scarf to wrap up in. 

London Packing List:
-trench coat
-leather boots
-big scarf
-stripe t-shirt
-skinny jeans

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New York is filled with tourists, but if you want to do it right it's all about blending in. Black, black and more black. I promise if you stick to this color scheme people will think you are an average New Yorker. As far as shoes go you want them to be comfortable for all the walking you will be doing, but that doesn't mean sporting Adidas running shoes. Like I said it's all about blending in. 

NYC Packing List:
-black
-comfy shoes
-leather jacket
-dressy tank tops
-cash for taxis

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The desert is hot. Make sure to pack things like shorts and wedges with long sleeve breezy tops. Anything light and airy is perfect for the dry desert heat!

Desert Packing List:
-silk shorts
-flowy tops
-light jacket or sweater for chilly nights
-spring wedges
-turquoise jewelry

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My turn! I'm traveling east to South Carolina with my family this spring break. I plan on sporting outfits like this maxi dress with either a jean jacket or jean vest and comfy flats for walking through the quaint streets of Charleston. This is a city I've wanted to visit for a long time so I'm excited to check it off my list! Please send recommendations if you have any! 

East Coast Packing List:
-pastel sweaters
-white jeans (yes I'm breaking them out before Easter)
-strappy sandals
-converse
-boyfriend jeans

One final packing tip before you head off for spring break (I learned this one from my idol LC). Wear a scarf on the plane. Not only does it make your traveling outfit a little more stylish, but it also doubles as a blanket on those drafty airplanes. Now it's time to pull out the suitcase and get packing! 

Annie