Hi Everyone.
There is a nice change in this weeks blog…I haven’t written it. I KNOW that this is a nice change for me and I am pretty sure it is also a nice change for each of you guys! Eden is away and was inspired enough by his long distance plane trip (he is in Canada) to put pen to paper (fingers to iPad). Before I hand it over to him, just let me say a couple of things:
1/. Thanks to everyone for all of the emails/posts etc following last weeks blog about our 6-year anniversary and how Round 1 was conceived. It means a lot.
2/. Well done to everyone who has slogged their way through week 1 of the April Elevator challenge. In week two – which starts tomorrow – all of your ‘EXTRAS’ go from 30 reps to 40 reps…so get excited about that. An email has gone to the April Challenge crew about t-shirts and specifically sizes so please have a check and respond back to me! Pretty please ‘cos I want to get this finalised this week!
3/. Apologies to everyone who is waiting on back-packs as part of their membership packs. We have (what seems to be!) a pretty cool new bag on the way but sometimes to change takes a bit of EXTRA time!
Anyway, there is a ‘Link of the Week’ at the end of the column, but in between here and there it is all about Eden!
Guest Blog from Eden – ‘Can of Pringles’
By Eden Mayer
It’s the final leg of the 26 hours of travel.. “Flight number UA5199 San Fransisco to Calgary is 30 minutes delayed” is being called over PA system. This is when things get hard. You’re exhausted, hungry and agitated and the idea of a chocolate bar or a bag of chips seems like a very good idea at this stage. Temptation was definitely creeping in and if not for my preparation these flights would have been completely different. I had a ziplock bag of raw almonds, few protein bars, a banana and two apples that got me through my first 14 hour long haul flight into LAX (including the 2 in flight meals). When it comes to long haul flying, or anytime I fly to be honest, I find it always best to request an allergy free meal. No gluten. You might not be celiac or sensitive to it but I’ll tell you what you will get. Not only will you receive your food first, it won’t be covered in a ‘sauce’ filled with sugar and flour (gluten). You will receive a dish with rice instead of a bread roll/pasta and you will have a side of fresh cut fruit instead of a chocolate bar or whatever they give on the day. That’s my first lot of advice.
Second is bring a water bottle. Granted you’ll have to empty it every time you go through security but what you’ll be able to do is keep hydrated. When the air host/hostess comes past to give you water, you can fill up your water bottle instead of getting that poor excuse of a little ‘cup’ they give to last you the next few hours. Drink lots of water, not alcohol. Hydration on a plane is so important and without it you will not bounce back from jet lag too easy.
Move around on a long haul. I was up every few hours doing stretches, lunges and Cobras in the galley. Yes people will look at you weird. But when they are hobbling off the plane and limping to collect theirs bags you can look at them weird back.
When you are flying long haul, sleep when you can, as much as you can. Don’t stress about staying awake to get into the ‘right’ time zone early, you’re traveling – you need all the rest you can get. When you get to your destination, that is when you immediately adjust to the local time zone. Don’t go to sleep if it’s mid morning. A small nap is fine but suck it up and get through the day and you will thank yourself when you wake up the next morning.
Luckily I had time between flights because I needed to restock for the next 2 flights and 10 hours of travel. Remember the exchange rate will hurt in American airports but I’d rather pay a little bit more to get an orange, some natural beef jerky and a protein bar then a can of Pringles and a chocolate bar during the in service flight. Have fun, and enjoy your travel! I know I am. Remember,
1. Move around and stretch
2. Drink lots of water
3. Eat healthy
4. Sleep as much as you can
Missing you guys at Round 1! See you all in a week 🙂
Link of the Week
I enjoyed this link about the changes in food quantities over the past few decades…for those out there who can remember a time when soft drinks didn’t come in bottle bigger than 1-litre – and that 1lt was ‘enough’ for a family of 4 – I am sure that you will also relate to the points being made.
http://www.techinsider.io/how-much-have-food-portions-increased-2016-4