No energy for the holiday season? Read on for the top 5 ways to increase your energy for holiday travel and events.

1.   Say yes to things that make your heart sing. Be a scrooge about the rest! Revel in the looks of dismay and astonishment that follow in the wake of your “No”s and “Not this year”. Say this with me… “Pushover, be gone!”

TRY: prioritizing, not automatically putting everyone’s needs before your own, having the courage to decide what’s important to you, perhaps practicing saying no to a sparkly, nice, rainbow-and-unicorns kind of person first.

2.    Get MORE sleep, not less. At holiday time? I know – you think I’m a crazy person. But hear me out. You’ll actually get more done when you’re rested. You’ll forget less, and get things done right the first time. You’ll be more pleasant to be around, so run less risk of lumps of coal, barf-y re-gifts, and one-way tickets as presents this year. You’ll be more creative. You’ll be able to prioritize, and you’ll have the energy to say no when you need to (see #1). You’ll be making crisp, lovely holiday memories instead of slogging along in a tired, grumpy fog.

TRY: cutting back on TV and internet before bed, set an alarm for 30 min before you want to go to bed so you can finish tasks AND meet your bedtime deadline, practice taking quick cat-naps during the day, put major to-do items in your calendar over a several week period so you’re not leaving everything till the end, ask others for help.

Your body is trying to tell you something!

3.    Listen to your body and stop ignoring it! Small concessions can pay big dividends. Is your back aching? Take 5 minutes and stretch. And, check in with it again an hour or two later. Have you skipped lunch while rushing about? Grab a piece of fruit or cereal or make yourself a sandwich. This minute! Getting a headache? When’s the last time you drank some water? Pour yourself a glass and for extra credit take a couple of slow, relaxing breaths between sips. Let’s face it – if your body were a plant, it would be shriveled and brown and disintegrating into little pieces on your windowsill by now.

TRY: doing whatever it takes to check in with your body several times daily: post-it notes, phone or computer reminders, water bottles or stretching mats/bands left in plain sight etc. Remember to start each day with fresh intentions and a plan even if you got busy and totally forgot to do it the day before. The most intransigent of you may actually want to buy a plant so you can remember to do something for yourself each time you water it. Please don’t let the plant die.

4.    Spend a couple of minutes daily feeling appreciation and gratitude this holiday season. This new area in health and medicine is one we should be decking the halls with holly about! The science is IN – feeling appreciation and gratitude on a regular basis makes us healthier, happier folk. And, what if this holiday is triggering a personal feeling of not being appreciated? Maybe you can’t get your spouse or sibling or parent to treat you differently this holiday, but you can treat yourself to some kudos and appreciation in their stead.

Heart-centered breathing: wonderful for our health and mood no matter where we are!

TRY: pairing your new appreciation session with something you already do so you won’t forget it: 3 minutes just before a meal or while you’re brushing your teeth, for example. Focus on your heart, and imagine that for a few minutes you’re breathing directly into it. Imagine the thing you’re appreciating (your pet, loved one, awesome thing that happened to you, beloved hobby or work you adore, place in the world that transports you to bliss), and don’t skimp on the details – you don’t want to think appreciation, you want to feel it. You may notice a sensation of warmth and space in your chest. For those of us looking to ourselves for a dose of self-appreciation, listing all the things we appreciate about ourselves (mentally or on paper) can be a life-saver. If the previous sentence induced a gag-reflex, you can test the waters by listing all the things you don’t absolutely hate about yourself, and move towards self-appreciation in mini-stages. This is about your health, after all.

5.    Move that body! Exercise improves memory- key when you’re among a host of folk you see rarely, yet are expected to know and name, possibly after several drinks. Imagine what you could do with extra energy at this time of year – perhaps you’d make it to midnight on New Year’s Eve after all! But seriously – you’ll feel better, your mood may brighten, and you’ll have more energy for all the special events and travel of the holiday season. Don’t wait for January to make some resolution you won’t keep!

TRY: It all depends on where you’re at! Listening to your body (#3) is a good start. Do you need to address pain or muscle tightness first? What’s the kindest way to introduce your body to activity again (if it has been a while)? Is it time for an extra recovery day or a massage? Bringing body awareness to all activity and a stubborn refusal to quit are key! What will make you unstoppable?

So many errands…. extended family closing in fast… food and shopping temptations galore… feeling unappreciated– who wouldn’t be exhausted and cranky? The person who is sleeping enough, listening to his/her body, employing strategic NOs, practicing a few minutes of daily appreciation, and intelligently moving – that’s who!

I wish with all my heart that you choose to be among these merry folk for this holiday season!

These merry folk have energy to spare!

Want more energy before your next trip or vacation in 2012? Find out about the 4 Week Travel Tune-Up here.

Bangkok is not always easy to love. But when I look at this photo, I remember the thrill of watching Muay Thai at Lumpini Park, the fun of learning how to ask for my favorite Thai dessert “mango with sticky rice and coconut cream” in Thai, the colorful, soft swoosh of Thai silk scarves, the adrenaline rush of piling onto the packed express boats plying the mighty Chao Phraya river in the few seconds they perch alongside the docks, the indescribable wonderlands that are the temple complexes, filled with lush floral displays, massive Buddhas, colorful offerings, and the glint of gold, and the surprise of finding myself standing in the theatre to acknowledge the images of the Thai King which are shown at the start of every film.

Muay Thai in front of the popular MBK shopping center, Bangkok 2010

♪ Where do you find your travel magic?♪

Want to travel but out-of-shape? Read about the 4 Week Travel Tune-Up here.

Phitsanulok, Thailand

When I look at this photo, I remember the beauty of the golden Phra Buddha Chinnarat, the peacefulness of monks chanting in an outlying temple as dusk fell, the skill of a temple masseuse as she kneaded tired muscles back to health, and the surprise of finding the bustling daytime train station transformed by evening fairy lanterns. 

♫ Where do you find your Travel Magic? ♫

Click here if you want to find out more about the 4 Week Travel Tune-Up. 

"Armchair Travel"

I love a good travel read… but nothing beats putting yourself on the page. Here are a few things to consider as you get ready to star in your own travel tale:

1. You’re a treasure trove of information. Put that armchair travel reading to good use! Follow in the footsteps of a favorite travel writer. Create unique daytrips from all that you’ve read. Find the location of your favorite travel photo or travel video and shoot your own! Connect the stories in your head to the paths your feet tread for a doubly satisfying experience. I recall an amazing day in Delhi years ago as I played sleuth for a day trying to locate an old Mughal tomb described in “City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi” by William Dalrymple, one of my favorite travel writers.

2. Do you need to increase energy and physical readiness for travel? Have you developed serious couch potato cred as you’ve indulged your penchant for armchair travel? If you just answered “no” without thinking about it, remember… we tend to overestimate how active we are at home and underestimate what we’ll be asking our body to do during travel. See this recent post by Adventurous Kate on visiting Ankor Wat: her list of things no one tells you about when visiting Ankor begins, “You need to be in good shape”.  Core strength, strong walking, good balance, and unflagging energy are a few travel specific fitness items you’ll want to bring along when you take the plunge. The 4 Week Travel Tune-Up will get you started if you need a boost!

3. These days, places change fast. The Internet arrives, roads are completed to previously out-of-the-way rural travel gems, and fast food proliferates. Use this to firm your resolve to leave the chair and see the world NOW! Don’t fret overmuch, though. I’m sure adventurers in the 19th and early 20th centuries were lamenting changes to their favorite haunts too! There’s still a world of adventure and beauty out there for you to enjoy.

Your ability to recall the details of a place from fifty or five hundred years ago and see it clearly in your mind’s eye as you take in its present incarnation… your connection through the written word to the adventurers who’ve gone before you… and your intimate knowledge of the culture and people you’ve spent so much time reading about should give you confidence as it fans your desire to hit the road. If you need to top-up the energy or fitness tank before you go, that can be arranged. Give your imagination the workout it deserves and get out there and travel!

So, where are you going to go first? Tell us in comments!

The American Southwest is chock-full of Travel Magic. Here we’re on a hike near Sedona, New Mexico, searching for one of four energy vortexes identified on our map. The storm light illuminates the prickly pear in the foreground. Happily, we were only a few minutes from the car so we didn’t get wet!

♫ Where do you find your Travel Magic? ♫

You start with the best of intentions. You know you’ll feel better and look better in your vacation photos if you drop ten pounds. You realize sightseeing in those fabulous European capitals will be so much more fun if you’re reasonably fit before you go!

That first week, you’re all fired up. You can see how great you’re going to look in that photo in front of the Eiffel Tower or standing alongside the Colosseum. You’ve just booked a walking tour of Venice and you’re determined to be ready. You fall asleep with visions of sugarplums and slim, fit, superhero YOU taking the town by storm dancing through your head.

That second week – not so fired up. Your visions of a fit, sparkly YOU carousing through the capitals of Europe seems less a vision and more a mirage. Social mores demand that you lunch with friends, celebrate so-and-so’s birthday, and keep your standing Sunday brunch date. Invariably a heat wave ensues, and the thought of jogging or taking a walk or riding your bike seems so… unappealing. Your trip is six weeks away, and you are smack dab in the middle of a Fitness and Diet Backslide.

Here are a few tips gleaned from my many years of counseling and coaching to help jump-start your resolve and get you back on track for a terrific travel experience:

1. Expect to be less than perfect, and plan what you’re going to say to yourself after you’ve eaten enough for a family of 4 in one sitting, or found yourself shell-shocked holding a spoon in one hand and an empty pint of Ben & Jerry’s in the other. It is what happens after one of these incidents that determines whether you’ll be successful or not. Limit the damage by immediately creating a finish line for the indulgence. “So that happened! Time to get back on track… this ends now”. Don’t be fooled by that little voice that tells you, ‘now you’ve blown it – you’ve failed so just eat whatever you want!’ Remember – a pound equals 3500 calories, so you probably only gained a fraction of a pound, even though it felt like you blew it. 

2. That extra tiredness you’re feeling if you’ve just started exercising again will likely be gone sometime in this second week. Ditto if you’ve been feeling hungrier because you’re exercising. Hang in there! And make sure you’re getting enough sleep to feel rested when you wake. Did you know most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep each night? If you’re getting a lot less, know this: tiredness will open the door to backsliding, guaranteed!

3. If you’ve had bad experiences with complicated diets in the past, try this: focus on eating to feel good after the meal is over. What tends to make us feel bad after a meal? Too much food, eating heavy items with lots of fat and/or sugar, eating too fast, skipping plant-based, higher fiber foods, cleaning our plate (and others’ plates!) – all things that cause us to gain weight. 

4. How long has it been since you woke up hungry with your stomach growling? When you eat large dinners and snack or drink late into the evening, it is easy to lose that hungry-for-breakfast feeling. Begin a quest to re-discover morning hunger. You may decide to eat half as much at dinner, or to not eat at all after 7 pm, for example. A big plus in feeling hungry in the morning: skipping breakfast slows your metabolism and makes it harder to lose weight.

5.  Finding it hard to stay on track with exercise? Do a little Internet research and find out more about your trip. Look at images of the places you’ll be walking or sightseeing. Will you need to climb castle towers or cathedral stairs? Make your trip real to stay motivated!

6.  Join forces with a travel buddy. Challenge each other to a contest. Enjoy the friendly competition as it spurs you to lose those pounds and walk those miles. Make it public by posting on your Facebook page or announcing your goal to family or friends. Studies show that making it social and public will increase the likelihood of your success!

Don’t let yourself be stopped by pre-travel fitness and diet backsliding! Use the tips above to outsmart The Backslide, and enjoy taking a slimmer, fitter you to see the world.

Click here if you want to find out more about the 4 Week Travel Tune-Up.

Interested in a free great over 40 travel teleseminar? Click here.

Travel Oomph: the extra energy, vitality, and fitness that can make all the difference between a ho-hum trip and an amazing travel experience. I’m having a great time talking about Travel Oomph with the readers of Donna Hull’s blog, My Itchy Travel Feet: The Baby Boomers Guide To Travel. Check out my latest guest post there: Travel Oomph: Why Boomers Need It. Learn why we’re prone to Travel Unfitness Amnesia and read stories of Travel Oomph misfires. 

Click here if you want to find out more about the 4 Week Travel Tune-Up.

Travel magic can be found in amazing architecture, astonishing views, the natural world, the people we meet along the way… or in the little details that give a trip its particular flavor. In this case, we found Travel Magic at El Camaron Dorado, a shrimp and fish taco place the locals flock to in Cozumel, Mexico.

Cozumel, Mexico: These Tacos Are a Work of Art!

♬ Where do you find your Travel Magic?♬

Click here if you want to find out more about the 4 Week Travel Tune-Up.

Interested in a free great over 40 travel teleseminar? Click here.

♬

Is it possible to find Travel Magic in big cities? I think so. When I look at this photo of Chicago, I think of late nights at the blues clubs on N. Halsted Street, the phenomenal River Tour which highlights the city’s amazing downtown architecture, Giordano’s deep dish pizza, Wrigley Field, the Taste of Chicago and numerous free music festivals along the water in Grant Park, the grandeur and mystery of “The Bean” in Millenium Park, and the fun of riding the giant ferris wheel at Navy Pier (after being wowed by the Tiffany stained glass at the free Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows on the Pier).

Chicago from the Top of the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

♬ Where do you find your Travel Magic? ♬