The summer is almost over, which means it’s nearly time for cozy sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes. It also means that the music scene is about to change from carefree beats to more sentimental tunes.
However, there are a few more warm days left. So, until the leaves start to change, I am going to keep listening to my summer vibe playlist, and I thought I would share it with you to enjoy, too. I have to warn you now: not all the songs are upbeat, but they make up the soundtrack of my summer of 2020.
I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to share your favorite summer vibe songs in the comment below – I would love to add them to my listening queue.
Summer Vibes Playlist
1. Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
I can’t go more than a few days of summer without listening to this classic goodie. Yes, finally, the summer is here, and the sun is out. It’s time to slow down and just enjoy life a little more.
2. The 1 by Taylor Swift (E)
Aptly named as the first song in her surprise new album, The 1 by Taylor Swift is the perfect introduction to an album with a completely different vibe than the artist’s previous works. It’s a bittersweet, regretful, lost love song that I can’t stop listening to.
3. Sleep on the Floor by The Lumineers
Me and my team at the Fred and Pamela Buffet Cancer Center in Nebraska during 4K for Cancer 2019
Something that characterized this summer for me was travel and adventure. I have always wanted to travel, but have never had the means or the time. This summer, I finally had the chance to explore the world outside of my comfort zone, and it was even better than I had expected. This song by The Lumineers is my favorite song to listen to while traveling. It was introduced to me by one of my teammates on 4K for Cancer in summer of 2019, and I can’t help but have joyful tears come to my eyes when I listen to it and think back to that crazy adventure.
4. Be Kind by Halsey and Marshmello
Halsey has been one of my favorite artists since she started creating music. Her lyrics are always pure poetry. This collaboration with Marshmello is an upbeat song with a deeper meaning that touches on how we tend to hurt the ones who love us best.
5. Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen
It doesn’t matter the time of year or what I have planned for the day – this is always my favorite song to start my day with. It’s the song that always pumps me up and helps me feel ready for my day.
6 Wishing Well by Juice WRLD (E)
Juice WRLD passed away in December of last year due to an accidental overdose. However, his music has still continued to be released since then, and some of the songs, like this one, reveal just how much the young rapper was struggling. It’s an eye-opening song about depression and addiction set to a deceptively cheery beat.
7. Thunder by Imagine Dragons
In addition to “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, this is the other tune I always turn to for a little motivation. It featured frequently on my summer queue this year as I struggled with unemployment and began to explore my passions more.
8. It’s Hard to be Human by Kina Grannis
This truly was the vibe of 2020, wasn’t it? It’s hard to be human, but luckily, it’s an experience we all can understand and empathize with. We’re all in this together.
9. I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like) by Michael Franti and Spearhead
The proposal 7/14/20 – Photo by Jon Mauler
I got engaged this summer! I can’t say too much about this song – stay tuned to the blog for more sneak peaks and details about Joseph’s and my 2021 wedding. This is just a little taste.
10. Reckless Love/Even If by Mass Anthem
“Even If” by MercyMe will always be the Christian song that touches my heart most. It was the song that changed my life. “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury was the song I sang throughout my college years with my friends when we worshipped at Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) club meetings. The combination of the two creates a song that never fails to bring tears to my eyes. During the hard moments this summer, this was the song I listened to for solace and comfort.
11. Colorado by CHAPPY
The highlight of my summer (besides, of course, getting engaged) was the road trip to Colorado with my new fiancé. This song was the soundtrack of our trip.
12. Own Alone by Bahamas
This was a song Joseph introduced me to, and I just can’t help continuing to listen to it. It has such a unique sound and fun beat; it always makes me smile.
13. How Many Times by Marcus Foster
This song is a bit more chill than some of the others on this list. It’s the perfect summer vibe song for a lazy afternoon in the sun.
14. In the Colors by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Joseph and me on the top of Mount Royal in Frisco, Colorado
This was Joseph’s and my summer vibe song. We listened to it quite a few times while spending time together in all the colors of summer.
15. Yellow Lines by Brendan James
Here’s one more of my favorite travel songs because I really did spend much of this summer traveling, specifically road-tripping. Driving along those yellow lines, this was the song I listened to most. This summer, I embarked on many adventures, not just in the places that I went, but in the new, life-changing steps I took in my relationship and career. It was a summer filled with long roads that lead to endless possibilities.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
Last week, I shared about how important it is to take care of yourself. This week, we are going to talk about the importance of serving others.
We all play a part in making our world a better place. Every day, our actions affect those around us. It is up to us whether these people are impacted in a positive or negative way.
When many people think of service, they think of building homes in impoverished communities or volunteering at a soup kitchen. But there are small things you can do every day in your life to help others, and many of them take minimal effort, if any. Giving someone a compliment, smiling at passerby, or letting someone merge in front of in you in traffic are all examples of random acts of kindness that give other people hope and encouragement.
I think we can all agree that the world right now is hurting even more than usual, and we can all use a pick-me-up because of it. Start the chain of kindness by committing to doing one random act of kindness a day. These can be grand gestures, like paying for someone’s bill at a restaurant, or as simple as holding the door for someone. If you need inspiration, check out the free printable below – it has a different random act of kindness every day so you are constantly challenging yourself to have new experiences and serve your community in new ways.
My nails slipped off my fingertips as blood dripped to the ground. My hair cascaded down my back to the floor. My eyelashes drooped and then fell. My lips parted, and my teeth toppled out. And then followed all the parts of me hiding inside: My pounding heart and tired lungs, my inept stomach and intestines, my small liver and kidney, and a number of other forgotten, unidentified parts of me plummeted to the ground.
“We need to discuss something important,” I told them. “I am not pleased at how my body is running. We are not working together as a team. We are not doing the best we can. Every day we are failing to meet the standards that have been set.”
“Whose standards,” a tooth piped up.
“It doesn’t matter whose standards,” I spat back.
“Why isn’t the brain here,” the stomach asked. I paused for a moment, surprised. Until now, I had not realized that the brain had neglected to join us.
“Well, I guess because the brain is the one who convinced me to call the meeting,” I said. “The brain is the one who told me that something is wrong.”
“But the brain is part of the problem,” said the heart. “Every day we all work so hard. We labor day and night to make this body function. It’s difficult, but we strive to do our very best. But even after all of that, the brain looks down its nose at us and says that it isn’t good enough – that we are worthless, incompetent and insignificant. The brain tells us that we will never measure up to the other bodies, even though we work just as much, if not more, most days.”
I looked down at my body in shock. There they were lined up, my capable teeth, my delicate but beautiful hair, my strong heart and my powerful lungs; there they all were, hard-working members of my body that had faced so many challenges without ever balking or giving up.
But I could see they were tired. The brain had been working them nonstop. It never let them rest. It always pushed them a little further; it always made them face challenges that were far beyond what most bodies were capable of. And even when the body succeeded, the brain told them that they had not done enough, been enough, were enough. It made the body feel worthless and incapable. It made the body feel as though it could never measure up, even though it was still working, still facing innumerable challenges and beating the odds every day.
Self-care is always essential, but now it seems even more important than ever. Stresses from back-to-school season, the election, and the looming holidays, all amid a global pandemic, are enough to make anyone feel tense.
Taking care of yourself is an important first step in making sure you can handle the stresses of daily life and still be able to give to others. Self-care is not selfish. It’s a way to make sure your needs are taken care of, so you are able to give more during your daily life.
Self-care looks different for everyone. For some of us, it’s taking hot bubble baths, reading books, or sipping a mug of hot tea. For others, it’s making time to visit with friends and family. And for some people, it’s making time to meal prep, write budgets, and create nightly routines that promote a good night’s rest. What’s important is not what the activity is, but rather that it helps you feel rejuvenated, relaxed, and ready to tackle your next life challenge.
If you aren’t sure what works best for you, check out the free printable below! You can use it simply as inspiration, or follow it for a new, self-care activity each day.
Supplements have been growing more popular in the health and fitness industry. The trouble is, there are so many out there, it can be difficult to know which ones are right for you.
It’s always best to get the majority of your nutrients from real food, but sometimes food alone can’t provide enough of these essential vitamins and minerals. This is where supplements come in. Supplements can help provide nutrients that you may be lacking in your diet, either because you are choosing not to eat the food source, or because you aren’t able to eat enough of it.
Keep reading to learn more about the supplements that can benefit the average person’s health. Remember, always consult your doctor before adding any supplements to your diet.
Fish Oil
The American diet is heavy in saturated fats. While these fats aren’t necessarily unhealthy, the human body performs better when there is a balance of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in the diet.
Fish oil supplements provide your needed daily value of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, so your body can work at its best. Additionally, fish oil supplements have been shown to support eye, heart and skin health, and they can help reduce inflammation in the body.
For best absorption, take your fish oil supplement with dinner or before bed.
Greens
It’s always best to consume your vegetables from whole food sources. However, there are occasions, either because of holidays, travel, or just unexpected changes in our dinner plans, when we don’t get in all of our servings of vegetables for the day.
Greens supplements are for these occasional days when you don’t get in enough veggies, so you can stay on track with your nutrition goals and your body can still work at its best.
Protein
Protein supplements are a lot like greens supplements – they are for those days when you don’t get enough of the macronutrient from food sources. On those days when your diet is off, either because of holidays or because you just haven’t made it to the grocery store for the week yet, or if you are an athlete who struggles to get enough protein into your diet, protein supplements are a great solution. Protein powder is an easy way to drink the nutrients you need so you can stay on track with your nutrition goals and keep your body performing at its best.
Multivitamn
It’s nearly impossible to have a perfect diet – to get in all the daily values of micronutrients we need would take way too much time and focus. Taking a daily multivitamin helps protect you from a multitude of nutrient deficiencies that are more commonly found in people who choose not to take this daily supplement.
Vitamin D
We all know spending time in the sun is important for our health. But with office jobs, stay-at-home orders, and sunscreen, it can be difficult to get enough sunshine in our lives. Vitamin D supplements can help. These supplements help strengthen our immune system and promote healthy bones and teeth, especially for children and older adults.
Not all supplements are created equal. Because of different laws and regulations, or lack thereof, in different countries, some companies are selling supplements that are not as high of quality and/or do not deliver the benefits they promise. For this reason, I recommend always doing your research about the company you purchase from, or, let me do the work for you. I work with Nature’s Sunshine, a reputable company that has been making quality supplements for over 50 years. If you are interested in purchasing a supplement, use this link to get 25% off your order!
Supplementation is a holistic way to take charge of your health. These five supplements listed above are ones the average person can benefit from using. However, if you are interested in learning more about your specific health and supplement needs, consider scheduling an appointment for a ZYTO scan.
ZYTO scans help us to look at an overall picture of your health. Based on that information, I am able to recommend supplements that will best help bring your body back into balance. It’s a more personalized and in-depth approach to holistic health that can help you feel and perform at your best.
If you are interested in scheduling a ZYTO scan, you can learn more & sign up for a FREE consultation here.
Unfortunately, that sentiment has created an industry focused far more on profit than individuals’ actual health, and that has caused many false claims about nutrition and physical fitness to be spread without control. Extreme views in the fitness and nutrition world have been celebrated because these lifestyles receive the most attention on social media, therefore they earn the most profit. However, this has caused balanced lifestyle choices to become less attractive as extreme workouts and eliminative diets grow most popular.
Balance, however, is very important in all areas of life, including physical fitness and nutrition. Extreme diets and workouts cannot only cause more damage than they do good; they can actually cause more stress and can have less success because people have trouble sticking to their unrealistic goals.
So, here are five common myths that have been spread in the fitness and nutrition industry, and healthier ways to actually approach creating a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Myth #1: Carbs are not good for you
Despite the focus of the most recent fad diets, carbs are not actually bad for you.
There are a couple of reasons why carbohydrates are thought to be the main cause of weight gain. First, many carbs are calorically dense, so eating a lot of carbs can mean eating an excess of calories. Second, some carbs are high in refined sugar, which is known to cause inflammation and weight gain. Third, some people are very successful on a low-carb diet. People with a naturally large body type tend to function best when they eat more fats and less carbs. The thing is, not everyone who is overweight has a naturally large body shape – most people who are overweight just have an excess of fat. People who have a naturally large body shape (the endomorphic body type) are actually healthy at a larger size – think of football players or higher weight class wrestlers. The average body shape (a mesomorphic body type) actually functions best when they eat a balance of carbs and fats.
An excess of any macronutrient, whether it be carbs, fats or protein, can cause weight gain, not just carbohydrates. And there are plenty of healthy carbs that can be part of a balanced diet, such as whole-grain bread, fruit, and starchy vegetables like potatoes.
If you are trying to lose weight, minimizing your carb intake can be helpful, but drastic decreases in intake or complete elimination of carbs are not necessary for success. In fact, trying to stick to such a strict diet can harbor success, and eliminating necessary nutrients can make it harder to lose weight. So, instead of eliminating or drastically reducing your carb intake, aim for a balance between your carb, fat and protein intake and make sure you are eating healthier carb sources. Try to eat more carbs from whole food sources, such as fruit and starchy vegetables, and fewer carbs from packages. You may find that it’s not that carbs make you gain weight, but that you are eating too many of them or that you are eating carbs from unhealthier sources.
Myth #2: Doing a lot of high-intensity cardio exercise is the best way to lose weight
Cardio exercise is defined as any exercises that raises your heart and respiratory rate. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a healthy amount of exercise includes doing 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio, such as strength training, hiking or playing sports, for five days per week; or doing 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running, bicycling or HIIT training, three days per week.
Many people seem to think that they have to elevate their heart rate to high levels during every workout in order to lose weight. However, having a balance of moderate cardio exercise and high-intensity cardio exercise during your week is the best way to achieve healthy weight loss. Strength training (a moderate cardio exercise) increases muscle mass, which in turn increases metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories throughout your day. In contrast to this, high-intensity calorie exercises burn lots of calories while doing the workout, but they don’t keep up that caloric burn throughout your day.
For the best results, try to include both high-intensity and moderate-intensity cardio exercise in your fitness program. If you are trying to lose weight, aim to include a total of at least five hours of physical activity in your week. This can include both cardio workouts and lower-intensity exercises, such as walking and yoga.
Myth #3: Eating 1,200 calories per day is a healthy way to lose weight
There are a lot of diets that promote restricting calories rather than just restricting one macronutrient to achieve weight loss goals.
Calories are a form of energy. How many calories a food has directly translates to how much energy it gives the body. The amount of calories a food has is determined by how much the body will increase in temperature when eating that food. According to US Department of Agriculture, “one Calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius.”
This is all very scientific, so unless you are pursuing a career in nutrition or biomedical science, it’s unlikely you need to understand how this works. What you do need to know is the higher in calories the food is, the more energy it is supposed to give the body. The reason this sometimes doesn’t work, though, is because heavily processed foods tend to be high in calories but low in nutritional value. This means that they will give your body lots of energy, but only for a short burst of time, which will cause you to become hungry again far sooner than you would have from eating a more nutritionally dense food. This can cause people to overeat. When people eat an excess of calories, meaning they eat more calories than they burn throughout their day, their energy balance is thrown off, therefore they gain weight.
This is the thinking behind low-calorie diets. By decreasing the amount of calories you eat in a day, you will create a negative energy balance, which means you will burn more calories than you eat. When this happens, you lose weight.
However, this doesn’t always work. When calorie intake gets too low, the body can go into “starvation mode.” When this happens, the metabolism, which helps you burn calories throughout your day, slows down in an effort to keep your body safe. When your metabolism slows, so does your weight loss. Eating a strict, low-calorie diet for a longer amount of time can also put the body at risk for a number of health conditions, such as hair loss, infertility, constipation, and hypoglycemia.
The reason the number of 1200 calories has grown in popularity is because this has been said to the be the minimum amount of calories your body needs to survive. This is true, but that does not mean it’s a good calorie amount to aim for. This is the amount of calories the body burns without doing anything else, which means if you do anything beyond lying in bed all day, you are going to burn more calories than this. In order to achieve a healthy, sustainable weight loss, it’s important that you eat fewer calories than you are burning, but not excessively fewer calories.
Rather than trying to figure out exactly how many calories your body needs to function, I recommend focusing on your macronutrient intake and exercise volume. When you sit down to eat, make sure your plate includes healthy fats, protein, vegetables, and nutritionally-dense carbs. This way, you will make sure that you are not only eating enough calories, but you are getting your calories from vitamin- and mineral-rich sources that will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to perform at its best. And rather than trying to restrict the amount you are eating, focus more on increasing the amount of activity in your day. This way, you will still be consuming all of the nutrients your body needs, but you will still be achieving a negative energy balance because you are burning more calories through your day. By focusing on your macronutrient intake and increasing your exercise volume, you will be able to achieve and sustainable, healthy weight loss and more attainable nutrition and fitness goals.
Myth #4: Cheat meals and days are a necessary part of a fitness program
Cheat meals are an interesting topic because for some people they are a great way to help them achieve their goals, and for others, they discourage goal attainment.
The thought behind cheat days and meals is that, if you spend one meal or day eating an excess of calories, it will jump-start your metabolism. This can work, but most people who have success with cheat days and meals are benefitting from the mental rather than the physical aspect. Regularly scheduling meals or days that they can eat freely helps people to stick to their daily nutrition goals because they know they will be able to eat more of what they want soon.
However, for some people, cheat meals and days work the opposite way. Because people have been restricting themselves so severely, when they are finally allowed the chance to eat something they want, they eat in excess. When this happens regularly, it can actually derail progress that happened during the rest of the week.
The one thing I don’t like about cheat meals and days is that they imply that eating less nutrient-dense foods is “cheating.” No one likes being a “cheater.” It’s a strict diet mindset that, I think, does more harm mentally than it does any good, mentally or physically.
The best advice I can give is to try to achieve a balance in your nutritional lifestyle regularly. When you see a food you want to eat that is less nutrient dense, enjoy the food, but then try to eat healthier throughout the day to achieve a balance in your eating. Find joy in giving your body foods that make it feel good, and then, on special occasions or when you are craving them, enjoy foods that delight your senses. When you focus more on what your body needs rather than restricting yourself from foods, you will find that your body often craves the foods that will best support it. Rather than incorporating cheat days and meals into a strict diet, focus on building a lifestyle that includes occasional treats and indulgences.
Myth #5: You have to push through pain in your workouts to achieve results
My fitness feed is often filled with quotes like “No pain, no gain,” written in dark letters against backgrounds of heavy weights. I see posts encouraging people to work harder by saying, “Pain is temporary, pride is forever,” and “Let’s see how far I can go.”“When my body shouts, ‘stop,’ my mind screams, ‘never,’” is another popular quote that I actually find alarming.
Let me explain the problem behind these quotes. They do have the power to motivate someone, but I think they often push people a little too far. When I first began my fitness journey, it was these quotes that ran through my head as I pushed myself to run just one extra mile, lift just one extra rep, or wake up just a little bit earlier to workout. And these can all be great things to do if you’re listening to your body and know the signs of when to push through a workout and when to give your body rest. For me, with little fitness experience at the time, it was these quotes that pushed me to fracture my leg during a run because of the stress I had put on it.
Unless you are an elite athlete pushing through intense competitions, pain should not be a regular feature of your workouts. You don’t need pain to grow your muscles; what is needed is discomfort.
What is the difference between pain and discomfort? Pain leads to injuries, while discomfort leads to growth. When you are just starting out with an exercise program, it can be difficult to tell the difference, but as you continue working out, it will become clear when your body is growing and when it is telling you to stop.
However, there are a couple of ways to determine whether you are experiencing pain or discomfort. Discomfort is eased as soon as you release the pressure you are holding on your body, either by dropping a weight or releasing a stretch. Discomfort can feel irritating, but it isn’t intense. It builds slowly during an exercise, and it goes away, or at least decreases dramatically, when you stop. Pain, on the other hand, is sharp and intense. It comes quickly and lingers even after you stop the exercise. Pain can affect your form, and it gets increasingly worse if you try to push through the workout.
If you are feeling discomfort, it is okay to continue to push through the exercise for a short while – this can lead to muscle growth and increased exercise adaptation. However, if you feel pain, stop the exercise. Giving your body the rest and recovery it needs can make the difference between a day off from the gym, or weeks to months recovering from an injury.
There is a lot of confusing, conflicting information in the fitness and nutrition world about how to approach a healthy lifestyle. The best advice I can give is to listen to your own body. It knows what it needs.
If you need some help navigating the plethora of information about health and wellness, or if you need some guidance in your fitness journey, contact me. Evolve is focused on achieving a healthy, balanced lifestyle through holistic wellness, mindful eating, and activity that fits your way of life.
If you are interested in personal training, nutrition coaching, life coaching, or ZYTO scans, fill out the form below.
Since the novel coronavirus hit in march, unemployment rates have been on the rise and many people have been concerned about the state of their wages. For those who are working, some people have had their salaries dropped, and I have many friends and family members who are worried that, if a second wave of the virus happens, they will lose their jobs, too.
I have never had a consistent income. Before and during college, I worked part-time jobs to make ends meet, and after school, I worked mostly freelance jobs, which meant there was never a consistent amount of money coming in. This never bothered me – I learned how to manage my money in a way that worked for me. So, when the virus hit, and my freelance jobs began to disappear, the way I budgeted my money actually stayed the same.
Many people take specific amounts out of their paychecks each week or month for savings or to give to charity. Because I have never had a consistent amount of money coming in, instead of taking out specific amounts of money, I split up my paycheck by percentages. This way, no matter how much I am earning, I always know how much money I have available for spending, how much should go into savings, the minimum amount I want to give to charity, etc.
This is not the ideal way for everyone to split up their incoming funds, but it works for me. And during such uncertain times, when paychecks seem to be less consistent for many people, I thought I would share how I split up my money as a possible option for others. You can use the percentages listed below, or just use my formula as a starting point to create a budget that works best for you!
My budget
Spend account – 60 percent (40 percent for essentials and 20 percent for recreational spendin)
The biggest chunk of my money goes into my spend account. The key here is that, hopefully, I won’t actually spend all of this money. This account also functions as a short-term savings account for bigger, unexpected expenditures. This is always the account I dip into first for any purchases, big or small, expected or unexpected.
Charitable giving – 10 percent
Ten percent of everything I earn is donated to charitable organizations of my choice. The organizations I donate to most frequently include Compassion International (I sponsor a child living in Ecuador), the Ulman Foundation, and United Church. I love also letting this account build up sometimes, so when I am asked for more sizable donations, I have the means to give. To be honest, though, I have a hard time saying “no” to people when they ask for support, so this account normally drops into a deficit, meaning I take some funds out of my spend account to donate, too.
Savings – 10 percent
Ten percent of everything I earn also immediately goes into savings. These are my long-term savings that I don’t touch unless it is an absolute emergency, or for very large purchases that I can’t cover from my spend account alone. As suggested by Dave Ramsay, I always try to have a minimum of $1,000 in this account in case of an emergency.
Adventure Fund – 10 percent
I am a saver, not a spender. I learned a long time ago that this meant I rarely spent on myself, which meant I ended up never doing anything that I really wanted to do with my life. So, I wrote myself a bucket list, and anytime I take a step towards achieving one of those goals, I take the money from my adventure fund. It’s a savings account for all of the life experiences I want to have. These include fun trips, like my road trip to Colorado, but also more practical purchases that are important to me, such as going to college and buying a home in the future.
Loan payments – 10 percent
Another 10 percent of my paycheck is designated to pay off debts, such as college loans. If there isn’t enough in this account to pay for loans, I take money out of my spend account, adventure fund, and savings (I also often take money from these accounts anyway to put extra money on my loan payments – the faster they are paid off, the better).
For me, having a budget has not been restrictive, but freeing! Knowing what I have to spend and feeling reassured that I have money set aside for paying off debts and saving for the future makes me feel more comfortable spending money on things that I want and need.
Comment below if you have tips to share on how you best budget your money, or if you have any questions about my budget formula!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product after clicking the associated link, I will earn a small commission off of that purchase.
It seems like the novel coronavirus is not going anywhere soon, so we have all been tasked with finding ways to navigate this “new normal.” For travel enthusiasts, like me, that can be a difficult task considering the amount of risk and restriction associated with travel. Airports are practically a breeding ground for the virus, and every country and state has different mandates about how and when people are allowed to visit.
It is recommended to stay at home as much as possible unless travel is essential, but sometimes, we all need to step outside of our homes for our own mental health. If that’s you, consider using these tips to keep your travels as safe as possible.
1. Do your research
Research your own state’s laws and the laws of the state or country you are planning to travel to. Know what the restrictions are and what is required of you, such as having an extended quarantine when you arrive at your destination or after you return home. If you can limit your travel to within your own state, that’s even safer, and it can be more realistic if you can’t take the time off to quarantine from your job.
2. Wear a mask
Joseph and me on a main street in Leesburg, Virginia, where we were visiting Joseph’s sister, Jo, and her husband, Dan
Whether your state or the place you are visiting requires it, wear a mask. The most recent research shows that this protects not only the people around you, but yourself as well. Make sure the mask you are wearing is approved by the CDC, and please wear it over your mouth and nose. Both your mouth and nose lead to your respiratory system, so there is absolutely no point in leaving your nose exposed.
If you can, avoid international travel or travel to faraway states that requires a plane ride. Airports pose a much larger risk of contracting and spreading the virus than your own vehicle. If you can stay within your own state, even better. But if you want to travel out-of-state, consider the idea of road tripping there. The great part of this is driving to your destination enables you to see more of the scenery and to stop at other places along the way that seem fun or interesting. Make a road trip playlist (or use mine below) to listen to some entertaining tunes along the way.
4. Keep your hands as clean as possible
Wash your hands frequently, and keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your car for times when you can’t. Keeping your hands clean dramatically reduces your chance to contracting and spreading the virus. And remember, even when you think your hands are clean, do NOT touch your face!
5. Stay away from other people as much as possible
If you are traveling simply to get out of the house, consider alternatives to hotel stays and popular tourist attractions. Hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities are great alternatives to walking busy streets. Consider packing your own food or getting takeout rather than dining at a restaurant. And while the weather is still warm, camping can be a more affordable and safer alternative to hotel stays.
Traveling to other places is fun, but it only seems worth it when you really get to experience those places. The good news is that the tourist attractions are often not the best way to achieve this – the best way to experience a place is to go where the locals go. So, again, do your research. Make a list of the places you want to visit and things you want to do that are low-risk, such as visiting national parks, scenic points, local eateries that are offering carry-out, and main streets in small towns.
7. Get tested for COVID-19 when you come home
Whether your state recommends it or not, a safe step you can take at the end of your trip is getting tested for COVID-19 as soon as you return and quarantining until you get the results. Waiting to interact with other people until you know you’re safe can help prevent the spreading of the virus to dozens of people. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so if you are willing to take the risk of traveling, consider making sure that you are the only one who experiences any potential consequences of that choice.
Traveling can be a great way to take care of your mental health and get active in your daily life, but during times like this, it should always be done with caution and forethought. Don’t stop living life, but make sure when you do embark on any adventures, you are doing so safely for yourself and others.
Holistic wellness and medicine is gaining prominence in the medical and health community, and supplements are one of the main products at its core. However, with little regulation on these products, especially in the United States, and with so many supplements to choose from, it can be difficult to know what you need and what is actually going to work.
This is where ZYTO scans come into the equation.
ZYTO is an international company focused on producing software designed to give insight and guidance for health and wellness decisions. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Vaughn Cook, ZYTO is one of the leaders of biocommunicaton technology in the world.
My story
I have to admit, I was greatly skeptical of the ZYTO software the first time I came in contact with it. I had been struggling with chronic health issues for eight years, and it had gotten to the point that my digressing health consumed much of my energy and time. After multiple doctors had failed to successfully treat my diagnoses, or even realize what was wrong, I tried the ZYTO scan as a last ditch effort to improve my health.
After spending much of my life being poked and prodded with needles and more invasive procedures, the idea of having my health problems understood simply by placing my hand on a cradle seemed much too simplistic. When the scan was finished, I was given a long list of supplements recommended to bring my body to a more balanced state. Because neither the scan nor the supplements were covered by insurance, I disappointedly handed over hundreds of dollars that day with little hope that anything in my life would change.
However, after years of struggling to find help and a cure for my illness, it was only a mere two weeks after taking the supplements that I began to feel a difference. My irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and leaky gut symptoms improved, my headaches and body pain began to fade, and the heaviness I had felt for years started to lift away. I had more energy, a larger appetite, and a new zest for life. My mood improved, as did my capacity to mentally handle tasks that before had been challenging. As time went on, I began to be able to eat foods that before had been restricted from my diet, and I began to chase dreams that I had never thought possible, such as running across the country last summer.
How does a ZYTO scan work?
So, how does the ZYTO scan work? First, it’s important to recognize that the ZYTO scan is not a diagnostic tool. It is not meant to replace doctors or western medicine, but it is meant to serve alongside these other health modalities to create a holistic wellness program. The hope is that the supplements recommended will help support someone who is pursuing a healthy lifestyle.
To recommend supplements, the scan uses a galvanic skin response, which measures fluctuations in electrical conductivity of the skin. You may be familiar with this technology as it is used in lie detector, or polygraph, tests. Galvanic skin responses have also been used to do psychological research, psychotherapy, media and ad testing, usability testing, and neuroscience. By using a galvanic skin response, the ZYTO technology is able to tell if your body has a positive or negative response to different substances, including different foods, supplements, and health services, such as massage or chiropractic care. The ZYTO software analyzes the responses given to determine which of these foods, supplements and health modalities can help bring the body into a balanced, healthy state.
Is the ZYTO scan for me?
The best thing about a ZYTO scan is it can help anyone, no matter where they are in their health journey. Whether you are currently being treated for a medical diagnosis, working on losing weight or building muscle through personal training and/or nutrition coaching, or just trying to live a healthier lifestyle, the ZYTO scan is a tool that will only benefit your health journey. It serves alongside your current medical and health treatments to better help you achieve your goals and have a healthy lifestyle.
Getting a ZYTO scan
If you are interested in getting a ZYTO scan, or just learning more about the technology and what getting a scan looks like, consider using Evolve. I offer ZYTO scans at a competitive, affordable price because I strongly believe everyone should have access to becoming their healthiest self. I work with Nature’s Sunshine, a reputable supplement company that has been offering affordable, high-quality supplements for 50 years. Most importantly, though, I want to work with you. Getting a scan with Evolve means that your health goals and personal lifestyle will always be taken into account, and the supplements I recommend will always be secondary to suggesting dietary and lifestyle changes that will help you achieve the life you want without having to buy anything. My goal is always to help you become the healthiest, happiest version of yourself through the most natural means possible.
To learn more & schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation, click here.
When the novel coronavirus changed the world in March, it was difficult to imagine what a future would look like. I took my life day by day, watching, observing, and trying to construct some form of comfort and continuity in my life.
In the five months that have passed since that time, it has still been a struggle to find solace in a world that is rapidly changing around me. I have spent far too much time trying to plan for a future that is still mostly unknown. The few things that have brought me some consolation are the people in my life and the adventures I have taken now that my schedule is oddly free. It was these two things that brought me to Pennsylvania.
Traveling during the coronavirus can be daunting, especially when restrictions are constantly changing. However, after checking the latest travel restrictions this past week, I made plans to visit the state just next door to me where two people I was very excited to see are currently living.
Since the start of the pandemic, I have not seen any friends in person. Apart from my new fiancé and a few of his family members, I have socially distanced myself from everyone. I have heard it has been suggested to call social distancing “physical distancing” to encourage people to still have social interactions through less conventional means, such as Zoom or FaceTime. Unfortunately, in my case, physical distancing really did become social distancing – text messages went unanswered and video calls became less frequent as people have grown tired of the constant screen time and so little authentic time spent with people.
Caitlin & me at Stevenson University’s Relay for Life in 2018
So, when Caitlin and Mark agreed to meet for dinner in their town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I jumped at the chance to do a little more traveling and see two people I have dearly missed.
Caitlin and I became friends my first year at Stevenson University, and we have been close ever since. She invited me to come with her to Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization on campus focused on helping college students grow in their faith. It was there that I met Mark, who was one of the leaders in the club. The following year, Caitlin and Mark started dating. It was obvious from the beginning of their relationship that the two of them were perfect for one another. This past June, just 10 days after my own engagement, Mark proposed. So, this dinner was not just one to catch up, but to celebrate the life milestone we had all taken very recently.
Joseph and I woke up early Saturday morning to get a jumpstart on our traveling. It is on our bucket list to visit all 50 states, and this was our chance to cross Pennsylvania off our list.
In order to officially say we visited a state, there are a couple of things we have agreed we need to do. We have to explore a main street, eat (or drink) at a local restaurant, hike at a national park, and visit a tourist or scenic spot. Once we have done all of these things, we can go to a local Starbucks to buy our “Been There” series mug.
So far this summer, we have visited Colorado, Maryland and Virginia. Suffice it to say, I was very excited to add a fourth mug to our collection that has been growing on my windowsill.
Our first stop was Gettysburg National Military Park, a place shrouded in American history. The morning was thankfully still cool when we began our relaxed, four-mile hike on the Johnny Reb Trail. The paved path wound through cemeteries and monuments commemorating the lives of fallen soldiers and to tell the story of the Battle of Gettysburg. Stone statues marked the spots where the infantry moved during the fight. According to the National Park Service website, the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point during the Civil War that helped secure the eventual victory of the Union. Known for being the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, it was this particular battle that inspired President Lincoln’s famous “Gettysburg Address.”
Our next stop was Starbucks. It was a little early in the day to already be buying our mug, but we knew we wouldn’t check off all our destinations until that night, and since it was now late morning, we were both desperate for coffee. We bought our mug and two lattes, and then we headed to downtown Gettysburg to walk Steinwehr Avenue, our main street of choice for the day.
While we had been hiking, I had seen people dressed in nineteenth-century style clothing. I had assumed these people were tour guides or people doing reenactments at the park. However, as we walked down the street, we saw multiple people dressed in the same garb. Some played the part of their costume, talking as if they had just stepped off the battlefield, while others I caught checking their cell phones that they had hidden away in their petticoats. Either way, their attire alongside the classic architecture and shops filled with historical artifacts created an immersive experience I thoroughly enjoyed.
After walking around town, we drove to Lancaster. Our dinner reservation was not for a few hours, but we had bought tickets to ride on the Strasburg Railroad, the oldest continuously operating railroad in the country. According to the Strasburg Railroad website, the railroad was founded in 1832 to transport both freight and passengers across Pennsylvania. Neither Joseph nor I had ever ridden on a train before. We excitedly boarded the bright red locomotive and sat across from each other on the bench seats. When the whistle blew and the train chugged out of the station, we stuck our heads out of the windows to feel the wind against our faces and to watch the corn fields whizz past.
While riding, we were treated to learning a bit of Pennsylvania history, culture and superstition. We were told that it had been this train that had taken Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary, to his inauguration in 1861. Unfortunately, a mere four years later, it was also the train that had taken Mary and the body of the deceased president back home. Out our windows, we were able to see Amish farmers working in the fields while we learned from our tour guide about the plain lifestyle. Almost halfway through our trip, the train came to a full stop, and our guide encouraged us to be very quiet so we could hear the ghost whistle of the engine on the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railway, which has been out of service since 1918. Our train’s whistle pierced the air, and without a second’s delay, another whistle answered.
“Is it an echo,” I asked Joseph at the same time he turned to me and posed the same question.
“Did someone ask if it was an echo,” our tour guide asked jovially over the loudspeaker. “I am so disappointed. We pay that farmer 27 dollars a day just to whistle back at us.” I laughed, unsure if the guide was joking or not. I guess we will never know for sure if it is an echo, another whistle, or if there really is a ghost locomotive riding the rails in Pennsylvania.
We had a little extra time between the end of our ride and dinner, so we headed to downtown Lancaster to walk another main street. As soon as we stepped out of the car, a candy store caught my eye. I ran to it like an excited child while Joseph lagged behind.
Sweetish Candy is a Swedish candy and hygge shop that sells imported Scandinavian goods, including a plethora of sweets made with wholesome ingredients. Entranced by all the goodies, we bought two bars of Icelandic bitter chocolate made with Icelandic sea salt and bourbon vanilla. After spending so much time roaming around the shop we had very little left to explore the main street, so we headed back to our car to go to dinner. A nearby gas station bathroom served as our spot to get ready, so when we walked into the restaurant, we looked as if we had not been running around in the humid Pennsylvania heat all day.
We met Cait and Mark at Loxley’s, a popular, upscale restaurant in Pennsylvania. To enter, we walked across a bridge that overlooked a manmade pond filled with ginormous lily pads and big, bright orange fish. Our friends, who had arrived a few minutes before us, were seated on the patio outside. We greeted each other with hugs and exclamations of congratulations. As our waiter, Jonah, served us drinks and appetizers, Caitlin and I studied each other’s rings while we all had the chance to share the stories of our proposals and how life and wedding planning has been going since then. Once dinner was served, we turned the conversation to what post-graduation life has been like, to our work lives, and to sharing how general life during a pandemic has affected each of us. The world grew dark around us as we continued talking long after the plates had been cleared and our glasses had emptied, enjoying the experience of finally being able to talk with close friends without a screen placed between us.
As Cait and I both began to yawn, Joseph and Mark called an end to the evening. We hugged goodbye, promising to visit again soon, and then each returned to our own cars. On the drive home, I felt a sense of peace that I have not yet experienced since the beginning of the pandemic. Life has not returned to normal, and I don’t think it ever will, but the day’s adventures had been a reassurance that this new way of living can still be just as enjoyable and exciting.
Traveling through a place filled with history was a reminder to me of just how much the world has changed and how much it will continue to change throughout my life. Walking around town surrounded by people in bonnets and top hats reminded me that wearing a mask is simply the latest change in fashion, and to be perfectly honest, I would happily choose to wear that than the corsets I saw those other women donning. Like the first gunshot fired during a war, the novel coronavirus changed the world as we know it forever, and we are now in the midst of understanding what this new world will be like. However, in the thick of all this uncertainty, there are two things I now know for sure that have given me hope: First, that life is always changing, so the best way to live life to the fullest is to embrace the new and seek to find ways to still confront and encounter even more novel experiences. And secondly, it will always be the people in my life and the relationships I have built that will bring me comfort in times of elation and struggle, and though it may try, social distancing cannot take that away from me.
Life is not what it used to be, but hopefully, with a little mindset shift and perhaps a little extra effort, we can make it even better than what we ever envisioned.
P.S. Joseph has launched his vlog! Check out his perspective of today’s events by watching the video below. If you like it, please consider subscribing to his YouTube channel – every follow helps.