photo credit: kangotraveler

With the good weather starting to make an appearance, your thoughts are probably starting to turn to your vacation.

Ask most people what they find the most stressful about a vacation or a holiday (depending what part of the world you are in), and most people will say, “Preparing for it!”

It’s the sitting down to make the list of things you need once you’ve got the tickets and the accommodation arranged, and the wondering if you’ve packed everything, and the hoping that you haven’t forgotten something important, isn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you just had a list you could keep and print off at a moment’s notice, especially if you saw that last minute bargain leaving in two nights from now?

In fact if you had that list already prepared, you could have several small bags sitting waiting on a spare shelf in the wardrobe ready to grab, each labelled and
ready to go. Wouldn’t that be so helpful in taking away the stress of preparing for your vacation?

So here’s an easy and helpful list I’ve put together for you to print off. However I would suggest you do buy the items in advance and make use of the tip above and prepare ready grab bags of the items listed, or even make named bags for individual family members. Of course, add or change this list by choice.

Toiletries.

2 – 4 Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
2 – 4 Face wash
2 – 4 Facecloths
2 Moisturisers
2 Make-ups
Cotton Buds
Cotton Wool
Baby Lotion
Perfume
2 – 4 Deodorants
2 – 4 Roll On
2 – 4 Shower Gels
2 Shampoo
2 Conditioner
2 Talc
2 Shaving Gels
Immac
Razors
Baby Wipes
2 – 4 Lip balm
Hairspray
Hair Wax
Hair Accessories
Hair Brushes
Tweezers
Soap Bags
Ear Plugs

Sun Creams and Lotions

1 – 2 x Factor 50
1 Factor 30
2 Factor 25
2 Factor 15
1 Factor 8
1 Factor 4
2 – 4 After Suns
2 – 4 Lip Screens
Large towels

Drugs and First Aid

Anti-Histamine
Travel Sickness Tabs
Immodeum
Paracetamol
Aspirin
Iprobrufen
Plasters
Savlon or Dettol
Mosquito Tabs for Plugin
E45
Diorlyte
Female Birth Control Pills
Panty Liners
Tampax

Personal Miscellaneous

Hairdryer
Straighteners
Tin Openers
Jewellry
Sun Glasses
Sun Hats
Batteries
MP3 Players
Mobile Phones and Chargers
(Mobiles topped up?)
2 Backpacks
Travel Plugs
Magazines
Books
Pens
Suitcases ready
Choice of Clothes
Choice of Underwear
Bathing Costumes/Trunks

Documents

Passports
Insurance
Medical Docs for treatment in foreign hospitals
Proof of Holidays
Tickets
American Express
Own Currency
Foreign Currency
Travel Cheques

Tags: holiday checklist, vacation checklist, tropical break



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A Personal Product Test.

Well, I’ve decided to challenge myself to losing at least 2 stones in weight by the end August this year.

To do this I have decided initially to make a purchase of three months of the new wonder diet pill Hoodia derived from the Hoodia Gordonii cacti. I’ve chosen to use the Pure Hoodia product promoted on this blog by PureHoodia.

The container shown contains 90 tablets and you simply take one about 30 minutes before your normal breakfast, lunch and evening meal times.

I intend to keep up my vitamin intake using supplements, and take at least one helping of bran fortified cereal every day with a little semi- skimmed milk. Otherwise I intend to be eating little.

In the way of exercise, I don’t intend to be doing much for the month of May as I am sceptical if this product is all it says it is, and I intend to test it, by keeping my exercise levels the same, eating less, and just taking the product to see what progress I make in losing weight.

Currently with jeans, a T shirt, and trainers I weighed in today at 4pm at 17.5 stones. I’ll be using the same weighing machine for consistency and reporting here at the end of each week on my progress.

I hoping that this product will do exactly what it says, and make me not want to eat. Well we’ll see. Watch this space.

Thursday May 8th Update:

It’s now about 12 hours since I started the course of Pure Hoodia tablets. Interestingly I haven’t felt hungry, so that part of the claim sees to be working. I haven’t felt satisfied either from a food perspective. I still feel the desire to drink, or for a coffee, but there is no desire to add a scone, or a bit or shortbread, or a snack of any kind.

Basically the feeling is that you’ve had a meal several hours ago, and the feeling of fullness has passed and at the moment you don’t desire anything further. I’ve taken my second pill. Overall perhaps I feel slightly tired, certainly I feel lazier than normal, but I think if someone offered me a bun, my reaction would be ‘no’, because the thought of one would be that I wouldn’t enjoy it.

If you were doing any activity that required your reactions to be on top form, then perhaps it would be wise to decide to eat a small balanced food bar or similar before that activity to counteract the slight feeling of lethargy.

Saturday May 10th Update:

After a couple of days, I’m pleased to report that the feelings of hunger have not reappeared.  I find as meal times come due and I take another pill, there is still no desire to want to eat.  For breakfast I’ve been choosing to take a Slim Fast drink, and between 6pm and 8pm, I’ve either taken some cereal, or a small salad.  Afterwards I’ve felt satisfied with that small amount.  I’ve skipped lunch altogether.  When I’ve chosen to eat, the enjoyment has still been there, but I’m definitely eating smaller amounts.

I’ve felt no temptation to snack on buns, chocolates, or anything else during the day, and even to a degree my desire for cups of coffee have diminished, instead preferring mildly flavoured or just plain tap water. No temptation for sweets either, though I can’t say I have been a big sweet fan anyway.  Sleeping has been normal, and everything so far is progressing well.  (Haven’t made any attempt to weigh myself yet).

Tags: weight loss, summer weight loss, hoodia, hoodia gordonii



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photo credit: gotplaid?

The problem of obesity is clearly evident in our current society. Research indicates that the rates of obesity have, at best, doubled with some sections of society. But among children, the rate of obesity has tripled. People who suffer from obesity cannot merely slough it off as an appearance issue. They should educate themselves about the possible health consequences of being overweight. This is even more important in children who become obese at an early age. It is a travesty that obese children, if their habits remain the same, will always have to struggle with health problems beginning in childhood.

Unfortunately in some families the trend towards obesity can be hereditary. Even if this is the case, there are still many steps than a parent can take to help prevent their child developing obesity. Of course the primary factor is the child’s nutrition. Steps should be taken where possible to prevent children over consuming fast foods or snack foods that are low in nutritional value.

It can be difficult to encourage children to eat properly. Really it’s up to you. You should start feeding them better quality food at an early age and begin to train them into proper eating behaviour. If you don’t all eat together and spend time at the dinner table eating properly, this will be difficult. If you allow them to eat their dinner quickly and rush away from the table, you’re selling bad habits for the future. Believe it or not the slower a child eats the less food normally they will consume.

Recently across the USA and the UK in particular, a trend has developed where food is used as a reward. You see this happening with school achievements. They are given ice cream or sweets for doing well with school reports, sports, or even homework. Subconsciously this reinforces the pleasure of eating, and in later years can lead to problems of obesity.

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Ways that you can counteract unhealthy snack eating are to have convenient healthy foods such as small prepackaged salads handy in your fridge. You could also have for example, small fruit salads which you can keep from browning by adding a touch of lemon juice over the sliced fruit. Carrot sticks are also a tasty idea, and perhaps a few small portions of smoothies with pure yoghurt would be another good nutritional choice to have in the fridge.

Why you may not be able to eliminate every undesirable snack choice, you can certainly cut down on your children’s choices by doing your best to eliminate the less desirable items from your kitchen. When you do this then you’re not having to worry so much about childrens party cakes and possible health risks because their normal diet is usually healthy and nutritious.

Healthy foods are not always a convenient option for the busy parent. In today’s society, foods that are high in fat and other unhealthy components are more readily available than their healthier counterparts. But when possible, parents should strive to fill their child’s diet with as much healthy food possible. The sugary snack should be used only as an occasional enjoyment rather than a daily requirement. Doing this will ensure a healthier diet for your child and relieve you from being distressed over their daily eating habits.

A nutritious diet is a key ingredient for an active child. Healthy foods provide longer-lasting energy rather than the short spurts that sugary foods tend to give. The more playing that a child does, the more calories that child will burn. A healthy diet that is coupled with a sufficient amount of activity is important for a child to maintain a body that is physically fit.

Tags: child obesity, obesity, fast foods



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