Author: Aditi Malhotra
Marketing & Social Media Consultant | Content Writer & Columnist | Events & Wedding Planner | Award Winning Home Chef | Home Baker | Artist | Photography Enthusiast

Ultimate Guide to The Best Travel Backpack of 2017 by Travel Meets Happy

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

I recently stumbled upon this interesting blog post Ultimate Guide to The Best Travel Backpack of 2017 and thought of sharing it with you all lovely readers of mine

How to Buy Your First Travel Backpack:

To make it easier for you, whether you’re buying your first backpack, or you are an experienced traveler, we’ve made a list of our top recommendations for backpacks that are available on the world wide web! We’ve also made our own pros and cons list so that you can decide for yourself what is important to you, based on comfort, cost, color, extra features, and everything else that you can think of!

We’d hate to see you end up buying your plane ticket for your first, second, or even tenth adventure and find yourself both looking and feeling like an inexperienced traveler. Travelers, for either pleasure and business, who are obviously inexperienced with international and other long-distance travel can become targets for pick-pocketers and other petty theft. We hope that we can help you to avoid that situation, and save you some trouble when it comes to locating your luggage on the conveyer belt at the baggage claim! Skip the baggage claim altogether with a backpack that meets carry-on requirements, and makes traveling easier and more fun!

Read the full post here

As I surfed more on the blog, I just fell in love with the content and this surely is one blog one shouldn’t miss. Really commendable work by Colleen. Do subscribe and follow her blog and I am sure you will enjoy the read

Travel Meets Happy

A blog on location independence, backpack, and travel reviews. Because the experience is worth the adventure.

Fighting Fit: Staying Healthy At Work, And For Work

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

It’s a real fight sometimes staying fit and healthy at work. However, it’s definitely worth doing, and this is for two reasons. The first is that no job is worth sacrificing your health for. After all, it’s really the only thing we have when you take all the trappings of life away. The second is that poor health can endanger your job. Leading to excessive time off sick and even resulting in you no longer being able to work and support your family. With this in mind read on for some advice on how to stay healthy at work, and for work.

Look at your work environment

The first thing you do to keep healthy at work is to look at the environment that you work in. Is it conducive to health and wellbeing? If not, what can you then do, or ask your employers to do to improve it?

It may be that you work in a shop or restaurant and are on your feet all day so you can decide to swap from heel shoes to flats. Something that will put less strain on your back and knees. You may work in an environment where the risk of infection is high, such as a hospital or public building. In this case why not ask your employers to provide hand sanitizer, and items like automatic doors, that can reduce the risk of infection? If you work in an office environment and are indoors all day, you may choose to start taking your breaks outside. This can help you stay healthier because you can access natural light that helps your body to create D vitamins, as well as getting a break from your desk.

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Just remember whether it is a change that you or your employer makes your environment can have a big impact on your health.

Use work health benefits

Next, a good way of staying fighting fit at and for work is to use the health benefits that your company provides. They may offer a free or reduced-priced gym membership. They may even be generous enough to provide health insurance. Although it is always worth asking what is covered by your policy, as not all grant access to eye health services as well as medical help. If this is the case with yours ask to add vision to your business insurance plan that your employer provides. They may even offer to pay for this for you, especially if you can prove that your eye health is vital to your job.

Manage your stress

Next, to stay fighting fit for work, it’s absolutely essential that you acknowledge and deal with stress. Just pretending that it isn’t affecting you will not stop it having a negative impact. Instead, you need to find constructive ways of dealing with it, ones that you can use while you are at work.

To this end, consider short guided meditations at your desk, taking breaks outside of the office, or even using a stress relief app like the ones here to help you manage any negative feelings. This will then help to stop them building up and causing more major health problems later on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does A Healthy Body Really Equals A Healthy Mind?

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

There’s a common saying that having a healthy body means having a healthy mind, and while some people believe this, others aren’t so sure. Is mental and physical health that closely linked or is it just a myth? Well, that depends on who you ask, but there is a lot of evidence that suggests that our physical health has a huge impact on our mental health and vice versa.

The ancient Greeks, one of the most advanced civilizations during their time, understood the importance of taking care of your mental health as well as your physical health, which could be why their civilization thrived. ‘Sound mind in a sound body’ was the credo of their civilization, and it worked wonders. It’s clear that in the past a healthy body equalled a healthy mind, but what about today?

Photo from Pexels

It’s time to explore whether, in modern day life, a healthy body equals a healthy mind. For everything that you need to know, read on.

Regular exercise reduces stress

It’s no secret that exercise is good for our bodies, but what about our minds. Various studies have shown that regular exercise can help to relieve stress because working out acts as an outlet for stress and worry. While activities like running, cycling and swimming can be great stress relievers, meditation-based exercise can also work wonders. Take pilates and yoga, for instance, these two activities are made to reduce stress while toning and conditioning the body and its muscles. It’s amazing how you can put on some yoga clothes, grab a mat, and begin to practice this ancient form of exercise, and instantly start to feel happier and less stressed. A bonus of which is that the less stressed you are, the less likely you are to fall foul of anxiety or depression.

Being healthy boosts self-esteem

Did you know that it is scientifically proven that being healthy boosts self-esteem? When you are regularly active and take steps to feed your body with healthy foods, you feel better for it, which then helps to boost your confidence. Being healthy can help to foster your sense of self-worth and boost your strength and power. By meeting your health and fitness goals, you will begin to feel better about your appearance.

People who are more active, sleep better

Obviously, the more active you are, the better you sleep. But what you may not know is that a lack of sleep is linked to many mental health problems, such as depression, post-natal psychosis and post-natal depression, and anxiety. By regulating your sleep patterns, you can help to ensure that you get plenty of sleep, and thus you are mentally healthier. Referring to your physical health, when you don’t get enough sleep, your body sufferers as a result, with your immune system being impacted the most.

So there you have it, a healthy body does equal a healthy mind, or at least in most instances, it does. Admittedly, there is no way to completely prevent mental health problems from occurring. However, that being said, if your body is healthy, then the chances of developing mental health problems is much lower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Fall Is The Perfect Time To Try Something New

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

It can be all too easy to start feeling blue around this time of year. The skies are getting a little darker, the days are getting a little colder and everywhere you look people seem just a little grumpier and more ill tempered. This is a shame because there’s a lot to love about the autumnal season. The reddish brown leaves of the trees, the slight mist that pervades in the air, the slightly smoky scent carried on the breeze. It’s a beautiful time of year! The trouble is that when the sun starts to retreat behind the clouds and the nights grow longer most of us find ourselves starting to feel down through no fault of our own. Fear not, however, you can mitigate the effects of these seasonal blues by shaking things up and trying new things.

Going back to school

It’s this time of year when kids and college students are going back to school which lends the season a certain frisson of excitement and opportunity. Just because your school or college days are behind you, doesn’t mean that you can’t energize yourself by trying something new. As we get older we tend to fall into the same habits and behavioral patterns and our brains go on autopilot as it’s not required to make new neural pathways. That’s why the days seem to last forever when we’re young and months go by in the blink of an eye when we get older, it’s because back then our brains were making new pathways all the time and we felt stimulated and excited. No matter how old we get, fall always seems like the start of the new year so now’s the time to reignite those feelings again.

Image by Pixabay

Change your eating and drinking habits

Even if you enjoy a healthy, balanced diet now is the perfect time to open yourself up to new culinary experiences. If you only ever drink white wine, try red. If you only ever drink vodka try whiskey, which can be an intimidating drink but there are plenty of more accessible starter whiskeys. Check out this Kikori review for a great example. The food we eat is a great way of understanding the various cultures of the world so trying a new cuisine is a great way of broadening your cultural horizons (without having to read subtitles). If you’ve always likes your food on the bland side, open yourself up to trying Indian, Thai or Malaysian foods. While these richly flavored foods utilize a broad palettes of spices to create dynamic and interesting flavors there are often plenty of accessible dishes to ease new diners into the flavors.

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Take a class

If you were a drama queen at school, join a local amateur dramatics society or (better yet) get yourself an agent and try and get some paid acting work in your free time. Or, why not learn a new craft. Most community centres and colleges offer classes in all kinds of arts, music and dance as well as sports. These are great ways of keeping in shape (why wait till new year?) while teaching new new skills and introducing you to a whole new circle of friends.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Wait Until The New Year to Break Those Bad Habits

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

If there’s one phrase guaranteed to make eyes roll the world over it’s New Year’s Resolution. This ancient custom has been with us since the days of ancient Rome and while we’ll never know for sure, it’s a good bet that those ancient Romans sucked at keeping them as much as we do. And they didn’t have nearly as many temptations as we face in the modern age. Let’s face it, we all have habits we’d prefer to kick and it can be all too easy to mollify ourselves into indulging our bad habits as we embrace fall and face the coming prospect of winter. After all, ‘tis the season to be jolly (and for jolly read gluttonous). As the skies darken and our hibernation instinct kicks in it’s tempting to spend every available moment huddled under a duvet quietly stuffing our faces, vaguely assuring ourselves that we’ll kick our bad habits utterly and completely (and this time we really mean it). There is, of course, one problem with that logic…

Image by PxHere

If it’s difficult now, it’ll be even worse in January

Sure, it’s getting darker, colder and drearier outside. The thing is, come January, it’ll be really dark, cold and dreary outside. As hard as it is to stay motivated to develop healthy habits in the fall, it’s much, much harder at the height of winter. Instead of deferring your self-improvement for a few months, this is a better time than ever to work towards a happier healthier you.

Now is the time to get in shape

It’s around this time of year when many of us begin to experience the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. While this can lead to a sharp decline in motivation and energy, the natural endorphin spike that exercise provides is a great antidote to this affliction. Start your day with a trip to the gym or even a brisk jog and you’ll start to feel brighter and more positive as you go about your day.

Now is the time to admit you may have a problem

The upcoming festive period brings certain temptations with it, and these are often accompanied by a spike in alcohol related crime and illness. If you (or those close to you) are worried about your current alcohol consumption then you may need support over the coming months or risk lapsing into problem drinking. If you admit that you may have a problem now, you stand a much better chance of staying strong when the temptation is at its greatest. Check out https://broadwaytreatmentcenter.com/treatment/detox-program/ for examples of treatment that may be beneficial to you. Even if you don’t feel that formal help is appropriate to you, now is the perfect time to open up to someone you love. There’s no reason why you should face your troubles alone.

Now is the time to treat your body to some real nutrition

Of course your brain’s telling you to load up on fatty, sugary, salty convenience foods, but these will only feed the cycle of lethargy and unhappiness. Treat your body to fresh, natural whole foods which are scientifically proven to beat the winter blues and give your metabolism the boost that will help mitigate the wobbly effects of the inevitable indulgence of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

VLCC Facewash, just what you need for a perfect skin!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Finding a face wash as per our skin type isn’t a challenge anymore these days, as there are plenty of options available in the market, yet finding that perfect face wash remains a task. Certain face washes cleanse, but make your skin feel dry after the wash, and certain leave them too oily. There are face washes that manage the hydration and cleansing part, but they leave the skin plain and dull. It gets difficult to achieve all of these from one face wash. I have tried a lot of brands and options but never got satisfied until recently when I tried the VLCC Ayurveda Double Power Double Neem Face Wash. This is surely one gem of a product, it not only cleanses and purifies the skin, but also leaves it glowing.

Now with the festive season approaching, I am sure all of us would want our skin to feel nourished, cleansed as well as glowing, I highly recommend trying this product out and I am sure you will love it.

Salient Features:

  1. Gel Type Face Wash
  2. Not too thick, and hence easy application
  3. Purifies skin deeply
  4. Prevents acne
  5. Leaves skin replenished and moisturised
  6. Doesn’t dry the skin
  7. Skin feels glowing

The best part about the product is that it is effective for all skin types, though oily skinned people like me benefit the most out of the anti fungal and acne prone qualities of neem, but overall it helps all skin types for an extremely satisfying purifying experience.

Also its very simple to order the product, just log on to VLCC personal care site and order yourself not just this face wash, but a wide array of personal care products. With the festive season right there, you can even order yourself or your loved ones some amazing hampers from the site.

For myself, I know for sure that after using this Double Power Double Neem Face Wash, my search has ended, I am now only gonna explore more products from VLCC as the affects of this product on my skin have given me the confidence to try more. Don’t believe the glow, see my picture below and you will know what I mean

Prepare Your Skin For The Winter Season

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Max Pixel

You should always take the time out to look after your skin, but now so more than ever because temperatures are changing. It’s been hot and humid which your body has adapted to, but now the cooler days are introducing themselves, so your skin is going to need some time to readapt to the change, so it’s extra important – now more than ever – to look after yourself properly.

Here’s how you can do that.

Change the moisturiser

As winter is coming, the products that you are using now just aren’t going to cut it. In the summer months, your skincare routine will include lightweight lotions, but the colder it gets, the dryer your skin becomes, so it needs more moisture otherwise it will start the crack. So it’s important to stay on top of the task at hand by investing in the right creams to coat your skin and protect it from the cool weather.

Reduce your shower time

It’s clear that hot showers are greatly welcomed in the winter, but believe it or not, they can actually do more harm than good to your skin. The hot water from the showers will cause your skin to dry out even more which can leave you feeling very irritated and sore. So although you don’t need to suffer by taking a cold water shower, it’d be wise to just shorten the length of time you bathe.

Focus on sensitive areas

It’s very ordinary to have some areas that are affected more than others. A common place is the lips and around the nose, and in that case, they will require a little more attention. In order to solve this problem, you will want to apply a moisturising lip balm on your lips to prevent them from cracking, and keep reapplying your usual moisturising lotion on any other areas to keep them soft.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating is a way of removing any dead skin that you have that is clogging your pores and clinging to you when it doesn’t need to be. It removes the dead cells while leaving your skin feeling silky smooth. There are many other techniques out there which claim to do this in a different way – you can find more ideas on sites like Exfoliate.com, along with personal advice and reviews on the various approaches.

Keep yourself healthy

Although you’re paying attention to the outside of your body, you should also make a conscious effort to take care of the inside, as it’s all connected and will make a big difference in your results if everything works together. This means maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle to keep your appearance looking good, all while feeling great.

Stay hydrated

Water, water, water. You can never have enough of it. It’s what keeps the fluids pumping and your skin glowing – even in the winter. When you hear people complimenting one another on how radiant they’re looking, you’ll find that that is down to how well hydrated they keep themselves – look on homemadeforelle.com to find out more. So always keep a bottle of water on you so you can top it up throughout the day.

 

 

A Step-by-Step Guide to Planning a Walking Holiday

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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Getting out into nature using only your own two legs as transportation is a romantic idea for many people. And there is no doubt that a walking holiday provides a sense of adventure that you simply don’t get from other trips. But you also need to make sure that you have done the proper planning and preparation. If not, what seemed like a dream to start off with could quickly turn into a nightmare! So, here are a few top tips when it comes to planning your walking adventure holiday.

Choose a Location and Type of Walk

The location you go for is really based on your personal desires and also your walking experience. You may be looking to get out into the wilderness without many people being around or you may want some clearly marked footpaths with plenty of other people for company. You should also think about how challenging you want the walks to be. Are you looking for something flat or would you prefer mountainous terrain?

Map a Route

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Once you have zeroed in on an area, you then need to start mapping a route. Think about a start point and a destination based on how much walking you want to do each day and plan your stopping points along the way. Use maps and guides to give you a helping hand. To make things easier, there are plenty of walks that have been already completed by other people and the information will already be clearly listed. If you are more adventurous and experienced, you may want to plan your own route entirely.

Arrange Accommodation

B&Bs, hostels, guesthouses, hotels and camping are all viable options when you are walking, so you just need to think about your budget and the level of comfort you are looking for. The internet has made information so much more readily accessible, so check out reviews online so you get a fuller picture of where you will be staying. Arrange your accommodation methodically so you book places as you go along.

Prepare Your Resources

There are a few things that you will need to make your walking holiday a success. First of all, a map and compass are important, and you should also look at downloading a maps app on your phone. Next up, you need clothing including waterproof walking shoes, jacket, thick socks, fleece, and anything else you can think of. And then you need your gear including a backpack, walking poles, water bottle, electronic devices and chargers.

Training

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It is a good idea to get some walking done before your trip so you don’t find yourself completely exhausted before you have even really gotten going. If you can do a walk covering the longest distance you will be covering in a day, you will feel much more like you are fully prepared for what is in store.

A walking holiday is one of the most wonderful experiences you can have, and hopefully these suggestions have provided you with a helping hand to get started!

 

 

Eat Yourself Happy: Foods Scientifically Proven To Beat The Winter Blues

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Image by Max Pixel

In case you haven’t noticed, the summer is well and truly gone and with the turning of the leaves and the graying of the skies, something more insidious is creeping in with the longer nights. Many of us find ourselves unaccountably experiencing low mood, depression, lethargy and in some cases increased irritability. As fall sets in and eventually concedes to winter, an increasing number of us start to experience Seasonal Affective disorder (aptly abbreviated to SAD). This can not only sap our mood and make us feel depressed and lethargic (even if objectively our lives are great), but also drain our will to eat healthily and live active lifestyles. It can make us want to oversleep and cause us to crave unhealthy foods, especially starchy refined carbohydrates and sugars, resulting in weight gain which only feeds the cycle of inactivity. “Why bother?” we ask ourselves, before grabbing a candy bar and settling down on the sofa.

If the coming of the fall season makes you want to wrap up in a duvet, grab a bag of potato chips and hibernate then you desperately need a pick me up.

Fortunately, with a little know how, you can chomp the blues away while improving your overall health. But first…

Exercise… It’s non-negotiable

On a dark, cold and drizzly morning, going to the gym or out for a jog is probably the last thing you feel like doing which is exactly why it’s the first thing you should do. The benefits of exercising first thing in the morning are many and various. It can raise your energy levels and mood while leaving you secure in the knowledge that the rest of the day is yours to do as you wish. It can also give your brain a much-needed endorphin boost, raising your mood and also boosting your metabolism.

Even a 20 minute jog is a great way to start the day. If that sounds like a nightmare, give yourself a reason to enjoy your jog. Take your phone and listen to some music, a podcast or an audiobook as you jog. Check out this flipbelt review for an alternative to carrying your phone in your pocket. The last thing you want is to start your day with a dropped and broken phone.

Image by Pixabay

Mood boosting foods

After starting the day with a brisk workout, you’ve earned a delicious breakfast. Now’s the time to capitalize on this natural mood booster and load up on these nutritious mood boosting foods:

  • Avocado- Avocados are full of healthy fats to stabilize your appetite and reduce cravings but they’re also great for balancing your hormones and keeping your serotonin levels
  • Nuts- A great post-workout food, nuts are full of healthy fats, fiber, antioxidants and protein as well as being full of serotonin.
  • Strawberries- They’re tasty, they’re versatile and they’re rich in vitamins and nutrients to facilitate stable brain chemistry.
  • Sesame seeds- Great for sprinkling and snacking, sesame seeds are rich in the amino acid tyrosine which naturally increases the brain’s production of dopamine naturally boosting your mood while also helping your body to assimilate their protein.

 

 

When Work Makes You Sick: What Next?

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

The work you do is meant to enrich your life. It gives you a focus, and of course is the way you generate the income that you need to provide for your family. Work, on the whole, is something that can be a force for tremendous good in your life.

However, there is a potential downside; the threat of work-related illnesses. Below, you can explore some of the most common questions that relate to the idea of work causing harm to your health. If you suspect you — or someone you know — might have been affected, there’s also some valuable advice on next steps.

What Illnesses Are Caused By Working Environments?

  • Mental health conditions
  • Repetitive Strain Injury
  • Mesothelioma, due to asbestos exposure
  • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

The above are the most common, but realistically, any work could have an impact on your health. If you suspect that work is involved in your misfortune, then you’ll need to look deeper into the matter. The four mentioned might be the most common, but they’re far from the only health issues a bad working environment can cause.

How Do I Know It’s Specifically Work That Caused My Problem?

Some conditions are easier to trace to work-related sources, as the conditions required for the illness are unlikely to exist outside of working environments. It’s easier to obtain Mesothelioma help or Noise-Induced Hearing Loss assistance than it is for RSI or mental health conditions. With Mesothelioma or hearing loss, the issues that cause these are very obviously related to employment; few people will have experienced asbestos or extensive volumes in their personal lives. The same cannot be said for RSI or mental health conditions.

So if you have worked with asbestos or around high volume without adequate ear protection, Occam’s Razor dictates that it will be your working environment that has caused the issue. For mental health problems or RSI, it’s worth thinking through your personal life and seeing if there are any obvious causes. That’s not to say work isn’t the cause of these issues, but just that the matter requires a little more inspection before you pursue the idea.

 Do I Have To Tell My Employer? 

Yes. It is only right to inform your employer if you suspect something you are doing at work is causing health issues.

Do I Have The Right To Time Off Work? 

If you have been made unwell for any reason then you should have time off work if needed. However, few companies have a specific dispensation for extra sickness leave solely due to work-related illness. You will need to talk to your employer about this.

Can I Sue?

It’s impossible to answer this without being sure of your individual situation. The best thing to do is to speak to a lawyer and see if they believe you have a case.

In Conclusion

If you think your work is making you unwell, then don’t ignore the matter. Speak to your employer and a doctor to see what they say. There might be changes or assistance that can be put in place, or you might have a legal case to help pay associated health costs. Don’t just ignore the problem; work is meant to be a method to earn money, and you don’t have to just accept ill health as a part of that deal.

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