Fitness & Wellness News Your Source for Fitness News, Wellness News, Health News, and Nutrition News!
by Michelle Sutton-Kerchner
This holiday season, protect your year’s worth of fitness efforts. Don’t let your waist go to waste …
You worked hard all year to create a healthier lifestyle. Don’t let the holidays sabotage your sweat. This is the season to rally your efforts, not succumb to eggnog. Enter the new year in impressive shape. You’ll be that much closer to reaching your 2019 new year resolutions!
The Workout Buddy
Keep the festive mood going even during exercise by buddying up for the holiday season. Enlist your friends to commit to a fitness schedule with you. After all, it is the season to connect with friends and family. Time can be the most precious holiday gift of all. And time spent helping each other reach fitness goals delivers a priceless gift: better health.
Exercising with others is especially helpful during this hectic, often stressful time of year. From commiserating on hosting blunders to managing an extra set of reps, holiday workouts with friends are a multitasking wonder. Knowing a friend is relying on your workout motivation, and perhaps your sage tips on turkey basting, helps maintain accountability to fitness goals.
If you are feeling blue about a loved one’s absence, surround yourself in the Center’s welcoming comradery. Absorb the positive energy of a Group Fitness class or ground yourself with a Pilates or Yoga workout. Take steps to cultivate your own support group, which helps well beyond your time spent working out.
The Meal Plan
We often over-credit ourselves with how many calories our sweat session burns. During the holidays, this miscalculation is even more likely. Too many rushed fitness routines and cookies can throw off the calories-burned/calories-consumed ratio needed to maintain a fit physique.
As you sit down to a holiday meal, reconsider what your workout burned off.
Fantasy: the full meal topped off with gravy and butter, plus dessert
Probable reality: a decent serving of mashed potatoes
In other words, recognize those 20 crunches do not compensate for half a pecan pie (the highest caloric pie at about 500 calories per slice, by the way).
Fill your dish with large portions of the healthiest foods, which are usually lower in fat and more nutrient dense. This will leave less space for the fattening temptations famous at holiday meals. Don’t deprive yourself of them. Rather, manage your portions.
The Joy
Focus on those gathered around the table and the emotional deliciousness of their presence. Although everyone may not be your favorite, there is something favorable in everyone. Acknowledge the blessings in your life and on the table. Be grateful for the flavorful food and those who made it. A meal savored slowly is better appreciated. It also results in eating less to feel more fully satisfied.
Food defines much of the holidays. Often, it is the foundation on which plans are created, from cocktail parties to cookie exchanges and formal dinners. However, the true spirit often craves variety. Feast on these low-cal options:
- Find delight in a winter’s walk (notice animals and plants of the season).
- Go to the theater instead of a restaurant (check out a holiday show).
- Host a game night instead of a dinner (keep hands out of the snack basket).
- Have a healthy food swap instead of a buffet (reduce calories and save time).
- Start a holiday-themed fitness challenge (personal training sessions make great prizes).
You’ve got this. You can have your holiday festivities and keep your waist, too!
