Looking for some great tips for staying fit & healthy during the holiday’s? I asked our local fitness guru, Ruth Abeshaus CPT, NASM to share her ideas for sticking to a happy holiday regime!
It’s well known that exercise and a balanced diet will keep a person healthy and fit. Unfortunately, as fun as the holidays are, the season from Halloween to New Years gives us plenty of opportunities to forfeit the proper execution of exercise and diet. Parties, relatives in town, and elaborate meals of celebration all lead to a different schedule and way of eating. In preparation for this time of year, I thought it appropriate to share some helpful tips on managing your healthy habits during such a traditionally unhealthy time of year.
- Schedule your workouts! Whenever possible, try to do your workout first thing in the morning, rather than waiting until later in the day. You will be much less likely to allow other activities to get in the way of your exercise program.
- Don’t Neglect Your Weight Training. If you can only set aside a few minutes a day for exercise during this time of year, make sure you are keeping up with your strength training regimen. Weight lifting maintains a higher metabolic rate by building lean muscle, so you burn calories more efficiently. And to add to this point, make sure you are doing interval training. Interval training boosts your calorie-burning efficiency by mixing high and low- intensity exercise in a single workout. When done right, you can reap the same benefits in 20-30 minutes of interval training than you would get in a full hour of other exercise. Running for 20 minutes at a 10 minute pace will not help you stick to your goals.
- Eat BEFORE the party! You never know what is going to be served so to keep temptation at bay, make sure you give yourself time for a high protein low carb snack. It will fill you up, allow you to eat clean while you can, and you will not be ravenous when you arrive and dig in to the first tempting cheese dip that comes your way
- Be Flexible. Events and to-do-lists come up during the holidays, getting in the way of your usual routine. Instead of giving up on your exercise program entirely, try shifting your schedule to carve out a different time of day for your workouts. Be active while working, park further away when doing errands, take the stairs, think about being more active throughout the day.
- Make What You Will Eat! This time of year, you are asked to bake, cook, and contribute to the holiday table. Try to make something that you know doesn’t have 3 sticks of butter in it and it will help you to stick to your goals. Bring a healthy bean dip, fruit or vegetable tray, or even experiment with a great new dish that is now made healthy by you.
- Walk with friends! This is an easy one, get out there, get some fresh air and get caught up on each other’s lives! You will feel so empowered and fortunate that you have such special friends around you.
- Exercise without changing your clothes or scheduling it in! Do some isometric abdominal and seat exercises while waiting in line, chatting on phone or online shopping. You will be strengthening your seat and core while getting that last minute shopping in. Just squeeze and release, you can even do it while at red lights while driving.
- Drink your H20! Don’t forget to hydrate and drink half your body weight in water (i.e. If you weigh 150 lbs., drink 75-80 ounces of water daily) your skin will thank you and you will feel full, your liver will thank you too.
- Holiday Dressing:There is no greater motivation for maintaining a healthy weight over the holidays than that little black dress in your closet waiting for New Year’s Eve. Keep your eye on the prize, and you will be more likely to stick with your fitness program throughout. And make sure you put the yoga pants away, wear form-fitting clothing that reminds you of your fitness/diet goals.
- Holiday Baking Can Be Stressful While baking for the holidays, make sure you are chewing gum, brush your teeth before or even put in a white strip…keeps you from dipping into the cookie dough or frosting…you will feel better about the baking too!
- Do an extra workout while watching TV—There is always something you can do to keep your metabolism up at the end of the day, do 30 push ups, frog jumps or body weight squats to keep you burning calories at night!
Most important thing–Don’t let a bad snack turn into a bad day!!
A little information on Ruth:
Ruth Abeshaus CPT, NASM
Certified Personal Trainer
TABATA bootcamp certified
National Academy of Sports Medicine
www.facebook.com/justsweatbootcamp
About JUST SWEAT
I live. I train. I play. I sweat.
Mission:
It is my desire, belief, character, determination and love that guide everything I do and say. It is my wish to help others realize their own amazing potential. My classes, small groups, and one-on-one training sessions combine cardio and strength moves using the HIIT method, that delivers a comprehensive workout, spikes metabolism, increasing EPOC (informally called after-burn), 45 minutes and you are done! JUST SWEAT–make every drop count!
Make this YEAR the BEST of your life, and make the commitment! You only live once, get in shape for it, feel your best in it….
Loved your article, your tips can really make our holiday better as we will remain fit and healthy and can enjoy the holiday fully.