Thanksgiving and Christmas are meant to be the happiest time of year spent with family and friends, stuffing our faces and cozying up indoors. However, for people working to get fit, it can be a nightmare. The holidays sneak in to deter any further fitness progression you have accomplished over the year and make it all seem like a waste. According to the National Institutes of Health, holiday eating can result in an extra pound or two every year.1 This year will be different. Here are some great tips to help you fight the holiday heapings.
Maintain your workout routine. With family traveling to and from, it can be easy to get side tracked from your regular schedule. Plan ahead by taking note of any changes in your schedule, and make sure to incorporate a secondary workout time just in case the first one falls through. Also, encouraging some family activities such as sports can help get everyone involved and off the couch. Afterall, 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise is recommended by the ASCM.2- Moderation. Not giving in to family favorite homemade traditions may not be the most realistic way to approach the holidays. However, do not splurge or over-indulge in foods you would normally not eat. Allow yourself to a small serving if you must, but do not stuff yourself with these foods. Writing down what foods you ate and the portion can help you keep from overeating with out realizing.
- Make a healthy dish or two. Crustless pumpkin pies substituting two egg whites per egg and skim milk is an example of making healthier holiday choices. However, these substitutions do not mean you should overindulge. Portion control should still be monitored.
- Satisfy, not stuff. It is important to eat enough during the holidays, but do not overdo it. Eat enough to satisfy your appetite, but do not overeat. This causes the body to feel lethargic, and will cause bad habits to develop.
The holidays are meant to be joyous and shared with loved ones, but they are still no excuse to digress your fitness achievements. Keep these tips in mind as the holidays roll around to ensure your habits do not break!
Macaire, Greta. Tips for Holiday Eating. Sutter Health CPMC. 16, Nov 2014. from,
http://www.cpmc.org/about/e-health/11-05%20healthy-holidays.html
American College of Sports Medicine. (2013). Exercise Programming Across the Lifespan. In ACSM's Resources for the Health Fitness Specialist (pp. 220-221). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
these tips are very good, great way on explaining how to keep fit, and stick to your goals during the holidays. It is important to keep in mind your main goal for fitness so don't allow the food to get to you.
ReplyDeletegreat blog
This article is a great way to stay motivated during the times of holidays. Although I do feel that maintaining a workout routine through traveling and the holiday is the hardest part of maintaining a healthy life. I will keep this in mind though this year to stay healthy during the holidays.
ReplyDeleteThis article is great to show you how to stay fit over the holiday brakes by doing things you mite not think of.
ReplyDeleteThis advice will come in handy for Thanksgiving. It's always a struggle trying to portion holiday meals
ReplyDeleteThis really hits home with me because during breaks I throw all of my food moderations and everyday exercise out the window, but these tips will help me to stay on track.
ReplyDeleteThis reading is very healthy seeing that the Christmas break is coming and i know i will need to look back at this before i start to pig out when i go home for a whole month.
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ReplyDeleteI like how this article states that even though its a Holiday you shouldn't use that as an excuse to slack off as far as fitness. The tips it gives are very helpful. Also I tend to overload my body with the junk food. I also go over the satisfactory part and just inguldge myself with sweets.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips on how to control yourself on the holidays. I will definitely thank twice before eating twice the servings I should be!
ReplyDeleteThis article Is a good motivator to workout especially because we are about to start stuffing our faces with food. If we keep this article In mind we should still stay fit.
ReplyDeleteThis article motivates you very well to workout and to eat healthy. And kind of talks about there is no reason to slack off due to upcoming holidays.
ReplyDeleteThese tips are very helpful, as someone trying to get in shape for my season I definitely see the dilemma between wanting to stuff my face over the break and get ready at the same time. I feel as though after reading the article I am better prepared to head home for the holidays and that I can stay on track and get myself ready.
ReplyDeleteReading this is a great reminder of making sure I stay healthy during the Christmas holiday. I plan on making a few good salads and exercising. I will make sure to take hikes and lift weights at home.
ReplyDeleteI plan on balancing out the amount of extra food I consume with the amount I will work out afterwards. There are really only two big meals during the holiday season, but the fact that we do not have school and do not have much to do during the break will lead to laziness and fast food consumption. This is a good article to make aware of this weight gain during the best time of the year.
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips to use during the holidays. Rearrange your workout schedule around family and events to keep up with your work outs and not over stuffing your self especially with unhealthy foods. People should keep these tips in mind when traveling this holiday season.
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