8 Tips To Stay Fit And Healthy During The Holidays

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The holiday season is here, and with it comes all our traditions. Unfortunately one of those is the annual “holiday bulge”. For some reason this time of the year food is EVERYWHERE! Unfortunately (albeit deliciously) most of it is more of the junk variety than the healthy kind. Everywhere from holiday parties to showing up on your doorstep in the hands of a caring neighbor – it’s like junk food seeks us out and begs us to eat it during the month of December. According to most studies that I’ve been able to find, the average person packs on anywhere from 5-15 pounds during the holiday season. Unfortunately in these same studies there’s not very good evidence for us losing that weight. Think of it – most people gain and average of 7 pounds and then it sticks with us into the next year. Yeah… I see you stepping away from that egg nog.

So what do we do about it? What are some ways to fight the holiday bulge and stay fit and healthy through the holidays? Here are 8 ways you can avoid holiday weight-gain this season. Let that Jolly Old Elf remain solo in that “little round belly” and “bowlful of jelly” reference…

1. Pick up a new winter hobby!! It’s easy to be active during the spring, summer, and fall. We can go outside whenever we want and remain a fairly high level of activity. Winter is different- most of us go in to hibernation mode and our activity level plummets. My challenge to you this winter is to find a new winter activity and try it just once. Some ideas include (but aren’t limited to) cross-country skiing (you can find cheap rentals and it’s a KILLER cardio workout), ice skating (great one with the kiddos), snowshoeing (wintertime hiking is GORGEOUS), skiing/snowboarding, and sledding (you’ll be surprised at the calories burned hiking up that hill so many times!). All are great ways to actually get out and get active.

2. Find a new indoor hobby!! If the cold and snow just isn’t for you take my challenge from #1 and apply it indoors where it’s warm and cozy! I challenge you this month to try tennis, swimming, racquetball, cycling, joining a gym, jumping rope, or trying out some at-home workouts (I know a guy who posts some pretty good ones… here are 38 at-home workouts!). The bottom line – be more active this month than you were last month and kiss those extra L-B’s goodbye!

3. Plan, Plan, Plan!! Did I mention plan? Think about how often you check your holidays for the holidays. If you’re anything like me you did it about 5 times last week while deciding friend/family/work holiday parties. While looking at your calendar take time – like right now – I want you to go get your calendar right now and sit it in front of you – take the time to schedule workouts/activities for yourself… AND THEN STICK WITH THEM! Get them on your agenda now because if you don’t they will not get done. Make time for yourself this season!

4. Plan a workout before a holiday meal. To piggy-back idea #3 – while looking at your calendar, make sure to schedule a workout the morning of a holiday party/event where you know you’ll be surrounded by food. You’re less-inclined to eat unhealthy on days where you’ve done something active. You’ve also made an effort to burn calories so the effect isn’t as great when you do eat that piece of cake as it would be had you done nothing at all.

5. Strength in numbers. One of my favorite tips – enlist a buddy this season with similar fitness goals
and then check in with them regularly! Go to the gym together. Play tennis. Meet them on the slopes or rent your cross-country skis together. You’ll be much more inclined to follow through if you’ve got someone else depending on you. Also, check in with each other about your diet and exercise. I promise you won’t eat that extra cheesecake if you’ve got to tell your buddy about it the next morning. I’m constantly on my patients about doing their home exercise program – I’m convinced that my incessant hounding is a primary driving force in their performing their exercises!! Let it work for you, too.

6. Don’t “hang out” at the appetizer table when socializing at a party. It’s hard to believe how much those small handfuls of munchies add up at a party. I took the following information from the website Active.com (article link found here); I found it amazing!!! To quote – “I observed a stranger’s eating habits while socializing at a holiday party to see what kind of calories we’re capable of consuming before the holiday meal. The following appetizers were consumed in the two hours before the meal:

4 rye crackers with ~1/2 ounce of soft cheese
3 bunches of grapes
3 handfuls of mixed nuts
2 glasses of wine
1 handful M&Ms with nuts
2 pieces broccoli with ~1 Tbsp cream cheese dip

Total: 1,209 calories, 60 g fat, 28 g protein, 110 g carbohydrate”

Holy cow! Who hasn’t eaten AT LEAST that while hanging out at a party?! Try to put some distance between you and the munchie table at your next holiday party!

7. Drink more water! Many times we eat when we are actually dehydrated or thirsty. Making sure you’re completely hydrated can help to curve the snacking and occupy some empty space in your belly. Next holiday party you go to, make your first stop the watering hole and make sure you’ve got some water in your hand as much as possible. (Take Tone and Tighten’s Water Challenge found here).

8. Allow yourself SOME indulgence! Okay – you’re not going to completely give up EVERYTHING this holiday season. There’s going to be some moments of weakness (hello – can you say sugar cookies?! I could eat those bad boys by the dozen!!). Allow yourself to cheat a little or you will go crazy. But do it smart. Some good tips are:
– Only one dessert per party
– Share dessert with a friend/spouse/significant other. That way you’re only eating half!
– Go for the low-cal option. Look for the smaller cookie instead of the supreme-delux brownie sundae.
A little willpower can go a really long way on the scale the next day!

Stop the holiday bulge right here, right now. This is the year that you will beat the fruitcake. Follow these guidelines and get through the holidays toned, tightened, and ready for the new year!

Make it happen,

Jared

As always, questions and comments are more than welcome! Comment below or I can be reached at toneandthightenfitness@gmail.com.

To view the rest of this post, be sure to head over to www.tone-and-tighten.com.

Have a great day!

Jared

Comments

Chrystal Mahan says

December 11, 2013 at 4:29 pm

Swinging by from the Wednesday Whatits party and yumeating.com (my non blogger blog)! Such great advice here. It can be super easy to avoid the holiday weight gain. Living in MI proved to be a HUGE challenge for me after living in the south most of my life. I did have problems with the winter weight gain. Living in the country made it worse when getting out to an indoor place to exercise was impossible. I was finally able to invest in a treadmill and thank goodness for the Internet, YouTube and DVDs. I also found that shoveling snow as well as getting out and playing in it is even great exercise!
- Tone and Tighten says
  
  December 12, 2013 at 5:19 am
  
  Great advice, Chrystal! I think I prefer playing in the snow to shoveling it, but you’re exactly right- both are great ways to exercise. Thank you for following and thank you for your comment!
  ~Jared