Posts Tagged ‘surviving the holidays’
When the weather outside is frightful
Although the weather outside is getting colder, wetter — or both — there’s no excuse for not staying dedicated to your workout routines…especially during the holiday season when we’re all likely eating a little more than usual! And that means continuing your exercise program during winter months. Thankfully, the onset of winter doesn’t have to mean giving up the healthy habits you developed during warmer months. Here are a few ideas to keep you moving:
Like walking around the park? When winter hits, try walking around the mall instead. And this doesn’t mean while shopping. This means proper posture, arms pumping, heart pounding and you walking steadily past your favorite shops – rounding the first, second and even third floors – then starting all over again. And bonus for you if you take stairs to the different floors of the mall, rather than the escalators. Call your local mall to find out if they offer “Walkers hours” (meaning you’re able to access the interior of the mall before the stores even open up).
Like riding your bike? Consider investing in an indoor stationary bicycle (or perhaps asking Santa for one). Indoor exercise bikes can be a great investment and offer a great way to watch TV (but again, mind your posture and your pace to keep burning those calories). But beware of “The Curse of the Indoor Bike,” which often results in them becoming ‘clothes hangers’ or ‘towel dryers’ rather than exercise machines.
Like your lunchtime workouts? Try walking the halls of your office building during lunch – all of them. Or perhaps walk up and down your building’s stairways – adding more and more reps as the winter months progress. By the time warmer weather rolls around, you just might be ready for a marathon.
Like running errands? All movement is good. This means vacuuming your house can burn a few calories. As can doing sit-ups during commercials or shoveling snow after a big meal.Any exercise is good exercise – even if you just have 10 minutes to spare. In other words: stay active!
The beauty of exercise (indoor or out) is that it not only turns us into super hot things of beauty, it also reduces our risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers, diabetes and even osteoporosis. So remember: There’s no excuse for not working out – no matter what the thermometer says.
For more information, check out these helpful links:
30-Minute Indoor Workout: Click Here
Winter Exercise Tips: Click Here
Exercise Bike Product Reviews: Click Here
Photo Source: Fit With Denise
Inside-Out
Although the weather outside may be frightful, there’s no excuse for not looking delightful! And that means continuing your exercise program during winter months. This is even truer during the holiday season, when staying on a healthy eating plan can be a little more difficult with all those candy canes around. Luckily, the onset of winter doesn’t have to mean giving up the healthy habits you developed during warmer months. Here are a few ideas to keep you moving:
Like walking around the park? When winter hits, try walking around the mall instead. And this doesn’t mean while shopping. This means proper posture, arms pumping, heart pounding and you walking steadily past your favorite shops – rounding the first, second and even third floors – then starting all over again. And bonus for you if you take stairs to the different floors of the mall, rather than the escalators. Call your local mall to find out if they offer “Walkers hours” (meaning you’re able to access the interior of the mall before the stores even open up).
Like riding your bike? Consider investing in an indoor stationary bicycle (or perhaps asking Santa for one). Indoor exercise bikes can be a great investment and offer a great way to watch TV (but again, mind your posture and your pace to keep burning those calories). But beware of “The Curse of the Indoor Bike,” which often results in them becoming ‘clothes hangers’ or ‘towel dryers’ rather than exercise machines.
Like your lunchtime workouts? Try walking the halls of your office building during lunch – all of them. Or perhaps walk up and down your building’s stairways – adding more and more reps as the winter months progress. By the time warmer weather rolls around, you just might be ready for a marathon.
Like running errands? All movement is good. This means vacuuming your house can burn a few calories. As can doing sit-ups during commercials or shoveling snow after a big meal. Any exercise is good exercise – even if you just have 10 minutes to spare. In other words: stay active!
The beauty of exercise (indoor or out) is that it not only turns us into super hot things of beauty, it also reduces our risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers, diabetes and even osteoporosis. So remember: There’s no excuse for not working out – no matter what the thermometer says.
For more information, check out these helpful links:
30-Minute Indoor Workout: Click Here
Winter Exercise Tips: Click Here
Exercise Bike Product Reviews: Click Here
Have any indoor- or winter-exercise tips of your own? Or ways that you stay in shape during cold weather? I’d love to hear about them! In the meantime, keep warm and keep moving!
Oh, no! It’s the holidays!
Nothing strikes terror in the heart of a dieter more than the holiday season. And like it or not, it’s upon us. But this year is going to be different. Why? Because this year, you’re staying in control (you are stronger than Pumpkin Pie, after all). And you’re also going to exercise your newfound knowledge regarding the difference between a Splurge Meal and a Binge.
In the book Just Stop Eating So Much!, I write about Splurge Meal options when you get close to or reach your goal weight. Yes, at a Splurge Meal you can enjoy your favorite foods and beverages – but you’re encouraged to do it within reason (paying attention to portion sizes and pushing the plate away before the waistline of your jeans starts cutting off circulation to the upper half of your body).
The trick is to really enjoy a meal – not an entire day (or weekend, week, month or season) of splurging. Because when continuing to eat after the one meal, splurging becomes bingeing – and that leads to disaster for both your mental and physical health.
But here’s the good news! This Thanksgiving, whether you’re at, near – or far from – your goal weight, you have permission to enjoy a Splurge Meal. If you just enjoy the one Thanksgiving meal and eat and drink according to healthier food and portion guidelines for the rest of the holiday weekend, you won’t hurt your efforts to look and feel great.
And when it comes to splurging on Thanksgiving Dinner, try and make sure you enjoy all aspects of it and don’t make it about eating as many sweet potatoes as you can, since you know you’re back to your commitment to eating healthier resumes right after the meal is over. Instead, really taste the food with each bite. Savor every morsel – and enjoy all of the different the flavor sensations – while also enjoying the people you’re dining with and listing the reasons you’re thankful in your head.
So this Turkey Day, eat, drink and be merry – all without guilt. But don’t be a glutton. Stop before you’re too full and don’t mourn not being able to have a turkey sandwich later. After all, your weight loss efforts are a choice. You are choosing to get healthy, to look better, to fit into your skinny jeans and to turn a few heads by Christmastime.
By successfully living through an “eating holiday,” you will prove once and for all that this time you’re really in control. And that’s definitely cause for celebration!
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