1. ENLIST A BUDDY
It's true—there is strength in numbers! Make your commitment to staying fit with a friend. By being each other's personal cheerleaders and scheduling workouts together, you are more likely to honor your fitness commitments and stay on track to success and stay fit during the holidays! Someone to hold u accountable for workouts and food choices. A spouse can be a great choice.
2. PLAN AHEAD YOUR WORKOUT
In order to stay fit during the holidays, planning ahead is required. Schedules become full of holiday parties, visiting family and friends, shopping for gifts and more—so it is important to set time aside to work out. Put it in your calendar and mark off that time! Make a plan that works with your holiday schedule, commit to it, and then stick to it! If you plan ahead, the excuse, "I don't have time" will be null!
3. KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL/DOWNLOAD AN APP
Writing down each and every thing you eat may sound silly, but it's a great way to monitor what you're consuming and an even better way to detect if you are overeating. MyFitness Pal, Carb Manager, Lose It. All are good for that. It helps to see what your Calories are for each day. By inputting on your phone you can see your Macros (% of protein, carbs, Fat) that you are consuming. You may not realize how many carbs are in what you are eating or drinking. I can also help w this in my office.
4. START YOUR DAY WITH WATER & PROTEIN
Start w 1- 18-20 oz glass of water w lemon or lime to detox you and cleanse your system. This can also make you feel full. Eat protein vs a sugar cereal or toast in the am. Eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, protein shake. These will all fuel you to start your day w energy vs sugar that will make you crash and crave more sweet stuff. Drink water throughout the day and stay hydrated. I bring electrolyte water w me to parties & events
5. TRY TO EAT HEALTHY STUFF
During holiday meals or parties include lots of vegetables, fruits, protein, and nuts in your diet. Limit or omit starchy carbs! And try to avoid junk foods as much as possible. If you eat a lot of protein, veggies & healthy fats like avocados/nuts you are likely to eat less of the desserts. Once u start eating sugary foods it’s hard to stop.
6. EATING OUT
Try not to miss a meal before eating out. Eat small meals throughout the day if you can. If you haven’t eat a little snack, like a cheese stick, protein bar, or nuts, can make a huge difference. Can have a protein shake for your meal before your going out meal! You won't order too much & over eat if you go out not starving. Choose wisely from the menu. I like to look the menu up before hand so I know what I can choose to eat before arriving. Meat or Fish and veggies vs pasta and pizza & potatoes. These are filled w carbs that if not burned off will store as fat. A little is ok but not a whole meal of starch. It needs to be balanced w a protein.
tip: Putting half of your order into a doggy bag when it arrives can also help. You won't eat too much (and let's face it, restaurant plates and meals are just too big for one most places).
7. REMEMBER LIQUID CALORIES!
Just because your Candy Cane Martini doesn't have a nutrition label on it doesn't mean it's not jam-packed full of calories & carbs. Holiday parties are notorious for yummy cocktails and flowing champagne flutes, and too often we forget they can be just as fattening as a cookie platter. Limit yourself to just one or two: this is a key thing to remember in order to stay fit during the holidays! Also drink one glass of water per drink to flush your system. You don’t want to be hung over and crave all the bad stuff the next day!! The more you drink, the more you want to eat….which creates a vicious cycle. What to drink: mix the alcohol of your choice w club soda or flavored club sodas and add lemon/lime. Also there are Stevia based sodas that are better for you than regular diet sodas. Zevia one brand. There are some others too.
*I sell a Carb Blocker to use when wanting to have some drinks or extra carbs! It will make it so you don’t store the carbs as sugar which then stores as fat in your body! I highly recommend this*
8. BRING YOUR FAVORITE HEALTHY DISH
Bring your favorite appetizer that is healthy that way you know you have one go to item to eat. Like guacamole w chips and veggies, hummus w veggies, cheese platter w meats, homemade spinach/artichoke dip w crackers and veggies. Or make a side like a salad or vegetable to contribute vs a starchy one.
9. MINGLE WITH PEOPLE @ PARTIES
What has mingling with people got to do with weight? You can stay away from the tempting food section for a longer while. Socialize with friends, share jokes, have fun, dance, whatever…then eat together.
Nothing is as stimulating for an appetite, as boredom. Make sure you keep yourself busy socializing and you will definitely eat less. Eating stuff, while standing up and talking is next to impossible, so make it priority to stand around and chat! :) Also eat slowly and enjoy the food so you can feel full vs shoving it in and overeating.
10. FIND WORKOUTS YOU CAN DO FROM HOME
You may not have time to get to the gym this holiday season, so why not bring the gym to you? Find workouts you are able to complete from home (or if you are traveling, your relative's home!) so you can fit in workouts. Whether you have your own routine, or want to find a workout on iTunes (try Exercise TV!), this is a great way to stay fit during the holidays! I also recommend finding a 20 min Tabata workout on YouTube or any other High Intensity workout for 20-25 mins that you can use (possibly with Free Weights or a Dyna-Band). So many FREE high intensity good workouts you can do anywhere without any weights or equipment. So no excuses on not getting one in. Even a walk or light jog is awesome.
11. SLEEP WELL
Late night parties, movies or functions will cut into your sleeping hours. Lack of proper sleep saps your energy levels and you will end up doing nothing profitable. Some scientists also state that lack of sleep can make the body increase the amount of body fat... As a reaction to the stress. So, even with all the hard partying, make sure you get your 8 hours of healthy sound sleep!
By following these ways to stay fit this holiday season, you'll be able to enjoy a few tasty treats while keeping your waistline in check! Pinterest is also a great resource for low carb healthy foods and workouts.
As always I offer programs to help you and professional supplements to nourish your body where we can’t get it from food! I also use a few supplements to help your metabolism stay on track (my secret stuff ;)). Contact me for any questions or ways I can help!
Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season!
Karie Zipper, CCN
