Boxing workouts are among the fastest paths to weight loss and all-round fitness. One look at a boxer in a ring and you'll know why!
For anyone who is interested in not just losing weight, but also becoming strong, lean and toned, boxing training is the answer. Boxing workouts are intense, so you burn calories at a high rate and work on all the muscles of your body. This will leave you with a toned body and stronger, more defined arms and legs. Boxing related movements require you to develop balance and coordination. Thus you will find that your coordination will improve and your body will become more stable and you will be able to maintain good form.
Boxing workouts to lose weight are effective as they can make you burn anywhere between 350 and 500 calories in just one hour. This is because the exercises that constitute boxing training i.e, pad and bag work, skipping and ground work are all aerobic exercises. The workouts involve repetitive motions in punching and movement which are supported by the "core" muscles of the body. This develops local muscular endurance, cardiovascular efficiency and imparts strength training. This kind of activity is also said to help relieve stress and improve mental acuity.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Fact about Eating and Exercise
I have heard this time and time again. "I am going to be fine for Thanksgiving dinner - I'll just run extra." Not that I think that running or exercising after overeating is a bad idea - it is not. It is a good idea. It is smart to burn extra calories and train to take advantage of the extra calories you consumed. But it can be fatal to assume you can consistently overeat and then fix it through training.
Let's be realistic. A person who runs an incredibly intense 20-minute HIIT session may burn around 400 calories. That is fine if your splurge was limited to a few extra French fries or a typical Snickers bar. But when you consume a large plate of Italian pasta in a cream sauce loaded with sausage and then have that Cesar salad on the side with the buttered down rolls and finish it up with a chocolate mousse pie and espresso shot mixed with Kahlua, you may be in for a surprise.
This meal, alone, can account for 1000 - 2000 calories due to the fat, alcohol, and carbohydrate content (there may be protein, too, but not as much as a bodybuilder would desire). So a simple 20 minutes hard on the treadmill, or even an hour going easy, just won't cut it.
What is worse is that your body continuously adapts to your level of nutrition intake and exercise. Eventually, homeostasis will slow your metabolism. At this point, the only solution will be to eat less. Normally, you could increase exercise, too, but you are already overdoing it by continuously knocking out hours of cardio to overcompensate for meals that you could have simply controlled in the first place. Not a fun situation to be in.
scale Instead, a more sane approach is to balance your nutrition and training. You do not necessarily have to weigh everything or count calories, but you need to be consistent.
Whether you know a meal is 400 calories, or a cup of something, or a fist-sized portion of something, is irrelevant - what is relevant is that you have a consistent method of making that meal. This way, if you find you need to cut back in order to lose more, you can move to 300 calories or ? of a cup or just less than your fist size. Be consistent with your portions and you will be able to adjust them.
Nutrition is by far the major component that determines success or failure for fat loss. So eat clean, most of the time, and try to allow yourself only occasional cheat meals. One meal a week should be fine, and then adding exercise to compensate is not necessarily a problem. It is when you overeat every day that no amount of exercise is going to account for those additional calories.
Probably the most important thing to consider is the mentality behind this. Regardless of the science, giving you the ability to "exercise off" the calories is just giving yourself an easy out, a backdoor, an excuse. It is keeping you from truly committing to the lifestyle. In the back of your mind, you never truly have to learn to enjoy the new, healthy way of eating because you can always slip and burn it off.
It is exactly this thinking that can prevent you from succeeding at point #1 - truly making a decision. So, don't sell yourself short or give yourself any excuses - forget the nonsense about burning it off. You are looking at it backwards. Instead of burning off the foods you eat, eat to fuel your body for the workouts you use to build a better body and burn off the unwanted fat. There is a clich?xpression that describes this perfectly - eat to live, do not live to eat.
Let's be realistic. A person who runs an incredibly intense 20-minute HIIT session may burn around 400 calories. That is fine if your splurge was limited to a few extra French fries or a typical Snickers bar. But when you consume a large plate of Italian pasta in a cream sauce loaded with sausage and then have that Cesar salad on the side with the buttered down rolls and finish it up with a chocolate mousse pie and espresso shot mixed with Kahlua, you may be in for a surprise.
This meal, alone, can account for 1000 - 2000 calories due to the fat, alcohol, and carbohydrate content (there may be protein, too, but not as much as a bodybuilder would desire). So a simple 20 minutes hard on the treadmill, or even an hour going easy, just won't cut it.
What is worse is that your body continuously adapts to your level of nutrition intake and exercise. Eventually, homeostasis will slow your metabolism. At this point, the only solution will be to eat less. Normally, you could increase exercise, too, but you are already overdoing it by continuously knocking out hours of cardio to overcompensate for meals that you could have simply controlled in the first place. Not a fun situation to be in.
scale Instead, a more sane approach is to balance your nutrition and training. You do not necessarily have to weigh everything or count calories, but you need to be consistent.
Whether you know a meal is 400 calories, or a cup of something, or a fist-sized portion of something, is irrelevant - what is relevant is that you have a consistent method of making that meal. This way, if you find you need to cut back in order to lose more, you can move to 300 calories or ? of a cup or just less than your fist size. Be consistent with your portions and you will be able to adjust them.
Nutrition is by far the major component that determines success or failure for fat loss. So eat clean, most of the time, and try to allow yourself only occasional cheat meals. One meal a week should be fine, and then adding exercise to compensate is not necessarily a problem. It is when you overeat every day that no amount of exercise is going to account for those additional calories.
Probably the most important thing to consider is the mentality behind this. Regardless of the science, giving you the ability to "exercise off" the calories is just giving yourself an easy out, a backdoor, an excuse. It is keeping you from truly committing to the lifestyle. In the back of your mind, you never truly have to learn to enjoy the new, healthy way of eating because you can always slip and burn it off.
It is exactly this thinking that can prevent you from succeeding at point #1 - truly making a decision. So, don't sell yourself short or give yourself any excuses - forget the nonsense about burning it off. You are looking at it backwards. Instead of burning off the foods you eat, eat to fuel your body for the workouts you use to build a better body and burn off the unwanted fat. There is a clich?xpression that describes this perfectly - eat to live, do not live to eat.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Late Workout Late Eating Dilemma
Q:I get hungry after I workout, but I if I workout at night eating will break the no food 3hrs before bed rule. What do I do?
A: Its perfectly normal to be hungry after a workout and actually its a good thing. It means that you've used a considerable amount of energy which also means you've burned some calories. It is VERY important that you eat following a workout and what you eat is just as important. I stress 3 things that are essential to your body post workout for my clients.
1 Fluids: If you sweat a lot during your workout, you’re going to need to replace those fluids. Drinking plain old water is best for this. Water will also help you body flush out waste products produced by your active muscles.
2 Carbohydrates: Carbs help to replenish energy storage in your muscles and improve recovery. (Wheat pasta, brown rice, broccoli, yams etc.)
3 Proteins: The amino acids that make up proteins help to restore and repair muscles. Protein also helps to boost your immunity. (Skinless Chicken Breast, Skinless Turkey Breast, Salmon, Ground Turkey etc.)
Another important component is WHEN you eat. You should try to eat preferably within 45 minutes (maybe up to 60) after a workout. This period, known as the golden hour, is when the body absorbs the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. There is also a "rule of thumb" to not eat anything within 3 hours of your bedtime. Every time you eat, your metabolism increases slightly. You don't get the same metabolism-boosting benefit when you eat just before bed, because a couple of hours after dinner, your body begins preparing for sleep. This natural slackening of your metabolic rate overrides any metabolic boost you might get from eating. So once you hit the pillow, the only calories you're going to use are the basic calories you need to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing and allow your eyes to move in REM sleep. Another reason you don't want to eat late at night is because your food may not properly digest. This can cause morning gas and stomach cramps. Eating late at night also forces your body to use its energy on digestion. One of the primary functions of sleep is to help you recuperate from the day. You want your body to be as relaxed as possible so you can wake up energized.
So to more directly answer your question you should eat a nutritionally dense, low-calorie diet that offers a balance of protein, high-quality fat and the right kind of carbohydrates after your workout. This will keep your hormones balanced and your fat-burning machinery working optimally. Try to stick as closely to the 3 hour rule as you can. Another component to the 3 hour rule is how much you eat. Keeping small portions and low calories in your post workout meal should allow you to not be effected as much as having a full course meal. You can offset this by eating more frequently throughout the day. Hopefully this information will help you and feel free to comment or ask for more information.
A: Its perfectly normal to be hungry after a workout and actually its a good thing. It means that you've used a considerable amount of energy which also means you've burned some calories. It is VERY important that you eat following a workout and what you eat is just as important. I stress 3 things that are essential to your body post workout for my clients.
1 Fluids: If you sweat a lot during your workout, you’re going to need to replace those fluids. Drinking plain old water is best for this. Water will also help you body flush out waste products produced by your active muscles.
2 Carbohydrates: Carbs help to replenish energy storage in your muscles and improve recovery. (Wheat pasta, brown rice, broccoli, yams etc.)
3 Proteins: The amino acids that make up proteins help to restore and repair muscles. Protein also helps to boost your immunity. (Skinless Chicken Breast, Skinless Turkey Breast, Salmon, Ground Turkey etc.)
Another important component is WHEN you eat. You should try to eat preferably within 45 minutes (maybe up to 60) after a workout. This period, known as the golden hour, is when the body absorbs the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. There is also a "rule of thumb" to not eat anything within 3 hours of your bedtime. Every time you eat, your metabolism increases slightly. You don't get the same metabolism-boosting benefit when you eat just before bed, because a couple of hours after dinner, your body begins preparing for sleep. This natural slackening of your metabolic rate overrides any metabolic boost you might get from eating. So once you hit the pillow, the only calories you're going to use are the basic calories you need to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing and allow your eyes to move in REM sleep. Another reason you don't want to eat late at night is because your food may not properly digest. This can cause morning gas and stomach cramps. Eating late at night also forces your body to use its energy on digestion. One of the primary functions of sleep is to help you recuperate from the day. You want your body to be as relaxed as possible so you can wake up energized.
So to more directly answer your question you should eat a nutritionally dense, low-calorie diet that offers a balance of protein, high-quality fat and the right kind of carbohydrates after your workout. This will keep your hormones balanced and your fat-burning machinery working optimally. Try to stick as closely to the 3 hour rule as you can. Another component to the 3 hour rule is how much you eat. Keeping small portions and low calories in your post workout meal should allow you to not be effected as much as having a full course meal. You can offset this by eating more frequently throughout the day. Hopefully this information will help you and feel free to comment or ask for more information.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Every Little Bit Counts!
I hear a lot of people say that, even when they watch what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they just can't seem to lose any weight. Many of them add that they nibble on the things they miss eating, figuring that one bite won't really make a difference.
Chronic nibblers, on the other hand, eat a lot more than they realize, and are often in denial about it.They consume excess calories several times each day without even realizing it, assuming that tiny amounts of this and that don't count. They DO count!
Here are a few examples of what you're consuming when you sample some of the most tempting items you encounter throughout the day, and the number of calories they contain. Keep in mind that most of these are high in fat and sparse in nutrients:
one fried chicken wing: 200
one teaspoon of cookie dough: 170
one fried spring roll: 104
mayo on your sandwich: 100
one square of cheese: 100
one tablespoon of either peanuts or peanut butter: 90
one cocktail meatball: 85
one pig in a blanket: 85
one spoonful of icing: 80
one lollipop: 50
one crab puff: 42
five m&m;s: 40
one potato chip with onion dip: 40
one potato chip plain: 40
Be mindful of every bite you eat. Keep a food diary. You'll be surprised at how these little things add up.
Chronic nibblers, on the other hand, eat a lot more than they realize, and are often in denial about it.They consume excess calories several times each day without even realizing it, assuming that tiny amounts of this and that don't count. They DO count!
Here are a few examples of what you're consuming when you sample some of the most tempting items you encounter throughout the day, and the number of calories they contain. Keep in mind that most of these are high in fat and sparse in nutrients:
one fried chicken wing: 200
one teaspoon of cookie dough: 170
one fried spring roll: 104
mayo on your sandwich: 100
one square of cheese: 100
one tablespoon of either peanuts or peanut butter: 90
one cocktail meatball: 85
one pig in a blanket: 85
one spoonful of icing: 80
one lollipop: 50
one crab puff: 42
five m&m;s: 40
one potato chip with onion dip: 40
one potato chip plain: 40
Be mindful of every bite you eat. Keep a food diary. You'll be surprised at how these little things add up.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Good Morning, Good Breakfast
If your still looking for something hearty and healthy to eat this morning here are a few options you might like!!!!
Food Item Quantity Calories Pro (g) Carbs (g) Fat (g)
shredded wheat cereal 1.5 cups 216 5.4 50. 2.1
skim milk 1.5 cups 135 12 18 1.5
strawberries 1/2 cup 23 0.5 5.2 0.3
Meal #1 Subtotals: 374 17.9 73.3 3.9
Food Item Quantity Calories Pro (g) Carbs (g) Fat (g)
oatmeal, quaker oats 2/3 cup 200 10 36 4
egg whites (scrambled) 4 68 14 1.8 0
egg, whole (scrambled) 1 75 6.3 0.6 5
grapefruit 1/2 large 46 0.6 11.9 0.1
Meal #2 subtotals: 389 30.9 50.3 9.1
Food Item Quantity Calories Pro (g) Carbs (g) Fat (g)
(Smoothie) with Eggs & Grapefruit
Yogurt, Non Fat, Vanilla 8ozs 137 14 19 0
Fresh, Raw, Strawberries 1.5 cups 69 1.5 16.5 0
1% Milk & 3 ice cube 1/2 cup 51 4 6 0
Egg Whites 5 85 17.5 2.3 0
Fruit, Grapefruit 1/2 large 46 0.6 11.9 0.1
Meal #2 subtotals: 388 37.6 55.7 0.1
Food Item Quantity Calories Pro (g) Carbs (g) Fat (g)
shredded wheat cereal 1.5 cups 216 5.4 50. 2.1
skim milk 1.5 cups 135 12 18 1.5
strawberries 1/2 cup 23 0.5 5.2 0.3
Meal #1 Subtotals: 374 17.9 73.3 3.9
Food Item Quantity Calories Pro (g) Carbs (g) Fat (g)
oatmeal, quaker oats 2/3 cup 200 10 36 4
egg whites (scrambled) 4 68 14 1.8 0
egg, whole (scrambled) 1 75 6.3 0.6 5
grapefruit 1/2 large 46 0.6 11.9 0.1
Meal #2 subtotals: 389 30.9 50.3 9.1
Food Item Quantity Calories Pro (g) Carbs (g) Fat (g)
(Smoothie) with Eggs & Grapefruit
Yogurt, Non Fat, Vanilla 8ozs 137 14 19 0
Fresh, Raw, Strawberries 1.5 cups 69 1.5 16.5 0
1% Milk & 3 ice cube 1/2 cup 51 4 6 0
Egg Whites 5 85 17.5 2.3 0
Fruit, Grapefruit 1/2 large 46 0.6 11.9 0.1
Meal #2 subtotals: 388 37.6 55.7 0.1
Monday, December 7, 2009
Cocktails: How to Enjoy the Party Without Looking Like a Flotation Device
Why do we spend all year doing Body Boot Camp or the Elite Fitness Body Blast to look good on the beach, only to sabotage ourselves with cocktails? The answer is that's it's fun and social, and it even makes us feel a little bit better about being scantily clad.
Thanks to the dozens of different diet crazes, we are all abundantly aware of carbs, protein, and fat, and we all have different opinions on which is the most evil. But we forget that alcohol has calories too, specifically 7 calories per gram—more than carbs or protein and almost as much as fat. What does this mean for you? It means that it's a challenge to burn off alcohol, especially when it's mixed with yummy sugary ingredients.
The most obvious solution is abstinence, but what fun would that be? Since we cannot remove the alcohol from the recipe, let's remove the excess calories from some popular drinks. Here are six summer cocktails and recipes to make them waist friendly.
1 Margarita. The enemy in the margarita is the margarita mix. There are "light" versions out there, but the taste is less than extraordinary. Here is another option that will cut your calories in half without sacrificing flavor.
Ingredients:
• 3 oz. light limeade (either the Minute Maid® version or your own, made with limes, water, and a sugar substitute)
• Lime juice (one lime)
• 2 oz. tequila
• 1.5 oz. triple sec
• Ice
Either pour over ice or blend with ice. Add salt to taste. Sip while pretending you are on a beach in Mexico, and you look amazing in your swimsuit.
• Calories before: 435
• Calories now: 180
2 Cosmopolitan. The sneaky trickster here is regular cranberry juice, which should be called sugar with cranberry flavoring. This light version uses only one type of alcohol, which drastically cuts your calorie count.
Ingredients:
• 3 oz. light cranberry juice drink
• 1 oz. raspberry vodka
• Squeeze of lime
• Lime twist, as garnish
Shake together with ice. Strain ice cubes and pour into fancy fluted glass. Look incredibly trendy and thin at the same time.
• Calories before: 413
• Calories now: 98
3 Tipsy Arnold Palmer. Sweetened bottled versions of lemonade and iced tea can be pretty loaded with sugar. However, if we brew our own iced tea and squeeze our own lemons, with a bit of sugar substitute and 2 ounces of vodka, we can make a really tasty cocktail that doesn't have so many calories. Or, the light Minute Maid version and some diet iced tea will work for the domestically challenged.
Ingredients:
• 3 oz. light lemonade (or juice of one lemon plus 3 oz. water and sugar substitute)
• 3 oz. diet iced tea (or 2 teabags steeped in 3 oz. water)
• 2 oz. vodka
• Sprig of mint (optional)
• Ice
Pour over ice. Stir. Enjoy. Just don't try to play golf after two of these.
• Calories before: 156
• Calories now: 71
4 Strawberry daiquiri. Sugar, yet again, is the culprit. Try this version for a vacation flashback that will be reminiscent of the good times, and not of how you ordered seconds of dessert.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1.5 oz. light rum
• Sweetener to taste (depends on how sweet the strawberries are)
• Ice
Throw it all in a blender, and let the good times begin. Please don't consume so many that you try to drink the umbrella.
• Calories before: 299
• Calories now: 118
5 Piña colada. Done correctly, it is the taste of summer. If not made well, a piña colada will taste like someone served you suntan lotion in a glass. This recipe uses actual fruit and skim milk to replace the sugar and cream.
Ingredients:
• 7 oz. canned chunk pineapple, including juice
• 2 packets artificial sweetener
• 1 tsp. imitation coconut extract
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 cup ice cubes
Blend well, garnish with a small plastic monkey, and mentally escape to the Caribbean.
• Calories before: 297
• Calories now: 146
6 White wine/light beer/champagne. These all seem fairly obvious and don't require recipes, but they're worth mentioning. White wine has about 100 calories in a 4-ounce serving. And it's rather refreshing on a summer day, especially if you add a blast of club soda to make it into a spritzer. Beer comes in very light versions now, and some contain fewer than 70 calories. Champagne is not only fantastic with brunch, it also is around 100 calories per serving. With all of these, just be sure to measure your amounts so you don't end up with a splitting headache the next morning.
And there you have it. A handle on your cocktails, without adding to your love handles.
Thanks to the dozens of different diet crazes, we are all abundantly aware of carbs, protein, and fat, and we all have different opinions on which is the most evil. But we forget that alcohol has calories too, specifically 7 calories per gram—more than carbs or protein and almost as much as fat. What does this mean for you? It means that it's a challenge to burn off alcohol, especially when it's mixed with yummy sugary ingredients.
The most obvious solution is abstinence, but what fun would that be? Since we cannot remove the alcohol from the recipe, let's remove the excess calories from some popular drinks. Here are six summer cocktails and recipes to make them waist friendly.
1 Margarita. The enemy in the margarita is the margarita mix. There are "light" versions out there, but the taste is less than extraordinary. Here is another option that will cut your calories in half without sacrificing flavor.
Ingredients:
• 3 oz. light limeade (either the Minute Maid® version or your own, made with limes, water, and a sugar substitute)
• Lime juice (one lime)
• 2 oz. tequila
• 1.5 oz. triple sec
• Ice
Either pour over ice or blend with ice. Add salt to taste. Sip while pretending you are on a beach in Mexico, and you look amazing in your swimsuit.
• Calories before: 435
• Calories now: 180
2 Cosmopolitan. The sneaky trickster here is regular cranberry juice, which should be called sugar with cranberry flavoring. This light version uses only one type of alcohol, which drastically cuts your calorie count.
Ingredients:
• 3 oz. light cranberry juice drink
• 1 oz. raspberry vodka
• Squeeze of lime
• Lime twist, as garnish
Shake together with ice. Strain ice cubes and pour into fancy fluted glass. Look incredibly trendy and thin at the same time.
• Calories before: 413
• Calories now: 98
3 Tipsy Arnold Palmer. Sweetened bottled versions of lemonade and iced tea can be pretty loaded with sugar. However, if we brew our own iced tea and squeeze our own lemons, with a bit of sugar substitute and 2 ounces of vodka, we can make a really tasty cocktail that doesn't have so many calories. Or, the light Minute Maid version and some diet iced tea will work for the domestically challenged.
Ingredients:
• 3 oz. light lemonade (or juice of one lemon plus 3 oz. water and sugar substitute)
• 3 oz. diet iced tea (or 2 teabags steeped in 3 oz. water)
• 2 oz. vodka
• Sprig of mint (optional)
• Ice
Pour over ice. Stir. Enjoy. Just don't try to play golf after two of these.
• Calories before: 156
• Calories now: 71
4 Strawberry daiquiri. Sugar, yet again, is the culprit. Try this version for a vacation flashback that will be reminiscent of the good times, and not of how you ordered seconds of dessert.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1.5 oz. light rum
• Sweetener to taste (depends on how sweet the strawberries are)
• Ice
Throw it all in a blender, and let the good times begin. Please don't consume so many that you try to drink the umbrella.
• Calories before: 299
• Calories now: 118
5 Piña colada. Done correctly, it is the taste of summer. If not made well, a piña colada will taste like someone served you suntan lotion in a glass. This recipe uses actual fruit and skim milk to replace the sugar and cream.
Ingredients:
• 7 oz. canned chunk pineapple, including juice
• 2 packets artificial sweetener
• 1 tsp. imitation coconut extract
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 cup ice cubes
Blend well, garnish with a small plastic monkey, and mentally escape to the Caribbean.
• Calories before: 297
• Calories now: 146
6 White wine/light beer/champagne. These all seem fairly obvious and don't require recipes, but they're worth mentioning. White wine has about 100 calories in a 4-ounce serving. And it's rather refreshing on a summer day, especially if you add a blast of club soda to make it into a spritzer. Beer comes in very light versions now, and some contain fewer than 70 calories. Champagne is not only fantastic with brunch, it also is around 100 calories per serving. With all of these, just be sure to measure your amounts so you don't end up with a splitting headache the next morning.
And there you have it. A handle on your cocktails, without adding to your love handles.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ways To Fight Holiday Weight Gain
1. Practice Portion Control
If I have one mantra for the holiday season, it would have to be: All things in moderation. Keep your serving sizes in check at all times and you really can enjoy your favorite holiday treats without gaining weight.
2. Take a Walk
Stay active during the holidays and those extra pounds won't creep up on you. A 30-minute brisk walk most days of the week can do wonders for maintaining your waistline. Get outside if the weather permits or hit the mall before it opens for a workout while window-shopping.
3. Plan Smarter Meals
Try some new ways to make your holiday meals healthier. Small changes can add up to a big difference. This can be as simple as serving steamed vegetables instead of casseroles or removing skin from the turkey. Just choosing fruit instead of a desserts can save hundreds of calories.
4. Cope with Cravings
Food cravings are a part of life, but they can be especially daunting during the holidays. You seem to smell or see tempting food nearly everywhere you go. If you can't avoid food cravings, the best way to fight back is to be prepared with a plan for an alternative activity to eating.
5. Don't Give Up!
The worst thing you can do when it comes to weight management during the holidays? Give into all-or-nothing thinking and keep making bad choices once you've made a mistake or two. Never throw in the towel just because of a few slip-ups!
If I have one mantra for the holiday season, it would have to be: All things in moderation. Keep your serving sizes in check at all times and you really can enjoy your favorite holiday treats without gaining weight.
2. Take a Walk
Stay active during the holidays and those extra pounds won't creep up on you. A 30-minute brisk walk most days of the week can do wonders for maintaining your waistline. Get outside if the weather permits or hit the mall before it opens for a workout while window-shopping.
3. Plan Smarter Meals
Try some new ways to make your holiday meals healthier. Small changes can add up to a big difference. This can be as simple as serving steamed vegetables instead of casseroles or removing skin from the turkey. Just choosing fruit instead of a desserts can save hundreds of calories.
4. Cope with Cravings
Food cravings are a part of life, but they can be especially daunting during the holidays. You seem to smell or see tempting food nearly everywhere you go. If you can't avoid food cravings, the best way to fight back is to be prepared with a plan for an alternative activity to eating.
5. Don't Give Up!
The worst thing you can do when it comes to weight management during the holidays? Give into all-or-nothing thinking and keep making bad choices once you've made a mistake or two. Never throw in the towel just because of a few slip-ups!
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