Friday Fit Tips…Holiday Edition
Friday fit tips holiday edition…my own personal strategies that get me through busy weekends leading up to the holidays.
1. Move Early. If you want to do something that is a more organized exercise program, do it EARLY in the day. With the holidays here, it’s tempting to get up and get right to the errands right away. But get your sweat session in FIRST. Then, you will feel energized to take on that to-do list.
2. Move Often. Make every task and to-do a chance to raise your heart rate. Cleaning. Walking the dog. Decorating. Playing with your kiddos outside. It’s all movement and it counts towards your exercise goals.
3. Track it. Motivate yourself by tracking your activity and steps. Between decorating, shopping, and other holiday activities, you will be pleasantly surprised how many steps you get in. However stylish a fitness tracker may look on your wrist it isn’t going to force you off the couch or keep you from eating a dozen Christmas cookies. However, it will be a constant reminder that you should be moving and not sitting. If you don’t have a FitBit or other tracker, there are apps you can add to your phone that do a pretty good job as long as you have your phone on you.
4. Drink up! No, not Titos or champagne 😉 Keep a water bottle with you at all times. Drinking enough water is important to burning calories because a hydrated body is a more efficient fat burning machine. Water is involved with almost every biological function in the body, so when you’re not taking in enough water, your body’s metabolism slows down.
5. Feed the Machine. It’s easy to skip a meal when you are busy around the holidays. And, I’ve heard people say “I’m saving my calories for a party later.” Don’t do it. For a few reasons. First, you will overeat later because you’re starving. Second, when you’re hungry you make poor food choices. Third, like dehydration, your body’s metabolic machine will slow when you put it into starvation mode. Finally, food is energy and without it you’ll be too tired for all the fun you have planned for the holidays. I personally like the strategy of eating the largest meal at breakfast, smaller at lunch and the smallest at dinner. You have more time to burn off the calories if you eat more, earlier in the day, and for me, I sleep better if I don’t have a huge dinner. There’s lots of science around what to eat and when, but one thing is certain – starving yourself never works as a long-term weight management strategy.
These are my tips. I’m sure you have more. Comment below and share what works for you when it comes to staying fit and fab during the holidays.
Have a great weekend.
xo
Niki