Holiday Hints for a Healthy, Tiny Hiney

'Tis the Season of Holiday parties, dinners, drinks with old friends and dare we forget, family time. With all of these Seasonal celebrations we tend to let go of our strong control and fall into a food-focused frenzy that leaves us lethargic, heavy, and completely out of touch with our healthy controlled routines.

Not this year. This year you will focus on the people around you instead of how many mini cupcakes you can stuff in your mouth. This year you will wake up the morning after a party or event and feel light and proud. This will be the New Year that you will maintain, instead of make up for. This year you will celebrate smart, have control, and shine your healthy happy Holiday light onto everybody. And this is how you'll do it:

• Organize your schedule. This may sound like something more fit for a business blog than a fitness blog, but rest assured that unorganized calendar chaos can break focus immediately leaving you panicked and lawless. This is the most important time for you to plan and document meetings, work, business events, fun events, friend events, and family events. And plan these carefully. If you overbook you could find yourself off schedule nutritionally, skipping meals or overeating at every stop you make. Also, be sure that when you have control of where an event will take place, it's a place with healthy and portioned options. If you decide that your Holiday white elephant girlfriend get together will be at a Mexican restaurant, rest assured that those margaritas and endless chips & salsa will pack on the pounds (remember, it takes just 3,500 calories to gain 1 pound. The average Mexican restaurant margarita has anywhere from 270 to 800 calories and the average bundle of "freshly made" chips has 600+ calories per basket of 50 chips).

Also, staying organized will help you stress less, which is important because stress =s
abdominal fat storage, poor circulation, and a domino effect of other physical and
mental imbalances.

• Maintain a Fitness Routine. It's easy to let the Holiday hype take your focus away from your normal routine. Don't let it. When you're organizing your schedule, schedule in ME Time. Look at your exercise as an escape from the chaos and a mental break from constant electronic and social stimulation. When you keep your workouts in your daily/weekly schedule you will not only maintain (may even LOSE) weight, you will also feel happier and more in the Holiday spirit as exercise releases Endorphins which are feel good hormones.

• Be Mindful on what you're putting in to your body. When we lose clarity on what we're taking in we lose accountability. When we're not accountable for what we're eating while we're eating it, we absolutely will be accountable after, when we're trying to take that weight off.

Mindless eating is why we gain, crave, and gain some more. We're too busy, there are temptations all around us, and without thought we grab & eat. Consuming foods and drinks this way is very dangerous. When you don't recognize how much you're consuming, neither can your internal sensors, so you're less likely to feel full.

Keep a food log. This doesn't have to be forever, and really shouldn't be. Just for the Holidays, log what you take in throughout the morning, day, and night. Everything. What you're drinking (alcohol, water, pop, juice, etc.), what you're eating (breakfast, snacking, lunch, snacking, dinner, snacking, desserts, snacking), and how much. This doesn't mean weighing food and calculating calories. Unless you're getting ready for a fitness competition and as long as you're eating fresh natural foods this is never necessary.
This means documenting the type of foods that you're eating so that you hold yourself accountable.

Portion Control. If you want to taste, taste. But know what taste means. To taste is to try
or test flavor or quality. The opposite of to taste is to devour. Know the difference! If you feel that you may struggle with self control, steer clear.

• Be Active Inside & Outside of the Gym!

Walk More. Like Hippocrates said, "Walking is a mans best friend". Bundle up and park further away, take the stairs, walk your pet, walk your neighbors pet, etc. Walking is often overlooked as a cardiovascular activity but is actually one of the best forms. When we walk we not only burn more calories than we would taking an elevator, escalator, or parking close, we also increase systemic circulation (blood supply throughout the body), prevents type 2 diabetes, enhances cognitive functions, preserves bone density, alleviates symptoms of depression, reduces risk of breast and colon cancer, improves range of motion & endurance, and is a great way to get your cardio in without putting stress on the joints.

Take Advantage of Time. If you don't have time for the gym, make the most of whatever time you do have. Do situps, pushups, crunches, jumping jacks, high jogs in place, utilize stairways, do squats & lunges, etc. while watching tv, getting ready to go out, talking on the phone, etc.! Also, DANCE! Dancing around at work, home, when you're out, etc. not only will burn lots of calories, it will also make you and people around you happy! Dancing releases the same endorphins that exercise does and also provides the same health benefits. Don't dance well? Don't worry! Jump around and have fun, as long as you MOVE.

• Party Planning- ahead If you're going to a party and you're worried about healthy options, take action and make your own! You shouldn't go to a Holiday party empty handed anyways and most hosts welcome any help that they can get. Get fresh vegetables and fruit and create your own appetizer plate. For the dip, take tofu "sour cream" and add onion powder, lemon dill, & garlic powder for a veggie dip. Or come up with your own healthy Holiday concoction.

Keep the Water Flowing. I always say, one of the main reasons that we crave and munch is because we're dehydrated. Our bodies are 60-70% water, so when we're even a bit dehydrated we feel it. Drinking water throughout the day and the night will help keep you from the cravings and also aid in metabolism and keep bloat away.

Watch That Alcohol! Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, that's 3 calories more than carbs and protein and only 2 calories less than fat. Now add the calories from sugar and other things in the drink. Also, when you drink alcohol, it's the first thing digested, meaning that everything else you ate will sit in your stomach creating excess bloat and making that food more likely to be stored as fat, instead of burned off or utilized. If you're going to drink, go for something light and be sure to drink water the whole time as well, since alcohol also dehydrates you. Below is a list of alcoholic beverages and the calories in each:

Beer (12 oz) 180
Light Beer (12 oz) 105
Glass of Red Wine 120
Glass of White Wine 116
Glass of Champagne 95
Pint of Cider 200
Vodka (1 0z) 50
Cream Liqueur 160
Gin & Tonic (7.5 fl oz)170
Gin & Diet Tonic 115
Rum & Coke (10 oz) 356
Rum & Diet 115
Chianti (4 oz) 100
Chardonnay (4 oz) 90
Riesling (4 oz) 90

Don't loiter around the Table Station. During Holiday parties/events, focus on the people and not the food. Catch up with old friends or meet new ones, and this doesn't mean types of fudge. When you focus on the social aspect you'll forget about the desert table. Also, if you're at a party and you don't know a lot of the people, try not to overindulge on food or alcohol. This is easy to do when we're in a seemingly uncomfortable position but it backfires on us fast. Make the munches light and keep the conversations flowing.

• Go Easy on Yourself. If you do indulge, all is not lost. Try not to stress, pick yourself up and focus forward on your goals and your self control. When we stress we release an excess of cortisol, the fight or flight hormone, which is the brother of ghrelin, the hormone found in the gut that tells your brain that you're hungry, so we eat more and store that fat around the abdominal area. No one's perfect and indulgences happen. Just work a little longer at the gym the next day and eat extra healthy that week. You'll be fine. Too much pressure isn't good for the mind, body, or soul.

Here's wishing you & yours a healthy, happy, heart-filled Holiday Season!
Namaste`