Weight gain can easily creep up on us during the holidays if we’re not careful. With countless parties, delicious meals, and delectable treats surrounding us all the time, it’s easy to lose control this time of year. Don’t let your hard work go undone with these healthy holiday fitness tips.
Count Calories
Tracking how much you eat is a good way to maintain self-control during holiday meals. There are many calorie-counting apps available for free. Popular apps such as MyFitnessPal allow you to search various types of foods or even scan their barcodes (where applicable) to easily record your daily calorie intake. You can also record your workouts, which will burn calories, in order to determine your calorie net gain/loss for the day.
Don’t Fill Your Plate
Practicing proper portion control can be a helpful method of managing your weight. Loading up your plate will automatically make you eat more. Start with small portions. That way, you’ll get to try a little bit of everything anyways. Another trick is to choose a smaller plate if one is available to you.
Limit Yourself to One Helping
You’ve had one plateful of delicious food, and now you’re debating if you want more. We’re all familiar with this scenario. When you’re finished with your first helping, sit and wait about 20 minutes. After a meal, your gut releases hormones that tell your brain that you have eaten, thus making you feel full. This process takes about 20 minutes, so eating slowly or pausing after your first helping will give your body time to decide if you’re actually still hungry.
Schedule Exercise on Your Calendar
This might be the most difficult one of all, seeing as how hectic the holidays can be for many of us. Especially if you’re hosting parties or guests from out of town, finding time to go to the gym might be the last thing on your mind.
Don’t wait until the New Year to make a change. If you want to maintain your level of fitness, schedule days/times that you can squeeze in a quick workout, even if it’s 30 minutes here and there. Group exercise classes are perfect for when you’re pressed on time but want to get in an intense workout. HIIT classes are especially efficient at burning calories in a short amount of time.
Healthy Holiday Fitness Tips
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