I love the holidays for all the wonderful parties and food, but of course have had to learn to take some extra steps during this festive time of year to prevent adding holiday pounds as I add events to my calendar. It’s easy to overeat at the company party or enjoy too many of those themed little cocktails people love so much (I mean come on, chocolate in a martini just sounds too good to pass up on). You don’t want to be the freak that is standing in the corner gazing longingly at the buffet and won’t eat or drink anything. So what do you do to stop overindulging? Check out these tips I’ve compiled from some favorite sites and past experience:
Plan Ahead – If you know you’re going to a party or something during meal time, have a healthy snack before you go to the party to ensure you’re not ravenous and diving on the first fat packed snack you see.
Track Your Eating Habits – I’m a big fan of food journaling as a beginning step for any diet improvement plan, but during the holidays keeping track of what you eat serves to discourage you from forgetting about those four extra drinks and the sample tray of desserts you devoured at your friends’ holiday celebration. Even if you want to just track your eating habits on weekends and special events, actually seeing what you eat will help motivate you from overdoing it again and again.
Sip Slowly – A trick I red in the book French Women Don’t Get Fat and that I still try to follow is to linger over your drinks. If you want to have a special cocktail or glass of bubbly, don’t worry about drinking too many and just limit yourself to one or two going in. Sip slowly and make the drink last longer. You’ll still look sociable and still get to enjoy your drink, but you ensure you won’t swig down too many calories by making each glass last longer.
Work it Out – You don’t need to have a gym or a lot of time, but you NEED to workout whenever you can during the holidays. So many of us use the excuse that we’re too busy, but there are a few basic and very effective exercises that you can and should be doing for maximum impact. About.com has more on the five exercises you need to be doing here.
For anyone who has tried spinning before, you know what is entailed – 45 to 60 minutes of sweat dripping, hill climbing, sprints and jumps that leave you so exhausted afterward you gimp out of the room to find the nearest chair to collapse into. I ventured forth at 5:45 this morning and tried a class for the first time in probably three years. The result? I’m totally addicted. I can’t move my legs right now, but burning up to 450 calories in 45 minutes is one heck of a workout.
Don’t get caught up in the stress of not being as in shape as you’d like when it comes to spinning though. The instructors are there to push you, but it’s your call on the resistance and speed you decide on. Still doubtful? Here are some tips that will ensure you know what to expect and prepare for:
First, ask around and find out the best classes in your area or gym – Other people can give you honest feedback on which instructors are worth tyring. The instructors make the class, so find out who’s the hardest, friendliest, or pushiest to fit what you’re looking for.
Second arrive early – Most spinning classes require sign up and you need at least 5-10 minutes before the start of class to adjust your bike. Arrive 15 minutes early and get a good seat (in the back if you are a beginner and don’t want to be font and center, or in the front if you like the interaction with the instructor)
Bring a towel and bottel of water and be sure to wear shorts or tight fitting pants (to prevent them from getting caught up in equipment)
Be sure to adjust your bike so that your legs extend when pedaling but aren’t completely straight or your too high (you’ll notice that your hips will move up and down if you’re too high up)
Start at a lower resistance and don’t worry about matching the instructor, just focus on challenging yourself and pushing yourself a bit out of your comfort zone.
Be prepared for some loud music as it’s often turned up for most or all of the class and can range from pop and punk, to heavy metal and rap.
It’s a question that I’ve asked myself a thousand times – Should I work out in the morning or in the evening? Which is better? Is it worth getting losing sleep for? What to do?!?!?!?
Fitsugar recently explored this question and I think they have the best answer so far. The answer being, workout whenever you will. Your schedule will impact this, being a morning person will as well. Even seasons can effect when you will be more able and willing to workout.
For me – I have a full time job, and summer seems like the only time when I can muster up the energy to workout after a 9-10 hour workday. Come Fall, an internal switch goes off and I have no chance in making the regular p.m. workouts. That leaves mornings as my only option. It’s what works for me.
So give yourself a break and realize that there are a lot of personal factors that are at play in what will be best for your own workout schedule. Do yourself a favor and for one week try mornings. The next try afternoons. Aim to get to the gym at least 3-4 times each of those weeks, on similar days. Go with what FEELS right and forget what everyone else says.
I’ll see almost any Pixar movie that comes out, but was especially excited to see the little Short Circuit descendant Wall-E.I wasn’t disappointed, in fact I was slightly surprised because despite the warnings from movie reviewers that it was a darker film, I had no idea it would have such depth. You fall in love with Wall-E right away and even start to harbor some warm feelings for his cockroach little friend. When Wall-E embarks on his outer-space adventure however, it’s hard not to feel like someone just slapped you in the face with a Big Mac.
The people of the future are portrayed as obese, immobile, unaware, and seemingly unhealthy human beings. Now I’ve read the articles and posts of overweight viewers lashing out at Pixar about how mean it was, but it wasn’t mean, it was eye opening. In Wall-E’s time, humans have become so reliant on technology to function, they have almost no need for their bodies at all. Even their bones have shrunk making it difficult for them to do anything without their flying chairs. They have pools and gyms that go unused and people even forget about basic face-to-face socializing! The “food” is all processed drinks flavored like cheeseburgers and cupcakes.
Knee-jerk reactions to the movie like the letter included in this Gawker post, proves how even with the seemingly blatant signs, there were still those that missed the message. It wasn’t about fat people. It was about today’s American culture of excess and convenience, or growing reliability on technology. Some key messages to walk away from this movie with:
Wall-E’s world was consumed by garbage from fast food, and junk – Despite our existing recycling programs and efforts to reuse, we need to learn more about sustainability and reducing our waste output.
In Wall-E’s age, humans were round, technology dependent, unaware, inactive blobs in hover chairs – Technology is meant to assist us, not run our lives. Staying active is critical and our bodies allow us to do a great number of enjoyable activities.
Wall-E’s people didn’t know what plants were or what to do with them – Nature is an incredible thing and can live in the most remarkable of conditions. It’s easier to take care of what we’re given than it is starting from scratch. It’s not hard to grow a plant, but it’s hard living without them.
This movie truly moved me on a number of levels and if you’ve seen it and didn’t catch any of the above, go see it again. Let the impact of waste and inactivity sink in. Then go outside and be grateful we still have a chance to prevent that from happening to us.
I gave up my gym membership last month to save some extra $$ before I move and figured that with the arrival of Spring, I’d be fine to get my exercise outside, right? Wrong. It’s been cold or miserable for the last week when I get out of work and I’ve honestly been going stir-crazy. So what does one do?
Believe it or not, you do have some cost effective options. If you have even a table-top sized area for you to walk around and lay down in, you can work out at home! Download some workout videos on your computer at ExerciseTV , TotalVid or off your favorite health magazine websites like Women’s Health or Shape.
For those of you who can get outside and enjoy some nice Spring weather, check out Fit List’s Energizing Workout.
Ever look in the mirror and remember what you looked like pre-college and the freshman 15? I’ve had numerous conversations with friends about how the dreaded “muffin top” appeared after college and they’ve had trouble getting rid of it ever since. I’ve had other friends complain about how they’ve gotten lazy in their relationships and put on some added pounds since college.
The majority of my social circle is in the 20-something category, which is why I found this USA Today study so damn interesting. Basically it shows that not only do young adults from their late teens through early twenties gain “a significant” amount of weight (average 15-30 lbs), but the married ones gain even more. Jezebel explains it well.
The comfort of a relationship I suppose. The scary part of this however, is that this is the time when you should be your most active. Yes, the jobs drab us down as we try to get through “paying our dues”, but that is still no reason to ignore our health. Plus what kind of motivation does it give the single gals? You bust your butt to get in shape and attract a guy only to put on weight?
There are ways around the “couple poundage” though. One of the best ways? Working out with your partner. Take the time you were going to sit in front of the TV and workout. Supposedly, those who work out together, stay together. Well I don’t know if that’s true, but it makes some good sense.
Another way is to invest in yourself! Take over the grocery shopping and make sure you’re stocking some healthy foods too. Then schedule some after dinner walks for yourself every day. Even if it’s just a quickie around the neighborhood. It shouldn’t effect your time together, but might start some healthier habits!
Someone recently commented on my passion for health related issues -food, nutrition, fitness, etc – that kicked my brain into gear thinking about how I could incorporate more of this passion into my day-to-day activites. So after a weekend of deliberation, I decided to take the plunge and dive into my third blog.
Intended to serve as a more focused extension of The Sliver Lining II, Blonde Living will focus on the subjects that make up our quality of lifestyle (food, fitness, and behavior). Stay tuned for some news, tips, tricks, and random posts!
