I love to workout. OBVIOUSLY. Other wise I probably would not be writing this entire blog doing research on becoming a personal trainer. However, during the winter I know the stress of "thanksgiving five" or the "Christmas coma." It happens to the best of us. The holiday's creep up and all we want to do is be with our families and eat good food and do it all over again. As great as that is, some of us let the cold weather get to us, and our motivation to workout and eat healthy quickly lessens. I know this from first hand because the colder it gets outside, the more I want to stay indoors and watch movies and cuddle. But in reality, all the Christmas cookies, and apple pies, and turkey begins to add up and before I know it, I am sitting in my room wondering why I feel so tired. So, I looked up some new tactics that may help from letting that holiday feast get you behind in your workout regimen.
1. Eat smaller meals throughout the day to help keep yourself full so you don't binge eat during your holiday feats. Eating small meals throughout the day is known to increase your metabolism. Also, drink lots of water throughout the day to help keep your body fuller.
2. Plan a workout before your big holiday meals. Doing a hard cardiac or muscle training workout before a feast is actually smart considering your body needs to replenish the carbs after a workout and foods like mash potatoes and ham have the protein and starch your body needs to rebuild.
3. Eat slow. Most people are overwhelmed by the amount of food served at holiday parties and not to mention most people don't eat all day to be able to save room for their feast's. But research has found that those who eat slower way less because they give their body time to digest the food which can help you feel fuller faster. Plus, this way you can enjoy your food longer!
I would go on with more ways to help but then this blog post would be going on for PAGES. So I will leave the link and your are interested you can go and check out the rest. Over all this article had good points and helpful ways to help keep your body healthy this holiday season.
http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/10_Strategies_to_Prevent_the_Holiday_Bulge.htm?page=2
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a great blog post and i think that a lot of people would find this list of things to help keep away from the Christmas Coma very helpful. I looked at the rest of the website you posted the link on and I found it very interesting.
Thanks for posting,
Ryan Carroll
Great tips, Amanda! Before I am home for Christmas break, I plan to get healthier so I can enjoy the home-cooked meals more. With the combo x-change we have on campus, it's easy to eat a couple of smaller meals in a day. And although it takes longer, I have found myself enjoying the cold weather more by simply walking to class with a good audiobook or soundtrack going -- it's much more enjoyable than racing on a bike while avoiding the walkers and possible collisions. Walking 4-5 hours a week on our huge campus can sure add up. Eating slower.. I still need to work on that, but with better time management, I hopefully won't feel as rushed to gobble down my food as quickly. Thanks, Amanda! Let it snow!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, this is going to be so helpful! There's something about Thanksgiving and Christmas food that makes me want to literally just spend my day eating. And of course, afterward I always feel really sick and completely regret eating so much. I'm going to take these tips into mind during the holidays this year! Hopefully I find that they really help so I can avoid gaining like ten pounds every year.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post, very interesting and helpful. I especially enjoyed the tips about what to do before holiday meals. That is defiantly something to consider when I go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanks for the post!
This is really useful. Though I'll be in my hometown in China during the Christmas and people there have no holidays during that period of time, it is still helpful for my families may give me a lot to eat because they miss me too much. I'll try this at that time.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good reminder of how easy it is to put on the calories during the holidays! What we forget is how hard it is to take those calories off! With these tips, I feel as if we can all benefit for them whether we are watching our weight or not! I know that when I eat right and exercise is when I feel best. When I feel good like this I perform best in everything I do too! Everyone has to realize the importance of these two things!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this post because I do eat a lot over thanksgiving and Christmas break due to the overload of food. I do two out of three things already, but I do not work out before holiday plans. I think that this will be very useful with helping me not gain any weight from the holidays.
ReplyDeleteYour article is so true. During Christmas or Thanksgiving time, many people start eating a lot of foods during dinnertime and choose not to workout but to relax and have a good time. This happens every year with my family. We would either go out and eat at my aunts house or my parents house. During dinner, I would, of course, be starving so I would eat my food quickly, but after reading your blog, next time i will try to eat slow. Cool blog!
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was sweet! I have definitely been noticing that as it gets colder it is getting harder for me to find motivation to work out. I am definitely going to use these tips to stay in shape this holiday season and continue my quest to become Bane.
ReplyDeletePeace,
Kevin Burkholder