Survive the Season!-Lindy Gault, Fitness & Nutrition Coach / Owner, Transform Fitness Studio
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! For most, it’s also one of the most CHALLENGING times of year when it comes to health and fitness. Tempting treats, holiday parties and busy schedules can wreak havoc on even the most determined people. But allowing yourself to go crazy all month will only have you paying the price in your waistline and how you feel come the New Year. Having a plan of action and being armed with great tips are key to making sure you end the month feeling as merry and bright as when the month started. Here are my best tips to help you survive the season and enjoy every minute!
HOLIDAY PARTIES
It’s inevitable that you’ll be going to at least a few parties this holiday season and of course you want to enjoy them! Here are a few tactics you can employ.
● Sip Smartly
With alcohol, the goal is to keep both your calories and your buzz under control.
A single shot of vodka, gin, or rum mixed with club soda and a squeeze of lime will set you back only about 100 calories. Other standard low-cal options include light beer or wine, most of which have fewer than 150 calories per serving. Champagne is also a great option. Not only is it low on the calorie chart—around 80 to 120 per glass—but they’re also more likely to be sipped rather than guzzled.
● Be Social & Work the Room
If you’re planted next to the food table, you’ll shovel chips and dip into your mouth all night long. So stay far, far away. You won’t eat mindlessly if you have to cross the room to get to the food or if you’re chatting someone up.
● Be PICKY!
Passed hors d’oeuvres are small, but they add up—fast. To avoid eating 2,000 calories worth of cheese puffs, limit yourself to three apps that you love.
BAKING
If you’re the baker in the family, you know there are many pitfalls when it comes to holiday baking. Baked goods aren’t necessarily known to be health foods, and then there are the temptations while you’re baking. But don’t let that derail you.
● Cut The Fat, Not The Taste
It wouldn’t be the holidays without delicious treats like cookies, pies, cakes and brownies. But these tasty treats can be loaded with fat. There are clever ways to cut fat, while not sacrificing taste, when you’re preparing the holiday treats. Here’s some tips:
➢ In fruit pies, use half the amount of sugar the recipe calls for. You’ll save 744 calories for every cup of sugar you don’t use.
➢ In cookies and crusts, use half whole-wheat pastry flour and half all-purpose flour. Whole wheat has 12 grams of filling fiber in every cup and guests probably won’t notice the difference if you cut the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour.
➢ In cheesecake, substitute part-skim ricotta cheese for cream cheese. You’ll double the amount of hunger-fighting protein and cut the fat by close to 60 grams for each cup you use.
➢ In brownies, cakey cookies, and fruit breads, use pureed pumpkin instead of oil. For every half-cup of oil you sub out, you’ll save more than 900 calories and 100 grams of fat using pumpkin puree instead. Plus, pumpkin puree keeps baked goods moist.
● Resist the Temptation to “Taste”
It’s easy to think that ‘tastes’ are calorie-free. But they add up fast! To resist temptation, clean as you go. Have a pan of hot, soapy water on standby and plunge batter-covered beaters and spoons into it once you’re done with them. This protects you from nibbling and cleanup is that much easier.
THE BIG MEAL
The big, sit-down holiday meal! Don’t fret, there are tactics to make it through without feeling like you’re the stuffed turkey while still enjoying all the wonderful foods the holiday has to offer.
● Downsize your dishware:
Extensive diet research shows that people eat what’s put on their plates–even if it’s more than they need to satisfy their hunger. So choose a smaller plate to eat from.
● Make Conscious Indulgences
If you’re a dessert person and you know you won’t be able to pass up that piece of cheesecake, don’t deprive yourself. You’ll just find yourself at the fridge at 2am with fork in hand. Instead, pass on the roll with butter at dinner and have a small piece of cheesecake. You’ll enjoy it guilt-free and not feel like you’re missing out.
Fitness
Don’t forgo fitness just because it’s the holidays. Everyone is busy this time of year. If it’s a priority to you to stay in shape and avoid weight gain then you must MAKE time for fitness. You don’t need to spend hours a day working out. Just
20-30 minutes 5 times a week is great if you are doing the right thing. Focus on exercise that incorporates cardio and strength training and make it cardio that gets your heart rate way up so that you are really burning calories and tapping into fat. Steady-state walking or jogging isn’t the best use of time.
Looking for more tips & techniques and a place to help you stay fit through the Holidays? Find great tips online by following Lindy on facebook at www.facebook.com/lindy.gault and check out Transform Fitness Studio in Mahomet – www.mytransformfitness.com.
Lindy is the owner of Transform Fitness Studios in Mahomet, a group fitness and training studio located on Commercial Drive. She is a graduate of Mahomet-Seymour High School and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Lindy has been a fitness professional since 2004. She holds certifications in 11 fitness formats as well as nutrition and personal training. Prior to opening her business in Mahomet, Lindy was the Director of Refinery health club in Champaign. She is also an online fitness coach and serves as the Development Director for Salt & Light Ministry.
Lindy specializes in health & fitness coaching & training, leadership & business development, and is dedicated to inspiring others to change their lives through the power of personal development, faith, health, and fitness. You can find her online atwww.lindygault.com
Thanks for posting this. A good news for all who really want to be fit.