Enjoy the Holidays (Without Looking Like Santa): 3 Tips for Beating the Holiday Bulge

The holidays are a great time of year for people to come together and celebrate with good friends and family. Unfortunately, most of those celebrations also involve mass quantities of high-calorie foods, sugary sweets, and alcohol- all of which are contributing factors to weight gain and bloating. This holiday season, we have some tips for avoiding the holiday bulge without having to cut back on fun!

Practice the 80/20 Rule: Nobody should have to miss out completely on all the goodies that make the holidays special, but they can be enjoyed with moderation if you follow the 80/20 rule. Try to eat until you feel 80% full, like you could maybe use a little extra food...and then stop. It takes a little longer for your brain to get the signal that your stomach is full, so many of us just keep on eating until we’ve had too much of a good thing. By stopping before you feel 100 percent full and then waiting for about 20 minutes or having a glass of water, you can avoid the uncomfortable, over-full feeling that so many of us associate with holiday meals. After all, the only one that should be stuffed is the turkey!

Stick to Your Exercise Plan: With the weird work schedule, traveling to visit family, and company parties that keep you out late, the holidays can certainly wreak havoc on your routine. Many people find that it is difficult to fit a workout into all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and skip the gym for several days in a row. Not only does this make it harder to get back to your usual exercise regimen once the new year has begun, but it also can make you feel sluggish and tired because you’re not moving enough. Try to work in at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a week during the holidays in order to stay on track with your fitness plan.

Everything in Moderation (Including Moderation!) Nobody expects you to eat a plate full of raw broccoli at a party or family feast when there are things like pie and cookies in the room! It’s the holidays, and it’s OK to give yourself a treat. As long as you limit your intake of sweets, breads and high-calorie foods to one treat or so per day, you can enjoy all your delicious favorites this holiday season. Stick to the once-per-day rule and you’ll be fine. Then again, if you fall off the diet wagon one day this season, don’t beat yourself up- just resolve to make healthier choices the next day and maybe step up your exercise game, and you can make sure you stay ahead of the holiday bulge!

What are your favorite tips for staying healthy during the holidays? Let us know in the comments section.

Fit in Fitness: 4 Exercise Tips for the Busy Mom

Being a mom is a full-time job. You get no pay, no sick days, no vacation time, and have to report to work really early in the morning (not to mention being on-call all night long!) Add your career, housework, other family members and friends to that crazy schedule and there is absolutely no time for anything else, including regular exercise, right? Not necessarily, say some fit moms who manage to make time for fitness. Here are a few tips on how to make exercise a part of your routine even when you feel like you don’t even have time to go to the bathroom by yourself.

Make it the first thing you do- In order to keep your commitment to fitness, you may have to get up even earlier to make it happen. Not only can rising an hour before your children usually wake up give you ample time to complete regular workouts, but you can reward yourself post-sweat with a little bit of that “me time” you may be missing. Nothing quite like a quiet, uninterrupted cup of coffee before the day gets crazy!

Make a standing appointment- Chances are you already have a jam-packed calendar, what with all the doctor and dentist appointments, taekwondo practices, and dance recitals your kids need to attend. Why not make your workout a regularly-scheduled appointment too? The act of physically adding your gym time to a calendar will cement it into your mind as a fixed, non-negotiable appointment, as well as give Dad and the kids a heads-up that they’re on their own come Saturday morning, when Mom’s at her Zumba class!

Forget how you look and focus on how you WILL look- Let’s face it: after having kids, our bodies don’t exactly snap back into their original, pre-pregnancy shapes. The sudden change in our body types can really wreak havoc on our self-confidence, making us less than eager to tug on that Spandex activewear and hit the gym. Relax- here’s a secret: NOBODY looks that great while they’re sweating through a workout, and NOBODY who is exercising is even going to notice. So skip the makeup and the fancy gym clothes and wear whatever you feel most comfortable in. After all, you will love the way you look after making fitness a part of your life!

Walk throughout the day- One of the nicest things about walking is that it is an exercise you can literally do anywhere! Squeeze in short, brisk walks throughout your day, take a long walk on your lunch break, or simply choose to walk instead of drive whenever possible. This will not only get your heart rate going and burn calories, but getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the mindful contemplation that comes with walking can be as good for your soul as it is for your body!

Do you have any exercise secrets for the mom on the go? Share your fitness tips for busy moms in the comments section.