Get Active During the Holiday Season

Author: Shannon Miller

Starbuck’s has brought out the red, holiday cups – it’s that time of the year again!

With Thanksgiving here and gone, the holiday season has snuck up on us once again; it is certainly one of the busiest times of the year and it’s very easy to let your regular routine and practices slip through the cracks.

The holidays are infamous for weight gain.

We start thinking about our New Years’ resolution because we already know we’re going to blow our diet during the next 30 days!

Whether it is because of the tempting culinary creations that we are presented with during the holidays or that we’re simply too busy to working out; gaining weight during the holiday season is easy to do.

Can we make a change this year?  If we are proactive about it, certainly!

Consider a few tips from Registered Dietician, Melanie Thomassian:1

  • Stay true to your exercise schedule.  Although it’s harder to do during busy times, chances are you will thank yourself in January for keeping up with your exercise schedule in November and December.  If you have family/friends staying with you for the holidays, you could ask them to join you for a walk or bike ride or trip to the gym.  Keeping up with your work out routine is probably your best bet for staying fit this holiday season!
  • Women exercising by walking as they shopShopping is a good time for walking! There is lots of shopping to be done between now and Christmas.  To use this time for more than just retail therapy; find ways to get as much walking out of your shopping excursions as possible. Park far away from the store entrance or if you use public transportation, get off a couple stops early and add some extra walking.
  • Christmas carol dance party. Between having company over and hosting holiday parties, there is always lots of housework to be done during the holidays.  So, turn those Christmas tunes up and pull out the vacuum cleaner!
  • Enjoy the holiday lights. When it’s time for the Christmas lights to go up, get the family together and walk through your neighborhood to enjoy the scenery.  When you’re done with your neighborhood, you could head to a nearby neighborhood to do the same thing.  Make it a weekly family outing!
TIP:  Log on to ShannonMillerLifestyle.com in January to join Shannon Miller’s FREE Walk-Fit program. Get your FREE SML Pedometer along with great rewards and incentives!
1 Thomassian, Melanie, “10 Tips for Staying Active During the Holidays”, Healthcentral, 6 Nov 2010.
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