Enjoy the holidays while staying true to your fitness goals with these helpful tips!
4 Holiday Tips to Help You Stick to Your Fitness Goals
1. Focus on Food That Will Help Keep You Full Longer
One reason many fitness buffs fail with their diet plan is they tend to snack multiple times throughout the day. To prevent this, you can switch to eating healthier snacks and consuming meals that help curb excessive eating this holiday season. Ditching unhealthy foods is one of the best goals for health and wellness.
To help your digestive track get rid of toxins and lessen bloating, consume more fiber-rich foods such as beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and lentils. Cut the mashed potatoes and white rice and focus on these fibrous sides instead.
Also, make sure to include protein-rich sources such as turkey, ham, and eggs. Luckily, these are common options at many Thanksgiving and holiday parties.
2. Try to Be Active
Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean you can skip out on your daily workout plan. Make sure to stick to your workout goal no matter what the occasion is. You can squeeze it in before or after the holiday parties you plan to attend. A simple at-home bodyweight workout with some resistance bands will do just fine.
Also, it’s best if you follow a more rigorous exercise routine on days on which you plan to eat a lot of food. For example, before your Thanksgiving dinner, set aside some time to work out. Also, don’t forget to exercise on the day after a party as well. Apart from burning the calories, a sweat session after some drinking might be what you need to cure your hangover.
Tip: If you really can’t find time to exercise, we have some quick exercise routines you can do even when you’re at the office.
3. Calories in VS Calories Out to Prevent Unwanted Weight Gain
The main trick to lose weight is to keep track of the calories you consume and the ones you burn. Basically, aim to lessen the number of calories you take in, while simultaneously increasing what you exhaust. Increasing the gap between them is what will allow you to maintain a fit physique despite the multiple holiday parties you plan to attend.
Place your body in a position where you can utilize your excessive food consumption as fuel. Instead of taking the day off, put on your workout clothes and perform your exercise routine. That way, the excess calories will fuel your workouts and not just turn to fat. That extra serving of mashed potatoes should allow you to bust out a few extra miles on the treadmill. Also, increase your caloric expenditure on days when you’re eating more food than you normally do.
4. Know What to Eat and What Not to Eat
Sweets
Do Eat: Frozen Yogurt, fruit sorbet, sherbet
Don’t Eat: Ice cream, cake
Ice creams and cakes are extremely high in sugar, calories, and carbs. The body stores these excess calories as fat. If you don’t want to add inches to your waistline this holiday season, then you should avoid these treats.
Do Eat: Chocolate-dipped strawberries
Don’t Eat: Fudge or fruitcake
It’s customary to give out fudge and fruitcakes over the holiday season. But if you want to maintain a fit physique, leave these for your family to eat. Opt for some chocolate-dipped strawberries instead. Strawberries are sweet enough to satisfy your cravings, but they don’t provide as many calories and carbs.
Sides and Appetizers
Do Eat: Whole-wheat dinner rolls
Don’t Eat: Butter rolls or croissants
Dinner rolls are a must at many Thanksgiving dinner parties. Tell your family to switch to whole-wheat bread instead of butter rolls or croissants. Whole-wheat bread is just as good, and they don’t fill your body with calories. Plus, they’re rich in fiber.
Do Eat: Smoked salmon, clams, oysters, shrimp cocktails
Don’t Eat: Batter-fried shrimp
Seafood is an excellent source of protein and vitamins. However, deep frying them adds too many calories and too much fat. This holiday season, opt to grill or steam your seafood instead.
Do Eat: Clear broth-based soup, vegetable soup
Don’t Eat: Bisques, cream soups
No holiday party is complete without some warm, delicious soup to warm you on these cold winter nights. But instead of the conventional bisques and cream soups, opt for clear broth- or vegetable-based soups. It’s a great palate cleanser and it doesn’t bloat the body.
Do Eat: Plain nuts
Don’t Eat: Candy or candied nuts
Plain nuts are high in fiber and protein. As opposed to most store-bought candies, they’re the much healthier option.
Do Eat: Plain baked potato/sweet potato, mashed potatoes with a dab of gravy
Don’t Eat: Lots of gravy with mashed potatoes or loaded baked potato, sweet potato casserole
Don’t submerge your mashed potatoes in gravy. Potatoes already have high-calorie content. Adding too much gravy will only add to it.
Drinks
Do Drink: Bloody Mary, light beer, wine
Don’t Drink: Eggnog, sugary cocktails
No party is complete without a few rounds of drinks. Instead of downing pints of eggnog and glasses of sugary cocktails, choose low-calorie options instead. A Bloody Mary, light beer, or glass of wine are just some of the drinks you can have.
Important: Despite having fewer calories, it doesn’t give you a free pass to binge drink. Always remember to drink moderately.
Main Course
Do Eat: White-meat turkey without the skin
Don’t Eat: Dark-meat turkey with the skin
Dark-meat turkey has more flavor than white-meat turkey. But it also has a lot more calories, fat, and sodium. This holiday season, opt for white-meat turkey instead.
Do Eat: Oyster, cornbread, or fruit-based stuffing
Don’t Eat: Stuffing with high-fat meats
When deciding on what stuffing to use, try to avoid high-fat meat. Instead, use low-calorie options such as oyster, cornbread, or fruit-based stuffing. It’ll also help balance out the flavors. Too much meat might overwhelm your taste buds.
Do Eat: Lean meat without visible fat
Don’t Eat: Fatty or processed meat, sausages
No matter what day of the year it is, we should generally avoid eating processed meat. It contains too many chemicals, preservatives, and calories that may be harmful to the body.
Do Eat: Steamed vegetables
Don’t Eat: Fried vegetables, veggies with cheesy or creamy dips/dressing
This coming holiday season, opt to steam your veggies. If you want, you can even serve some of them as is. Frying veggies coats them with fats and calories. At the same time, you’ll remove most of the nutrients and minerals during the frying process.
These are just some of the most effective tips to help you stay on the right track to achieve your fitness goals. You can still have fun during the holidays even if you’re keeping track of what you eat and drink. The key is to set realistic fitness goals you can commit to all year round. Overall, just be mindful not to go overboard with what you take in at holiday parties.
Do you think these tips will help you stick to your fitness goals even during the holidays? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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