by Bob Lachniet
President -
Fitness 4 Home Superstore
This Thanksgiving, make sure the turkey is the only thing getting stuffed! Thanksgiving is the second most popular food-based holiday of the season. Did you know that the average American gains 7-12 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s Day? Don’t let yourself become another statistic. Here are some tips that will help you keep from sabotaging your weight loss and health goals.
Keep your goals firm. It’s easy to get caught up in the eating and drinking frenzy that the holiday season brings. Don’t lose sight of your vision and why you set goals for yourself in the first place. You can still have a great time without gaining an extra 10 pounds before January.
Start now! If you haven’t started your fitness program yet, why wait? Give yourself the gift of health and a fit body now! Don’t keep putting it off until next year. In fact, drop by any Fitness 4 Home Superstore location and we can help you choose the right equipment for your home so you can get started right away.
Plan consumption. If you’re going out for drinks or food, plan how much you’re going to consume and stop when you’ve reached your limit. This will prevent you from ruining your diet by eating and drinking too much.
Drink smart. Avoid drinking in rounds. Drink at your own pace and control your consumption. Space your drinks out by rotating in juice, diet soda or water. Stay away from cream-based cocktails or sweet specialty drinks and choose low alcohol content, light drinks that can be mixed with diet soda or water. You can also eat something healthy and filling before you go out. Food not only slows the rate of alcohol absorption, it will also make you feel full so you drink less.
Avoid the "all or nothing" mentality. There may come a time when you go overboard eating or drinking. It’s easy to succumb to temptation or pressure from family and friends. Don’t let yourself be led into the “I already blew it so why stop now” binge that lasts until January 1st. One or two days will not make or break the efforts you’ve been putting forth for the past 10+ month! Get back on track right away and step up your workouts to balance out the extra calories.
Keep working out! Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is one of the greatest American traditions. We stuff our faces with gravy-drenched turkey, boat loads of stuffing and mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Your best bet at surviving the holidays with a slim waistline is to keep exercising and working toward your goals. Jump on your home treadmill for an hour and then lift some weights for 15 minutes while you’re waiting for the turkey to finish cooking. Before you sit down to eat, excuse yourself for 5 minutes and do some jumping-jacks. When you finish cleaning up, ride your exercise bike for 30 minutes to battle the turkey coma or challenge your family and friends to a game of flag football. There are plenty of ways to stay healthy and fit during the holidays. You just have to stick to your workouts while you’re having fun.
The staff at Fitness 4 Home Superstores wishes you a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Visit any of our 3 valley locations to see how we can help you achieve your goals with home fitness equipment that you can use during the holiday season and beyond.
