With all the food and temptations waiting for you on the living room table, the holidays have become an extremely difficult time to try to maintain a healthy diet. Worst of the lot, when it comes to a healthy diet, the worst holiday is Thanksgiving.
Friends and family come together over a huge meal, will power is not a word that is typically found in one’s vocabulary. Between the yummy turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pies, and the leftovers it is inevitable to pack on a few Turkey Day pounds.
“I look forward to the holidays and all the food, so I try not to fixate about any weight I might gain over the break,” said freshman Jessica Caffey. Much like Caffey, many have a hard time saying no to these irresistible foods, luckily there are several ways to quickly shed those unwanted pounds just in time for the next round of holidays.
There are many ways of working out while maintaing the holiday spirit. For instance, ice skating with friends or family is a great activity. According to self.com, it is possible to burn up to 200 calories in 30 minutes of ice skating even if it is a light skate. Another great option would be to rake leaves. By Drop the Turkey Weight with Simple Exercises raking leaves, you will be aiding your family while working your upper arms as well as burning calories. Even taking a walk around your neighborhood burns some calories. Another example of how to stay active and keep with the holiday spirit is to have a two-hand touch football game with relatives or friends.
Freshman Brittany Lamb knows how important it is to exercise after the Thanksgiving dinner. “I try to stay active, especially come the holidays when all we do is eat,” she said.
If staying inside is a better option for you, another easy way to get moving post-Thanksgiving dinner is popping in a workout DVD at home. Many workout DVDs call for inexpensive and basic equipment, such as resistance bands, or dumbbells and will only take about 20 minutes out of the day.
After Thanksgiving break, when you are still trying to digest all of that delicious food, Fitness Magazine suggests you drink a great amount of water. The eight glasses a day rule is still a must, but continually sipping water throughout the day gives the feeling of being full so you are less tempted to indulge in leftovers.Weight training is another great, effective way to burn calories. Try to incorporate weights into any cardio routine.
There are many workouts that you can perform without any equipment from the gym. Toning the stomach after a Thanksgiving meal is one of the top priorities on most people’s list.
Here are some easy ways Fitness Magazine has thought up in order to drop the extra flab created. The first exercise mentioned involves a chair. Align your back upright with the back of the chair with your feet touching the ground. Place your hands on the edge of the chair, and now push up so your feet are now 2-4 inches off the ground and only your hands are touching the chair. Try to hold yourself up for at least five seconds and repeat this action for a minute.
Another exercise Fitness Magazine says will help cut back one’s stomach needs no other equipment besides your own body. To begin, you must sit on the floor with your legs out straight and press them tightly together. Now have your upper body bend back so you are about 45 degrees from the floor. Put both arms overhead much like a ballerina. Begin to slowly twist your torso to the right or left side; whichever side you choose, make sure to keep that arm on the ground while the other arm follows the torso keeping that ballerina form. Once your twist is complete, bring both arms to the ballerina position with your upper body facing your feet once more. Repeat the action on the opposite side and continue this routine until you have complete eight reps on each side.
If you work out daily, you do not have much to fear as far as gaining weight goes. John Jackman, Director of the Fitness Center, explains that indulgence for one day cannot be overly harmful.
“One day of eating your favorites is not going to make you fat,” said Jackman. “If you are already in decent shape you absolutely have nothing to fear. For me, one of the great benefits to being in shape is getting to eat my favorite foods and treats, especially the treats.” He also said treating’ ourselves guilt free is essential in our mental, emotional and physical balance.
With all these tips, it should now be simple to burn those Thanksgiving calories and get the body moving. So this holiday season, don’t fret over those turkey pounds that might creep up. It is okay to treat yourself to yummy foods and enjoy the time with good company, just make sure to get up and moving afterwards.
IMAGE TAKEN FROM shape.com
