BONNYVILLE - When the holidays roll around, it’s difficult to keep away from the sugary snacks and stay active.
The focus placed on visiting family and coming together to celebrate with large meals may prevent fitness goals from being reached.
Jennifer Costley, personal trainer at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre, said squeezing in any kind of movement can help maintain a healthy lifestyle this time of the year.
“Not just going to the gym or doing a full work out, but taking a walk outside or inviting your friends to go outside with you if you have company over. Even taking the stairs at the mall instead of the escalator if you’re finishing some Christmas shopping or something like that,” she explained.
Planning outdoor activities like sledding, skating, skiing, or snowboarding, are some options to keep everyone active.
Lindsay Grinevitch, holistic nutrition coach and certified personal trainer with Bonnyville-based Health Refresh suggests setting aside some time for an at-home workout as another great way to focus on your health.
“It’s removing a barrier and making it just that much easier to throw on your old sweats or whatever it may be, and get it done without having to go out into the cold,” she detailed.
Costley agreed, “You can do a little routine on the stairs, going up and down them, or do some lunges. Even when a commercial comes on, do some squats on the couch or use the coffee table to do some tricep dips. There’s some really easy body exercises you can do using the furniture around the house.”
If you can’t make it to the gym or a class, fitness apps have workouts that can be a useful tool.
With December being as busy as it is, Grinevitch stressed “anything is better than nothing.”
“It can be difficult to get exercise in and every little bit counts.”
When family and friends come together during the holiday season, a major component is food. Sometimes meals are approached with what registered dietician Sarah Parsons described as a “last supper” mentality, which is when people deprive themselves throughout the day in order to eat the most they can when they sit down at the table.
“That just contributes to our tendency to over eat,” she noted. “Many people will skip meals, either breakfast or lunch, when they know they’re going to have a big Christmas meal and think they’re freeing up their calories so they can then spend them all on one meal... It’s much more difficult for us to control our appetite, because we’re already hungry.”
Over indulging on sweets is an issue some may face, especially when they’re available in abundance this time of year. Christine Cabana, nutrition and health coach with Health Refresh, said having a healthy snack beforehand could assist with that.
“If you’re concerned you’re going to have some self-control issues and you’re going to eat every dessert on the tray, maybe start by having a healthier snack an hour before you leave so at least you have some kind of base,” detailed Cabana. “You’re not going to go in there completely starving, and set yourself up for failure on that end.”
Before going for seconds, Parsons encouraged a 10-minute break to allow “your brain and gut to communicate together and to get a good sense of your fullness and hunger.”
Avoiding feeling guilty over eating something that only comes out at Christmas was a suggestion from Cabana.
“If grandma’s homemade apple pie is your favourite thing, then don’t deprive yourself of that. Enjoy it... while it’s there and don’t feel guilty about it. Just have it, enjoy it, and then move on.”
With the new year right around the corner, instilling some of these strategies can give you a head start on your new year’s resolutions.
“You can have the habit developed by the time (January) comes along, and you’ve already hit the ground running,” exclaimed Cabana.