Healthy Holiday Shopping Workout

Incorporating Exercise Into Gift Shopping Can Stem Holiday Weight Gain By Ralf Hennig, CPT, CCS, CCES 

Tis’ the season for cookies, cakes and… cardio? The holidays are a time of celebration, and my how we celebrate! We eat, we drink and then feel too guilty to workout. By mid-December, there’s been at least one office holiday party. That means 150 calories per beer, 80 calories per glass of red wine and about 400 calories for the chips and dips.  And you can’t forget the turkey; 133 calories for a small portion of white meat, 160 for dark meat and stuffing…up to 400 calories. If you lather it in gravy, add 300 calories. There’s grandma’s mince pie at 320 calories and a giant mug of eggnog, another 400 calories. Oh, and don’t forget the candy canes at 60 calories each. 

Most of us know when to stop eating while we are at home, but when at a buffet or a party, if you’re really hungry or really full, your body will tell you. However, most people continue to eat as long as other people are doing the same.  And, while we all have good intentions during holiday time, it seems our system of measuring how much we eat is based on not visibly exceeding what the rest of the group is eating.

Because the season of giving is also a season of eating, it’s important to maintain your physical activity during this time. It’s tempting to ditch your workouts as your days fill up with holiday preparations, but, now more than ever, you need to keep your body moving to burn off the extra calories.  Exercise will help you deal with added stress and give you energy for everything you need to accomplish. It will also help keep you in great spirits and a cheerful mood from the heightened levels of endorphins released in the blood stream during and after exercise.  More importantly, it will also help you avoid the “Yuletide Five” or the five pounds everyone seems to gain between Christmas and New Years’. If it seems like your best efforts to exercise and eat healthy are sabotaged by holiday parties and gatherings with family and friends, have no fear. You can counter your calorie intake by doing your holiday shopping!

Just as you plan to get the best gift at the best price, plan your shopping day for the best calorie burn with these simple tips:

·         EAT BEFORE YOU SHOPEating before you hit the mall will calm you down and give your body time to digest your food.  By doing this you will:Have energy to shop and the concentration you need to make rational decisions while shopping. You will also avoid the rush of trying to find something quick to eat so that you can continue shopping.  We typically eat what we like not what we need to eat when rushing, which leads to choosing foods that are high in fat and calories.  

·         KEEP IT TIGHT

As you stand in line to pay for your purchase, or wait for a parking space at the far end of the lot, tighten your abs or glutes for three sets.  Its ok, nobody’s watching.

 ·         BOTTOMS UPAs you reach for items on low shelves, use this as a great opportunity to get a few squats in. The great thing about the squat is that it works so many muscles. Every muscle in your lower body is worked.

·         CASH and CARRY

Pay for your purchase and carry your bags. With a bag in each hand you can do arm curls until you get to the next store. Be sure not to hurt your back. Once your hands are full, this is a great time to briskly walk to the car, drop off the bags and start again.If shopping for more than two hours:

·         Sit down and take a five minute break with a coffee, tea or non alcoholic drink. Other healthy options are a small snack such as a mini muffin, small milk shake or share a sandwich or bagel.  This provides the body with a chance to energize and reflect.

·         Keep drinking water (water fountain, bottle water) the reason why we put anything in our mouths is because our body is telling us it is time to consume food.  

Gaining weight is one holiday tradition that no one wants to keep. Make a decision to do everything you can to stay active and eat healthy while not depriving yourself of all the fun this season.

Maintain your weight and heart-health during the holidays

One of the toughest times of the year for those trying to lose weight is the holiday season. While the holidays are a time to rejoice, celebrate and share and make family memories, it is also a time for eating and drinking and more eating and drinking. Wherever you go, whatever you do, food always seems to be the central focus. Cookies, chocolates, fruit cake, pecan pie, eggnog, champagne, holiday breads and a multitude of other ‘goodies’ can been seen in the kitchen, at the office, grocery store, drugstore, and friend’s house.  

How can you maintain your weight and heart-health during this season of mouth watering treats?  

For starters, you have to watch your caloric intake. You must use more calories than you consume. Secondly you must be mindful of how often you move around. The more your entire body is engaged in moving, the more calories you’ll burn.   

To use more calories, you need to move around every day. Some people call this exercise, but I don’t like that word–it makes moving sound like a chore. I prefer the term physical activity. Your body was made to move. It wants to move. Movement keeps it healthy. 

Try to move extra-vigorously during at least half an hour of your physical activity so that you can burn more calories. An easy way to know whether you’re working vigorously is that the exertion will make you breathe heavily and your heart rate will increase. 

Want Weight Loss? Do the Math 

One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. If you consume 3,500 more calories than you burn off through physical activity, you gain a pound. If you burn off 3,500 more than you consume, you lose a pound. To lose 2 pounds a week means you need to run a deficit of 7,000 calories through more activity and less consumption each week. That means burning 500 more calories a day and eating 500 fewer calories a day. 

Here are some physical activity suggestions to help you burn calories and promote heart health during the holiday season: 

• Walking to see holiday decorative displays and lighting shows around the neighborhood
• Plan outdoor activities around the holiday: ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowboarding, snowball fights, build snowman with children
• Park your car further away from the mall entrance for a longer walk
• Take the stairs in the mall and not the elevator
• Take an extra lap around the mall after you finished your shopping
• Dance at the office party this year
• Tidy the house for guest: vacuuming, moving furniture, loading and unloading groceries, making the beds, shoveling snow

 
Now for the tough part— watching what you eat. Following these suggestions will help you maintain a safe level of calories during holiday meals and you’ll still enjoy the food.  

• Remove the skin— and the underlying fat— from chicken, turkey and other poultry before you cook it. To replace the moisture and flavor, marinate the meat before cooking.
• Dilute any juice by 50 percent with tap water or sparkling water.
• Reduce your alcohol consumption by 50 percent.
• Most dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, come in lower-calorie versions. Buy those for your recipes.
• At work stash your own healthy snacks in your desk so you won’t be tempted to overindulge in the office holiday goodies circulating in abundance.
• Skip the gravy, sauces and extra condiments on your food during holiday dinners
• Eat your regular breakfast the day of a big dinner so you want over eat.
• Eat the veggies without the dips and eat more from the fruit platters and not the pastry trays
• Opt for a broth instead of a cream-based soup.
• Opt for broiled or boiled entrees instead of fried or sautéed.

 
 
I can’t stress it enough: In order to live a healthier and happier life, you must learn to eat less and become more active. But this doesn’t mean that you have to starve yourself, eat only salad for a month or spend 10 hours a day doing sit-ups. In order to maintain your weight during the holidays you will just need to make those small changes.

I recommend creating a plan ahead of time. Create a way for incorporating fitness and good nutrition into your daily routine during the holiday season. Look for healthy holiday recipes for dinner and snacking. Get the support of your family and friends who will be sharing the holiday with you.

Hopefully these tips will help you find a balance between staying fit and also enjoying the fun of the season. Remember, moderation and movements are the keys. Have a great holiday season!

Keep Moving Your Way to Physical Fitness

Not Wanting to Move Leads to not Being Able to Move

By Ralf Hennig, CPT, CCS, CCES

Think about this—most people don’t move without stopping for even 10 minutes a week! Only a small portion of the populations—24 percent—will get up and do vigorous activity three times a week or more.

Most of us don’t work in jobs that require much physical exertion, either. Compared to previous generations, not many people do farm work, chop down trees, or have demanding labor intensive jobs that require bodily effort. Instead, too many jobs nowadays require us to sit. We type on computers, send voicemails, talk on the phone, and drive around to see clients.

Keeping a household running doesn’t require much effort, either. Most of us have washers and dryers in our own homes, so we don’t have to carry heavy baskets of clothes back and forth to the Laundromat. We have dishwashers that clean our pots and pans to save us from even that minor exertion.

In short if you don’t want to move much you don’t have to do so. Why move when a machine will move for you? Why even leave the house to see a movie or eat a meal if you can order anything you want by phone or over the internet? Many people find it “freeing” to not have to do extra work.

Actually these conveniences aren’t freeing. They’re just the opposite. They rob you of your freedom. Being well means you’re free from sickness and injury. Having full use of your body means you’re free of limitations.

You must keep MOVING if you want to stay fit. You must be fit if you want to stay WELL.

This idea is the key to my philosophy as a fitness professional:

Movement is a basic principle that’s required if you want to enjoy wellness.

Suitable for couch potatoes and performance athletes alike, FOUR WAY BURN includes a general program for all users as well as personalized routines for those who want to lose weight, travel often, suffer from back problems, or who are looking to boost their performance while cycling, running, golfing, or playing tennis.

No more balancing schedules for cardio and strength training; and no more warming up and stretching afterward!

Because you get four main benefits from each workout, I decided to call the program the FOUR WAY BURN. Every single workout will improve your body in these four ways:

Benefit #1: Total mind and body conditioning. With FOUR WAY BURN you do complex movements that require careful mental focus to make sure you’re holding your body in good form and breathing properly. In addition you work all parts of your body equally. You use both sides of your body equally and your muscles and brain grow accustomed to this new challenge, which enables you to control your body better.

Benefit #2: Cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness. You’ll breathe regularly and deeply, in and out, in and out. Deep breathing will allow both your vital organs and your muscles to keep working. It will keep your mind sharp and focused on each task at hand.

Benefit #3: Lengthening and Strengthening and joint stability. With FOUR WAY BURN, you use a small weighted ball—only 4 lbs—and you constantly stretch out our body. You stand up tall and fully extend your arms and legs. In addition, your feet, knees, hips, shoulders, and elbows are surrounded by small muscles that keep the joint stabilized.  Another benefit to moving your joints through their full range of motion is decreased wear and tear.

Benefit #4: Increased calorie burn now and later.  FOUR WAY BURN brings all your muscles into the action: your arms, chest, back, abdomen, buttocks, and legs. All of your muscles will burn calories, making this program a much better choice for weight loss than many others.  This program increases your metabolism, which means you’ll burn calories at a higher level for several hours after each session.

Those are the big four improvements you’ll get from sticking with this program, but there are many other benefits, too.  A bicyclist will be stronger on climbs, a runner will have longer and more powerful strides, a tennis player will have fewer knee, lower back, and ankle problems, a golfer will hit consistently longer drives and be more precise on putts and for those of you who play other sports— you will jump, turn, squat, and sprint with more power and control.

Your body absolutely craves the kinds of movements that my program offers.  You’ll discover that fitness isn’t a chore. It’s the key to enjoying a fuller, happier life free from illness and injury.

Are you moving?

RALF HENNIG, CPT, CCS, CCES, gold-certified by the American Council on Exercise and designated a master trainer by IDEA, is a well-known medical exercise specialist and personal trainer whose famous clients include former president Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton. He is the founder of Dynamic Fitness in Bedford, New York. Purchase copy of the book and related materials at:  www.performanceball.com  & www.performancegearllc.com

Reprinted from: Four Way Burn © 2007 by Ralf Hennig. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735.