Avoid Holiday Food traps

Some research shows that Americans gain 5 Lbs pounds from Thanksgiving to the New Year. This simply does not have to happen! It’s so hard to ignore the extra wine your friends bring to your home for holiday parties, or especially that scrumptious piece of pie from Grandma’s oven. Let’s face it, the last thing you want to do is measure out your food during thanksgiving or Christmas because you’ve realized that that piece of pie will soon become the extra jiggle around your waist line. The calorie intake is an inevitability, but you can thwart the poundage IF you are resolved, once and for all, that this holiday season you are not going to resign yourself to a sedentary lifestyle! AN EXTRA CARDIO SESSION! If you’re already doing cardio 2-3 times a week with 2 days of strength training, add two days of cardio, between 40-60 minutes each. Remember, a smart approach is always to have realistic expectations! SUBSTITUTE FRUIT! Avoid "BAD" carbs after 7pm. A good way to curb the urge is to have fruit instead. Most people will be surprised that fruits themselves are a great source of carbs. Here is a list of fruits that have over 20 g of HEALTHIER carbs in them for a medium size serving: Grapefruit Pears Bananas Mangos Papayas Blueberries Watermelon DRINK MORE WATER! Drinking more water during the day to make you feel fuller in between meals will help curb your appetite. Incorporating more fruits into your meals, coupled with more water intake and increasing your cardio and strength training sessions will help keep you fit during the holidays. This will also let you enjoy an extra serving or two during the holiday parties! After all you do want to enjoy events at work and, most importantly, quality time with your friends and family. Living in a culture where food is everywhere, you won’t feel so bad about grabbing an extra cookie because you know that when you’re home, you’ll be eating healthy and exercising. You don’t have to feel that rewarding yourself and indulging every once in a while is such a sin.   Anabell, The KettlebellChick Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10727591