Newsletter Web View

Here’s how to Avoid Holiday Pounds

For most of us, the holidays are a time of mixed emotions. You’re excited and anxious to spend time with family, and you’re dreading the extra weight that you know you’re bound to gain. Are these holiday pounds inevitable?

Lean in close to catch these seven secret ways to help you fend off extra weight through the holidays. And once you’re done, don’t keep it a secret. Go tell somebody!

Holiday Secret #1: Listen to Your Body

It may not speak quickly enough all the time, but you know your body is constantly telling you things. Sometimes it tells you to stop a certain activity before you get hurt. During the holiday season, it tells you to put the brakes on your eating before you go beyond the point of no return. When your body tells you it’s full, listen up! A single bite after you’re full will lead to extra calories and eventually, extra pounds.

Holiday Secret #2: Confine the Holidays

For some, holidays become weeks and even months of poor eating. Be careful to avoid this pitfall by digging into your holiday foods only on the actual holiday. Treat the other days like normal days—even if you’re off of work. And when the holiday is over, let someone else take the leftovers home and go to your own house without any pudding or gravy in tow.

Holiday Secret #3: Eat First, Party Second

You read right—it’s good to eat before heading out the door. Have a healthy, well-rounded meal at home with fruits, vegetables, and your protein source of choice. And drink a tall glass of water. Why? So when you get to that holiday party that is overflowing with cookies, cakes, candies, and calories, you’re not hungry for it. Your stomach is full of healthy goodness and has no room for the fattening stuff.

Holiday Secret #4: Plan Your Escape

Getting away from food isn’t easy. If you expect to be able to walk away from delicious thigh- and gut-growing foods without any forethought, think again. Before walking into a potentially fattening situation, plan out what you’re going to eat and take your own dish to share if necessary. Any time there is a particularly difficult eating situation, make plans an hour or so after the dangerous-to-your-diet event begins and excuse yourself.

Holiday Secret #5: Exercise Everywhere

One of the best excuses to gain weight is that you have to travel to visit family and don’t have access to your personal trainer. Well, guess what? Just because your trainer isn’t staying in the hotel with you doesn’t mean you aren’t accountable! Scope out the area where you’ll be traveling and take advantage of whatever exercise opportunities are available. There may be a gym or pool at your hotel, a pay-as-you-go gym, or a nice park nearby where you can walk or run with or without family members.

Holiday Secret #6: Pay Attention to People

Holidays are about family and friends…right? Then stop focusing on food! When you go to a party, there is no need to hang out by the food table when there are people all around you! Ignore the grub and go for the meaningful stuff that you’ll remember and cherish. Besides, it’s much easier to talk without munching and you even listen better when you’re not stuck thinking about how good the next bite is going to be.

Holiday Secret #7: Drink Instead

No, this isn’t a license to drink as much alcohol as you can find. Doing that will add lots of useless calories to your waistline. Instead, do your best to make friends with a glass of water everywhere you go. As you mingle with your water glass, you’ll find it challenging to grab more than a couple of finger foods here and there, and the fact that it is water will help you remember to watch what else goes in your mouth!

bWouldn’t you love to make 2025 the year that you transform your body?

Wouldn’t it feel great to look forward to bathing suit season? To be given a clean bill of health from your doctor? And to be showered with compliments by family, friends and that special someone?

It’s all more possible than you think.

But you’ll need to take massive action.

My programs are designed to quickly and efficiently get you into the best shape of your life.

Call or email now to schedule your first body transforming workout.

Go on, do it now and secure your spot before the New Year’s rush.

New research shows that just about a third of Americans 65 and older say their physical health is excellent or very good.

And about 22% report difficulty in carrying out ordinary physical activities like walking, climbing stairs, and carrying groceries.

The report is full of fascinating facts about our aging population; 18% of Americans are 65 or older, with similar numbers in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Older people enjoy community engagement, hobbies, and religious activities, of course. That probably doesn’t surprise anyone. But it all paints a compelling picture of how we view fitness among mature adults when we consider the relationship between fitness and happy longevity.

Joining a gym provides social connections, physical and cognitive opportunities, and a sense of fun everyone needs.

Strength training and functional fitness help mature adults maintain everyday abilities to take care of themselves and live independently longer.

Active adults enjoy the confidence that strength, agility, and endurance bring at any age.

And we are here to help anyone with all of this. So, please, call or come by to see us. Let’s give the Pew folks reason to improve their next report!

Inflammation is a major component in most Rheumatic pain conditions or rheumatic diseases, therefore it is advisable to eat a good amount of food that reduces inflammation and reduces the consumption of food that contains inflammatory agents. Here are some simple dietary advices that may help reduce rheumatic conditions:

THINGS YOU SHOULD EAT TO REDUCE RHEUMATISM

Fish, especially fat fish, fish oil, olive oil, walnut oil and raps oil should be a part of your diet. The fat in these types of food, omega-3-poly-unsaturated fat or omega-9-poly-unsaturated fat, reduces inflammation. However, if you add these types of oils to your diet, you should reduce the intake of other types of fat, so that you do not get too much fat.

You should also eat a lot of vegetables, since these also make a body chemistry that reduces inflammation.

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT EAT TOO MUCH OF

Do not consume soy oil and corn oil, since these types of fat increase inflammation. Most food that you buy that is ready to eat from the factory or restaurant contain these types of fat. You should therefore reduce the consumption of food you do not cook yourself.

Bread, cereals and products made of corn or cereals also increase the inflammatory response, especially if they contain wheat. Wheat causes a special type of inflammation in the intestines called celiac disease in some individuals, but may also trigger inflammation of non-celiac type. However, full-corn cereals and full-corn bread are valuable types of food, so you should not stop eating them. But if you eat bread or corn products at every meal, you should reduce your intake of these and eat more potatoes, beans and peas.

THINGS YOU SHOULD IDEALLY NOT EAT AT ALL

You should absolutely not consume fat that has been chemically altered to give it another consistency. This type of fat has a very negative effect on the health and may be very potent inflammatory agents. Margarine, snacks, fast food and ready made cakes or cookies often contain this kind of fat. Unfortunately this type of fat is also often added to bread. A good idea could be to bake your bread yourself.

Festive Hummus (Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil)

While the red and green speckles give this homemade hummus a jolly look, it’s the taste that makes it unforgettable. This dip makes the perfect party take-along. Serve it up with whole grain pita bread or fresh cut veggie sticks.

What you need
Serves 12

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 Tablespoons tahini
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons soy sauce
4 sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves

Instructions

1. Throw all the ingredients into a food processor and combine until smooth.

Nutrition
One serving equals 75 calories, 2g fat, 11g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, and 3g protein.

Motivate your friends, family and co-workers! Use the “refer a friend” link below to forward this newsletter to your friends, family, and coworkers.