Author: Katie Carone

Every year millions of people indulge in the holiday spirit by also indulging in rich holiday foods. Most use the excuse that “it’s the holidays” and “I’ll start my diet with the New Year,” as they throw their self control out the window.

However, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. One can enjoy the the savory and sweet foods that surround the holidays without over-indulging. It’s okay to allow yourself an occasional extra scoop or a dessert. Just don’t make it a daily December ritual. When you are enjoying festivities or neighborly treats, try to do so in moderation. And when you are away from the merry-making, make a conscious effort to eat right.

You may not lose weight or increase your fitness level over the holidays, but you can certainly set a goal to maintain it!

We all know from experience how important sleep is! Getting a good night’s rest can help improve your mood and your health. The Better Sleep Council has eight guidelines to help you get a better night’s sleep:

• Keep regular sleep hours
• Cut down on stimulants such as coffee, soft drinks, and medications that may contain caffeine
• Sleep on a good bed
• Don’t smoke
• Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all
• Set aside a planning or “worry” time earlier in the day
• Don’t go to bed stuffed or starved
• Exercise regularly

According to the Better Sleep Council, “Exercise enhances sleep by burning off the tensions that accumulate during the day, allowing the body and mind to unwind. While the fit seem to sleep better and deeper…you don’t have to push to utter exhaustion. A 20- to 30- minute walk, jog, swim or bicycle ride at least three days a week…should be your goal. But don’t wait too late in the day to exercise. In the evening, you should be concentrating on winding down rather than working up a sweat…The ideal exercise time is late afternoon or early evening, when your workout can help you shift gears from daytime pressures to evening pleasures.”

Many people still believe the “No Pain, No Gain” saying which implies that you can never work too hard. However, this myth disregards the importance of recovery. In order for our bodies to receive the benefits of exercise, we must allow our bodies time to recover. During exercise we break down our muscles and then during recovery our bodies rebuild stronger in order to meet the new demands.

Overtraining is the imbalance of training and recovery. Some of the signs and symptoms are as follows:

• Chronic fatigue
• Lowered self-esteem
• Feelings of depression
• Difficulty concentrating
• Decreased performance
• Increased heart rate at set workload
• Increased rates of infection
• Loss of appetite

To prevent overtraining, follow a well-balanced, progressive training schedule. Then be sure to listen to your body; if you feel like taking a day off or taking it easy, do it!

Kickboxing is a popular cardio class workout at gyms across the nation. Kickboxing combines boxing, martial arts, and aerobics into a high-intensity, total-body workout. A typical aerobic kickboxing workout includes a series of repetitive punches and kicks.

Initially the moves may seem awkward, but with practice it will quickly become natural and fun. Focus on using and maintaining proper technique. To avoid injury ask your instructor any questions you have about technique. Also, be sure to avoid these common mistakes for beginners:

• Wearing weights or holding dumbbells when throwing punches
• Locking your joints when throwing kicks or punches
• Overextending kicks (beginners should avoid high kicks until they get used to the routine and become more flexible)
• Giving in to group peer pressure and exercising beyond fatigue

Most kickboxing classes are about 50-60 minutes; therefore, when you start off be sure you ease into it. If you start feeling overly exhausted, it may be time to slow down or stop. As your fitness level improves, you will gradually be able to exercise at a higher intensity and for a longer period of time.

The USDA has created a new tool for MyPyramid.gov called MyFood-a-pedia.
MyFood-a-pedia has some great features, including:

• You can look-up the calories in a specific food
• You can see what MyPyramid food group a food is in and how much of the daily requirements it accounts for
• You can compare two foods

Take a few minutes to play around with this informative and simple tool. You can find it at http://www.myfoodapedia.gov/.

Some days, despite your best efforts, you can’t manage to get out the door to exercise. Whether it is poor weather, a sick child home from school, working late, or just a busy day, it’s always nice to have some options of exercises you can squeeze in at home.

The following at-home workout was designed by the American Council on Exercise. It delivers a total body workout and requires NO equipment. http://www.acefitness.org/workouts/13/#program

Begin and end the work-out with a 5-10 minute cardiovascular warm-up that can be done by walking up and down stairs, doing jumping jacks, or jogging in place. Then follow the prescribed warm-up, work-out, and cool-down.

There is a weight loss phrase that says, “If you bite it, you write it”!

Keeping a food log has been proven to be a great weight loss tool. Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, a food log can help you ensure that you are eating a variety of healthy food.

Begin by writing down EVERYTHING you eat (yes, that includes the M&Ms you grabbed when no one was looking)! You will be surprised by how the mere act of writing it down will deter you from snacking when you are not really hungry. If you are accountable for those M&Ms, they suddenly seem less appetizing.

Take it one step further by including HOW MUCH of the food you are eating. This will help you make sure you are keeping your portion size in line with the correct serving size.

Review your food log once a week and set a nutrition goal for the next week. For example, if you didn’t meet the dietary requirements for the vegetable group then make that your goal for the upcoming week. Focus on improving your diet gradually by make small changes each week.

An exercise barrier is something that prevents you from exercising. The 10 most common reasons adults cite for not adopting more physically active lifestyles are:

• Do not have enough time to exercise (consistently the number one reason people give)
• Find it inconvenient to exercise
• Lack self-motivation
• Do not find exercise enjoyable
• Find exercise boring
• Lack confidence in their ability to be physically active
• Fear being injured or have been injured recently
• Lack self-management skills, such as the ability to set personal goals, monitor progress, or reward program toward such goals
• Lack encouragement, support, or companionship from family and friends
• Do not have parks, sidewalks, bicycle trails, or safe and pleasant walking paths convenient to their homes or offices

What barrier do you most relate too? Now brainstorm some ideas on how to break down that barrier!

The USDA recommends 4-5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily. In addition to quantity, it is important to eat a variety of fruits and veggies. To do this, some experts recommend focusing on color.

The fruit/vegetable color groups are:

• Blue/Purple
• Green
• White
• Yellow/Orange
• Red

Each color group provides different nutrients that your body needs. By eating a several different colors of fruits and veggies throughout the week, you will be getting the variety of nutrients each group offers.

Looking for a new exercise? Jumping rope is an oldie, but goodie. Jump rope is one of the most effective cardiovascular exercises. It is inexpensive, can be performed almost anywhere, and is fairly easy to do.

To find the right size rope for you, step on the center of the rope with one foot. When holding the handles up, they should come to chest level.

Below are a few tips for using a jump rope:

• Keep your back straight with your head up
• Keep your shoulders back; don’t hunch
• Keep your elbows close to the body
• Focus on a soft landing. Use your muscles to brace your impact rather than jarring those joints.

Once you have the basics down, you can get creative! Knee jumps, scissor jumps, one-foot jumps, etc. The possibilities go on and on!