Making Plans for a Healthy Holiday

Since the holidays are just around the corner, it is important to stick with your exercise regimen. Before the holidays sneak up, get your plan started now. Many people put their exercise routines on hold from Thanksgiving to New Year's and return with a 10-pound weight gain.

All of us get busy this time of year with family, parties and shopping. Also, since our climate is the best in the country during the winter months, many of us have company from “up north.”

Scheduling your exercise should be as important as keeping a doctor’s appointment. I teach a cardio/sculpt class at Martin Memorial Health and Fitness Center three times per week and I have a very dedicated group of people that attend faithfully. I asked them for their tips about how they stay focused during the holiday season. Here’s what they had to say:

• Schedule all appointments so they do not conflict with their workout schedules. This includes doctor appointments, hair and nail, golf, etc.
• “Even when we have company, they sleep in while we exercise at the fitness center.
• Make exercise a priority.
• Make healthy food choices at parties.
• If you go overboard at a party with food and drink, make sure you are right back at the fitness center the next day working extra hard to work it off.
• Even an abbreviated workout is better than none at all.
  

Let’s make this holiday season different! Let’s all continue our workout regimens so that we feel healthy, look healthy and our clothes still fit on January 2, 2009!

--Jane Reynolds
Health and Fitness Technician
Hospital South Health and Fitness