Zen Tip #4 - Boost Your Exercise During the Holidays
Posted by Leslie Riopel, MA, ACHT on 11th Nov 2015
The holidays are a great time to start new traditions - and if you are looking for a new tradition to start, exercising is a fantastic one. Exercise is obviously a great way to burn calories, and it's a great way to keep your eating on track. During the holidays, we tend to eat more, because food is everywhere. Instead of beating yourself up every time you eat another cookie, why not just boost your exercise as a counterproductive measure?
Exercising also releases powerful chemical endorphins or feel good chemicals that literally make you feel better, so it's a great way to stave off depression and anxiety. The reality is that ALL calories count, even that cookie dough you might eat standing at the counter baking cookies.
The holidays are also a great time to start tracking your calories - because tracking is a great way to hold yourself accountable. You can use some of the online calorie tracking tools to do this, and many of them are even free. When you track your calories you can also track your exercise, and literally see how many calories you are burning in any particular activity.
It's a given that you are going to eat a little more during the holidays. The holidays shouldn't be a time of deprivation - they should be a time of pleasure and enjoyment. Boosting your exercise also allows you to eat a little more, and enjoy yourself a little more. Try some new exercise routines and see if there is something fun you haven't yet tried.
You could take a dance class, try some yoga or even join a fitness club with an indoor pool for a change of pace. Working out doesn't have to be boring and joining a club allows you to try out lots of different things. If you can't afford that or money is tight, try renting some exercise DVD's and doing them at home. You could also consider buying yourself or buying the family a new piece of exercise equipment like a stationary bike so that everyone can enjoy it and use it. Exercise bikes also take up less room than a big treadmill and they may even be more affordable.
Better yet park the new piece of equipment near the television as a good reminder that working out is a necessary part of the day. Other ways to get more exercise might include:
There are many fun activities you can do as a family, even just bundling up and taking a walk. If you walked two miles at 3 miles per hour and you weighed 150 pounds, you would burn up to 159 calories taking a nice brisk walk. You could obviously burn more by walking faster or walking longer.
159 calories may not seem like a lot, but it's 159 more calories you can eat during the day. If you are trying to lose weight, you will lose it even faster by exercising every day. No matter how you slice it, working out consistently helps you live longer and live better - and who would argue with that?
So my advice is to enjoy the holidays and have that piece of pie, and then take a walk. Your body will thank you.