09 Dec Maintain don’t Gain
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and December is off to a smooth start for you. Crazy to think 2023 will be here in about 3 weeks. As we wrap up the year, it might be a good idea to focus on how you can maintain your healthy habits in the areas of nutrition, fitness, weight management, stress management, financial wellness and more.
This week, we’d like to highlight maintaining our body composition and weight. Over the next few weeks, your eating habits might look a little different. And that’s okay. That’s part of the balance of living a healthy lifestyle and being able to enjoy freedoms in food and movement instead of restriction. So, here are a few tips to help us spend time with loved ones and maintain our body weight.
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Staying hydrated can help our body give us more accurate cues as they relate to our hunger. Did you know that sometimes we can feel hungry or snacky, but actually our body is thirsty? The cold and dry weather can make it hard for us to recognize thirst.
- Set reminders on your phone, Outlook, and everywhere else that will help you remember to sip on water throughout the day.
- Planning. This one never gets old does it?! When you map out your week or sometimes even just the day, make a commitment to yourself about how you will stay true to your healthy habits.
- For example, if you know you’ll be eating dinner out at one of your favorite restaurants, decide to eat fruits, veggies, and practice portion control during the day, so that whatever choices you make at dinner time, you know that you had a balanced diet during the day.
- Another example would be deciding to get a morning workout in because you know your evening is booked.
- Move more. We all know that calories don’t count during the holidays, but let’s pretend they actually do. 🙂 If this is the case, then let’s be intentional about expending that holiday energy we are intaking by being intentional about our movement. Exercise is not punishment for eating dessert, but exercise is:
- A great way to manage holiday stress, keep our joints feeling great, maintain our body mass, and more.
- Take some extra strolls, hop on the stationary bike in between meetings or gatherings, show up to boot camp, use workout apps for short bursts of exercise, enjoy some yoga, etc.
- Don’t forget about fruits and veggies. A little snack before eating out or going to parties goes a long way. Keep fruits and veggies prepped and ready to grab and snack to give your body extra fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water this holiday season.
What other tips do you have for maintaining your weight and body composition during busy seasons of life?p.s. We could also use more tasty veggies in our lives, so here is a FREE eBook from Lily Nichols, one of my favorite dietitians, to help you in the kitchen because the title says it all: How to Make Vegetables Taste Good
By Victoria Emmitt RD
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