Get Back On Track After The Holidays
From the end of November to the end of the year, there’s a bounty of sweets to tempt you and too many activities that take away from your workout schedule. It’s a new year now and time to get back on track and if you haven’t started a fitness program, time to start one. People in Irvine, CA who get back into the habit in January are glad they did. Not only does it help them stay fit and lose weight, it also helps lift those after holiday blues.
You control the type of year it will be.
Whether you’re going to have a year of regret or one of victory is your decision. It takes focus and determination, which eventually turns into habit. Even if you ate an entire tin of cookies or cleaned your plate several times at one meal during the holidays, it’s a new day and time for you to take charge. Start by focusing on cleaning up your eating habits. It’s going to be tough, especially since a lot of holiday food is loaded with sugar. Start by planning menus and making food ahead for the week, including snacks, so you won’t be tempted to sneak those sugary treats into the grocery cart or be tempted to get carryout on the way home.
While you’re focusing on planning meals, don’t forget to add exercise to your schedule.
It’s easy to skip a workout when you haven’t put it in your schedule. There never seems to be enough time in the day to do it. That’s why adding it to your daily schedule and making it an appointment with the gym is so important. Just like scheduling your workout, scheduling your meals and eating at a specific time can help, too. Try to maintain continuity throughout the week, even on the weekend. It will help get you into a routine.
If you’re getting back in the groove, don’t try to pick up where you left off.
The older you are, the quicker your body loses muscle tissue. If it’s been a month or so since your last workout, you’ll be surprised at how much strength and endurance you’ve lost. Ease into the first few workouts, doing less than you did before you quit for the holidays. You’ll save yourself the potential of injury and the super sore muscles that can cause you to skip your next workout. You’ll be able to get back to your workout within a few weeks without injury.
- Don’t forget to get adequate sleep. You may have skipped critical hours of sleep during the holidays. Not only does that affect your energy, studies show that lack of sleep can cause you to gain weight.
- Don’t forget to drink plenty of water. It’s tougher to drink water during the winter months, but you can still get dehydrated during the winter months. Make sure you drink 8-eight ounces of water a day.
- Don’t just rely on the gym for exercise. Have fun with the family or exercise when you’re watching TV. Going out dancing and taking walks add to your workout schedule.
- When you get back to the gym or start a fitness program, you’ll realize just how great it feels to burn off the stress of the day with a program of exercise.
Most people make resolutions for the new year, but often find them way too ambitious to achieve. Rather than waiting and starting with a list that’s long and intimidating, don’t wait for the new year to make a change, start it right away. Living a healthy lifestyle begins with a small step. Why wait to start when you can create some healthy habits that will also help you through the holiday season.
Whether you feel like hiding in the closet when holidays roll around or simply love the holidays, but find you can’t seem to keep up with all the demands, it’s time to make changes. You can keep your holidays happy and healthy in Irvine, CA, by planning ahead, taking time for yourself and focusing on what’s really important in your life. That’s easier to say than to do. After all, where do you find time for yourself when there are so many tugs on your time, making it impossible to keep up the pace.
Never use the excuse that you can’t eat healthy because it’s too hard, especially when you have this guide that makes healthy eating made simple. The first, and simplest, rule to remember, but not the easiest to follow, is to cut out added sugar. Cutting out sugar is tough for two reasons. First, it’s in almost everything. The next time you grab the catsup for your fries, check the ingredients. You’ll notice the high fructose corn syrup—a type of sugar—is high on the list. The easiest way to avoid it is to eat more whole foods, where you control the ingredients.
You’ve been told for ages that eating fat will definitely make you sick, but unfortunately, the mega study that supported that was paid for by the sugar industry. The truth is that sugar consumption, rather than fat consumption is more lethal to your health. It can cause metabolic disease and the most common form of metabolic disease is diabetes. Eating excess sugar can cause metabolic syndrome. That syndrome includes insulin resistance, the precursor to type II diabetes. It also leads to obesity including visceral fat—abdominal fat, high cholesterol, inflammation and high blood pressure.
If you haven’t heard of intermittent fasting before and think it’s new, be prepared to be surprised. There have been studies that date back a few centuries. One scientific study conducted on rats in the 1940s showed that intermittent fasting could prolong life. It kept the fasting rat looking younger and free of some of the diseases rats face as they aged. Great religious leaders have fasted for both body and spirit, so it does come with a history. However, intermittent fasting is different from the traditional fasting of the ancients. It’s all about when you eat.
Losing weight takes more than just eating or drinking a magic formula. It takes adjusting your diet so it’s healthier and exercising regularly. However, there’s a new fad in weight loss called detox water. Some of my clients in Irvine, CA even use detox water recipes for weight loss. Does it work? The answer is yes and no. Detox water is water that’s been infused with fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables to add flavor and even a few extra nutrients. If you’re drinking it instead of a soft drink or even fruit juice, you’ll be cutting calories by drinking detox water and cutting sugar. So, yes, in that way it can be exceptional for aiding in weight loss.
Clients who visit us in Irvine, CA, often have big goals. Some that aren’t achievable in less than a few years. For these people who work to help them break down those goals and set monthly goals. That doesn’t negate that “big goal.” It just provides the steps to help them achieve those goals. Why would you want to do that? There’s a number of reasons. One of the biggest reason is motivation.
You probably notice when you don’t brush your teeth in the morning before you leave for work. In fact, if you forgot, you may even stop at a store to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste to brush when you get there. That’s because it’s become a habit to brush before you leave and if occasionally you forget you simply don’t feel right. You can follow a quick morning routine to help you get into shape, lose weight and stay fit. Don’t try to do everything at once.
No matter what the weather, I carry a water bottle everywhere. It’s partially because I like water. Somewhat because I get thirsty frequently, but also because water boosts my energy level without the high and low repercussions of a sugary soft drink. Water is good for you too. In fact, the brain is composed mostly of water, so you can see how staying hydrated can keep you more alert. The heart and brain contains 73 % water, the lungs have 83% and muscles and kidneys contain 79%.