Staying on Track {Giveaway}
*******This giveaway has already ended. Stay tuned for more!
Hey everyone! How was your day?
I was blown away by all of your awesome comments and sweet compliments on the Zumba videos. Even though it’s a little more challenging than it usually is, I still love teaching so.so much. Dancing makes me happy and is one of the few things that feels good right now, so I’m sticking with it as long as I can. Maybe I can plan some “let’s take a Zumba class” meet-ups when I get back into the traveling thing 🙂
Last night, while nana, madre and I were shopping, I couldn’t believe that all of the Christmas decor was already up. It’s like retail skips right past Halloween into Christmas, which I love, but it just seems so early this year. Just another excuse to get the tree up before Thanksgiving, eh?
[Our 2009 tree]
Holidays are definitely already on the brain for many people, and it was the topic for this morning’s conference call.
After I posted this morning’s post, I hopped on a video conference with the Shape Magazine Senior Associate Lifestyle Editor. The funny thing is that I woke up a little earlier so I could brush my hair and look semi-human, but we could just see and hear her, no one else could see us.
The funny thing is that if I would have zombie-d it, it would have been set up where everyone else could see me. Isn’t that how it always works out?
Anyway,
the video chat was fantastic. The speaker was Bahar Takhtehchian, and she discussed her favorite tips for staying on track during the holidays. She was a joy to listen to, but I couldn’t help but think “I’ve heard all of these tips before. I hope she shares a secret awesome trick I can share with my readers.” But the truth is, the methods to staying on track during the holidays are really all things we’ve heard before. Just like healthy living in general: the idea behind it is simple, but the execution is where it can get tricky.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the things she discussed, along with my own tips in brackets:
-You can still enjoy the holidays while maintaining your fitness and health accomplishments- treats are ok! [I am a huge believer in treating yourself! The only time we can run into challenges is when we tend to celebrate holidays over and over and over again. If it’s Thanksgiving, live it up- but after that holiday, get back into the usual swing of things]
-Make important choices during the day. Enjoy a satisfying breakfast with a combo of whole grains and protein- choose foods that will fill you up and keep snacking at bay. As far as lunch goes, choose something like salad, broth-based soups, salad, whole-grain sandwich (hummus or avocado instead of mayo), and keep lunch lighter since those who are at work are unable to nap after lunch and digest a large amount of food. [I also like to enjoy something healthy before going out to a party, such as some soup or a large salad. This way, I know that I’ve had some veggies and nutrients before the party, and don’t arrive ready to stuff the buffet table into my face]
-Go for healthy snacks, as they keep blood sugar stable and rev the metabolism. Some good choices: fruits, nuts and yogurt. [Amazeballs, egg puffs, smoothies, small salads, veggies and hummus, banana or apple + almond butter, deli meat or tempeh rolled up with some goat cream cheese, Larabars]
-Aim to get enough fiber. Women need 25g per day and men need 38g. Not only does it help with satiety, it can help to prevent disease.
-Stay hydrated (avoid caffeine since it has a dehydrating effect, and we can easily mistake thirst for hunger). Take H2O in a bottle with you, or flavor it with some lemon zest [I also like to add fresh berries, cucumber, mint, or orange slices to add some flavor]
-Keep moving! Use the mall for cardio, walk and chat with a friend (extremely beneficial in such a technology-focused environment), find a class you love (an instructor who inspires you, amazing music make all the difference), work out with a buddy who will motivate you to reach your goals, make small changes.
-Choose wisely and don’t overdo it.
When it comes to the holidays, I really think it’s important to remove pressure from yourself as far as working out and eating perfectly. The holidays aren’t a time to go on a crazy diet or set some lofty fitness goals- it’s a time to kick back, relax and enjoy family, friends and the season. I think that it’s much easier to stick to what you want to achieve when you’re willing to cut yourself some slack. Enjoy dessert, just don’t enjoy it every single day at every chance you get –treats are everywhere, from now until New Year’s. I’ll usually go for the ones that are really *worth it* like my nana’s Bundt cake, or my other nana’s Thanksgiving pies. If it came from a factory, it’s not worth it to me.
[Thanksgiving table of dessert justice]
As far as cocktails go, I don’t really have to worry about that this year, but usually I’ll go for something clear with club soda, a beautiful cocktail or fancy pants glass of wine and savor it.
As far as fitness goes, if you’re running short on time, go for a quick and effective workout. HIIT is one of my faves- 20 minutes and you’ll torch a ton of calories and have a higher afterburn effect throughout the rest of the day. For weights, choose compound movements that work more than one muscle group at a time (like lunges with a bicep curl or overhead press).
Definitely look for the forest, not the trees, and in the grand scheme of things, if you’re *mostly* sticking to your usual habits, a few extras here and there are NBD.
What holiday meal/treat are you most looking forward to? What’s one of your tips for staying on track during the holiday season?
I cannot wait for Thanksgiving. Cranberry sauce, stuffing and pie… and I’m drooling.
When you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win an amazing prize pack from Shape magazine:
-a one-year subscription to Shape magazine
-a yoga mat
-a stability ball
-a pedometer
-box of Fiber One Brownies
See ya in the morning with 10 Ways to Make November Gnarly <— help me with this title? haha
xoxo
Gina
**************************This giveaway has ended as of 11/3 12:01 AM EST. Stay tuned for more fun giveaways in the near future!
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Always look forward to Empanada and Arroz con Pollo on Christmas! Really any chance I get to eat my grandmother’s cooking is a treat for sure. ‘Just keep moving’ is my mantra for staying on track–wherever I can get a decent workout, power walk, etc. in during the holidays always helps.
I look forward to the whole thing! I think my treat is actually staying with my parents or the hubs parents and enjoying having a TV and cable for a while, however the SUCKS with keeping on track! 🙂 When I’m home I usually ask my mom to get some guest passes to her gym so I can hit it a few times, and this time I’m going home with a YMCA membership and will be able to participate in their A.W.A.Y. program and hit the gym a bit more often, I hope! But there’s nothing like coming home to the big city (and my not-having-a-TV-or-car) to get the extra blubber to melt right back off. Also, this year I’m planning to bring a healthy low-fat vegan dish to the hubs thanksgiving – so that visiting the two families in one day isn’t as rough as usual!
I am so excited about the holidays! I am looking forward to decorating Christmas cookies! I love your idea of “if it’s from a factory it isn’t worth it.” That is so true! I also try to get family/friends to go for a little walk after big meals, every little bit helps! 🙂
I’m looking forward to make a healthified pumpkin bread for my family on Thanksgiving! It’ll be a new addition to the feast and will HOPEFULLY help me stay on track when it comes to desserts (my weakness!)
I’m excited for the holidays – I’m Canadian, so I’ve already had Thanksgiving, but I am super pumped for Christmas already and want to get the tree up as soon as the fiance will let me haha.
I am most looking forward to my mom’s homemade orange cookies! They have been in our family forever, and they only coming out during the holidays. I am counting down the days 🙂
The biggest thing that I follow during the holidays is simply being happy with just getting out to exercise. I don’t beat myself up if I dont get a super long workout in. A little workout is better than no workout 🙂
My gram makes homemade chicken and dumplings and they are amazing! I really try to keep up my gym schedule during the holidays. It helps me keep focus during the day.
Cant wait for pumpkin pie!,
I love stuffing too! And my grandma’s pasta-it’s the best! If I overeat and have extra time (like when I’m baking for other people and the cookie dough finds its way into my mouth 😉 ), I will add in some extra gym time that day. I had plenty of cookies last year, and added 15 minutes on the elliptical each day of the week and did just fine!
Now for the name… what about Nourishing November?
I’m looking forward to stuffing, cranberry sauce, and macaroni and cheese! Yummmmm.
My tip is to make your workouts a priority! Get them done in the morning if it works better for your schedule. That way if something comes up, you’ve already got your sweat on for the day 🙂
I’m so excited for the holidays! It means getting to be with our families. I’m excited for all the holiday baking! 🙂
I’m really excited for my Dad’s mashed potatoes! 🙂
congrats on winning the Shape Fitness Blogger award! I love reading your blog – always get great tips here!
I don’t think I could choose a dish. All of my aunts are from different countries , my family is Italian and my uncle is a vegetarian like me, so we have food from all over the world (and usually too much of it …). It’s my favorite holiday of the year!
Pumpkin pie might steal my heart, though …
I’m looking forward to everything!!! I love the holidays. My dad makes a scrumptious LOBSTER PIE with a bread crumb crust instead of a regular pie crust, and it is actually pretty healthy and very, very tasty! We’re from Maine so lobster is a staple. YUM. The pie is his own recipe and we’ve had it for years every Christmas. I can’t wait! As far as staying in shape with all that food around the holidays, my family and I always go for long walks after those large meals-Tgiving and Xmas, and other times too of course. It’s great to be outside in the crisp fresh air, burn some of the calories from the mashed potatoes and green bean casserole away, and enjoy quality family time! 🙂
I love your blog Gina, keep it up! Reading it is one of the highlights of my day!
Hands down my favorite night of the year is Christmas Eve! We’re Italian so we have a big seafood fest – no meat allowed! – and it’s absolutely amazing! 🙂
I look most forward to family time and all the great food! Especially the appetizer part of my families T-Day!!!
I am definitely looking forward to pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce. It definitely makes its appearance at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Within the last few years, I’ve always made it a tradition to participate in the local holiday related runs. It has easily made its way into a little tradition I truly enjoy and the bonus is that it keeps me in check.
My favorite holiday (food-wise) is a toss-up between Thanksgiving & Christmas! Thanksgiving has all the traditional food (mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole) but Christmas Eve we go all out, last year we had lobster scampi yummmm. So I guess I love both holidays for different reasons.
P.S. I meant to comment yesterday but your Zumba video was so amazing!!! You rock.
I love having all the leftovers from Thanksgiving mashed up in a bowl, or in a sandwich!
I’m very excited for Christmas. I love all the desserts and peppermint related foods. Yum! Also, to stay on track I am going to plan on making some food in hopes that it’ll be delicious and better for you.
The holidays can be REALLY tough to stay on track — there are so many gatherings and everything seems to be focused around delicious food and drink (think appetizers at the work party, drinks with friends to celebrate…etc). I love these tips to help stay on track and it is important to truly enjoy the company you are with along with the delicious treats! 🙂
I always look forward to sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce MMM!! This post made me so excited for Thanksgiving!!
My tip for staying on track during the holidays is to do what I truly enjoy, because then it doesnt feel like work. For me, thats running. I never have to motivate myself because I love getting out there and hitting the pavement 😀
Totally looking forward to pumpkin pie and Christmas cookies. I think being pregnant has helped with staying on track during the holidays. I was this time last year too and while all I wanted was to stuff my face I couldn’t fit even a normal portion of food in my baby cramped belly. So I’ve learned small meals and moderate snacking allows for all the tastes and not as much guilt or crappy “I ate too much” feelings.
Stuffing! Yum! And spending a whole day with my fiance visiting our families 🙂
I try and sign up for a few fun races during the holidays to keep me on track — a Turkey Trot, a Jingle Bell run, etc. And if I can convince my family to run with me, then even better – exercise and family time all in one!
Most looking forward to quality family time! Living 1000+ miles away makes me truly enjoy it.
When I head home, I get to enjoy some beautiful scenery so I love walking with my mom and sister in the mornings followed by a workout DVD. Starts the day out great!
I’m looking forward to chestnut puree! That usually makes an appearance for either Thanksgiving or Christmas – somewhat labor-intensive dealing with the chestnuts, but so much easier now that you can buy packages of chestnuts already out of the shell!
For the holidays, I definitely enjoy all the food, but in moderation, because I hate feeling overstuffed, and I LOVE leftovers, so I have food to look forward to all week!
Fitness has never been part of my holiday planning, but I’d like it to be this year. My boyfriend is starting to train for a marathon, so hopefully he will be motivation to stay active during the holidays.
I am so looking forward to my mom’s homemade dressing and my aunt’s homemade pumpkin pie. We always go for a walk after the big Thanksgiving meal to help us move the food around instead of laying around in a food coma.
my sister is a fabulous baker and loves to take the flavors of the holiday and reinvent them into a creative dessert. I cant wait to see what she does this year!
I’m looking forward to pumpkin pie but not as much as I’m looking forward to being home with family and friends after a long semester at school!
so excited for the holidays!! i live in a city, so i’m excited for all the christmas trees and lights to go up and basically everything getting christmastified haha
I would love a new yoga mat to bring to work for our lunchtime workouts!
I am looking forward to green bean casserole!!! I could eat the whole dang pan!
Just making an effort this holiday to be as active as possible with my 3 kiddos and to fill up on fruits and veggies before I dig into the fun stuff. 🙂
My mother is the queen of desserts at Thanksgiving. She will always do something different each year, but no matter what it is, it’s always decadent and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with this year!
I’m looking forward to my Auntie Eileen’s Norwegian treats! She always makes tons of cookies and kringla which I only get to eat once a year and remind me of my grandma 🙂
My tips for keeping the holidays healthy are to save my treat until the end of the day. It seems that if I know I have something sweet waiting for me, I’m able to make smart choices during the day. Also, I plotted out a 5k walk around my parents house. We had our first ever annual Turkey Trot last year! It was a blast!
I’m looking forward to PUMPKIN PIE! That is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner.
To stay on track, I try and run a race in the morning before all the eating begins. This year there is a free race up in the Bronx and you can run anywhere from a 5K to a full marathon! I think I’ll stick with the 5K this year and go for the 10K next year. : )
First of all — I LOVE LOVE LOVE Shape Mag! Okay now I can really comment — Normally I do the whole eat from Thanksgiving to my Birthday – Jan 2nd…but I am going to keep up my intense work outs while I visit my parents so no more indulging. (I will see eat a little banana pudding 🙂 ) Thank you so much for this post. I have taken notes— esp on what to eat for lunch. SO HELPFUL! I always feel so heavy around 3 pm! Thank you sooo much! have a wonderful day!
Yay for sweet giveaways! 🙂 desperately in need of yoga mat, apparently my old one got lost during the move. :-/ boo!
Spending so much time with family makes staying on track hard! Nothing like mom’s homemade bread, desserts, etc to make the pants fit tight. So I try to stay active and in my usual workout routine, which typically leaves me making better food choices. I allow myself to eat my favorite foods! I try to practice some portion control but even when I over do it I make sure to start the healthy eating habits back the next morning. Also as much as I love leftover goodies I try to say no to them & give them away if I make them. Minus maybe one slice…it is the holidays after all:)
My biggest issue during the holidays are the bite sized foods. I can say noto a piece of pie, but to a mini tart just think, “oh it’s little, no big deal” the same goes for appetizers. So this year my goal is to be mindful of the small things that I eat that seem to add up.
What am I looking forward to? I would say anything cranberry. I love the sweet tart flavor of cranberries in everything. Cookies, bread, with chicken or turkey, all sorts of ways.
Love the tips! Definitely looking forward to homemade apple pie 🙂
How about…10 ways to make November Noteworthy or..Nifty!
Apple pie! Done my grandmother’s way 😀 hope to win the giveaway!
When I’m home for the holidays, I try to encourage my family to go on walks together. We have great chats and it’s a good way to get out of the kitchen and get the blood flowing. I always try to play with my niece and nephews as much as possible… playing with kids is definitely exercise! It’s important to allow yourself to indulge a little bit but not fall off the deep end. It’s always way easier to get back on the health train if you don’t veer too far.
On another note, I’ve always wanted to subscribe to Shape and this is the perfect opportunity! Thanks for the giveaway and being a great addition to my morning blog ritual 🙂
First time I wont be spending the holidays with my parents =( very sad time since they retired to florida.
My mawmaw’s twiced baked potatoes. They are to die for. I love that she usually sends me home with a batch of my own 🙂 She’s the best!!
I definitely enjoy my favorites during the holidays, but I make sure that morning or the next morning to get a good workout in. Another tip (that doesn’t always work for me :)) is to only eat a little of each thing you like, so you don’t end up super stuffed! Easier said than done!
I can’t wait for Thanksgiving. All my siblings and their families will be in town. We will feast!
I would say first of all that you are an amazing looking pregnant woman 😉
Personally, I’m not waiting for a special kind of treat for Christmas. I just wanna enjoy some glasses of wine in good company 😉 … ok that’s a treat hihihi But what I’ll do for the first time this year, I’m gonna eat before going to a party. There’s always chips and candy,… gonna stay away from them 😉
Let’s have an amazing day everyone 😉 xxx
I cannot wait to try and make NEW favourites since a lot of my old ones can’t be enjoyed anymore (ie: I’m on the vegan route). So something squash-y and pumpkin-y!!!
That conference is totally something I would love to be a part of one day!