My Holiday Health & Fitness Challenge
December 23, 2011 By: Barbara Downes
Dr. Barbara Downes, ChIropractor & Functional Medicine Specialist
This time every year I hear patients tell me they are starting to put on their “winter coats”. They gained a few pounds since Thanksgiving and are nervous about the next few they may pack on by the New Year. The jokes and nervous laughter are always the same– that you only live once, that it’s time for cookie madness, or what-the-heck it’s that time of year. I also hear the same things by January–that they are tired, bored, bloated, and forgetting about any special resolutions they’d made, they just don’t feel good enough to follow through. They readily admit that the cookies weren’t worth it, stuffing isn’t all that, and they continue to jest about that mid-winter bulge.
Most of my wellness, lifestyle and biotransformation patients know better than to joke with me about these things! I take gaining a pound or two very seriously. Just one or two pounds a year add up as do health consequences, so I decide to turn these holiday weeks into their physical opposite: fitness and whole health challenges to be met with head on, enjoyed and celebrated!
My Holiday Health Challenge to you then is to set a finite health goal. You may want to set a goal to lose 3 pounds by New Years Eve, or to make a commitment to your daily workout. Make it concrete and write it down. Get a buddy to help keep you honest, or better yet, meet you for that morning workout! Don’t miss a day!
I do not accept layers of winter fat! I consider holiday time a fun, festive, active and nourishing time that is a prequel to swim-suit season. That keeps cookies in perspective and joints moving!
Some action-steps that will help you reach your Holiday Health goal:
Watch every morsel you eat. If your goal is to lose a few pounds, take extra care to restrict starches. Opt for the fruit instead of the bagel with your eggs, forget the potatoes and especially forget the white bread. These things are your enemies and should be treated as such…get away from them and distract yourself with physical activity. It is easy to do if you are enjoying three meals a day with quality protein and lots of fresh vegetables. The starch and sugar cravings just won’t be there in a few days.
Never miss a workout. In fact this would be a great time to hire a personal trainer or a Pilates instructor, and commit to a schedule. Get to BrickBodies, you can always shop online later.
Give and Get Healthy Gifts. A great gift for me would be Pilates Classes, running shoes, sport shorts, and sports massages. Perhaps give your spouse a health club membership and a bike or some snow shoes and then pledge to keep up with them.
Make this holiday a gift of feeling great, being in fabulous health and helping others do the same. None of us need that cookie, but we all need a healthy body and a healthy family!!
~Dr Barbara L. Downes
www.downeshealth.com