December 2018
As the festive season approaches, it's hard to resist the lure of bubbly and sweet treats! Rather than depriving yourself, here are a few easy ways to maintain a healthy balance at an indulgent time of year.
Stay hydrated and choose your drinks carefully. Avoid over-doing it on festive cocktails and always remember to have lots of water in between drinks when you're letting your hair down with friends.
Never skip breakfast and always have healthy snacks nearby. Apply the 80:20 principle where you can, which means eating healthily 80% of the time, saving delicious treats for weekends and office parties. Having a snack before going to meeting friends is a great way of avoiding over-indulging on nibbles!
It can be easy to let your exercise routine slide during the busy festive period, but try and stick to it as closely as possible and you'll enjoy the merriments even more. Throw in a brisk lunchtime walk or yoga class so that you don't fall totally out of the routine and it will be much easier to pick things up again in the new year.
Make fitness fun with apps known as 'exergames' which mix storytelling with fitness. Defend the earth against aliens with '7 Minute Superhero', or outrun a zombie apocalypse with 'Zombies, Run'! 'Step Buy Step 'is a great one for the whole family, turning every step into an adventure!
Prevent your family from spending too much time glued to the television by using your games consoles for some group exercise! Nintendo Wii, Xbox and Playstation all have great video games, such Exerbeat, which has over 150 exercises including dance and martial arts, and Dance Central which will have you jiving around the lounge!
Finally, the festive period should be enjoyable, so don't adopt a 'zero tolerance' policy towards occasionally having unhealthy food and having some downtime in front of the TV. Doing this, you're likely to feel frustrated and deprived. Life is too short, so apply a little restraint, don't take an 'all or nothing' approach and you can have fun without the guilt of too much over-indulgence!
