Say Yes To Yummy Holiday Cookies!!

HoliDAY Fit Tip

Who doesn’t want to bake some yummy holiday cookies?

Don’t feel like you CAN’t have holiday cookies because you have fitness goals.

Homemade cookies, cakes and pies are sooooo much better for you then the store bought varieties (you know the ones that last for 7 years in your cabinet).  Remember those baked goods companies  have to make their products last for at least 3-4 weeks. That holiday cookies goes from the where it’s baked, shipped, stored on grocery shelf for sale, bought and put on your dinning room table … It has to have plenty of preservatives in there to keep it “fresh” for your holiday feast!

This includes pre-made cookie doughs.

Bake from scratch.

You can always make some healthy recipe substitutes (more on that later).

Make Holiday Cookies Fun!

Make cookies like you did when you were little!

• Crank up the holiday music…sing and dance while baking.
• If you drop something, do a squat to pick it up.
• Make a mess!
• Put cookies in oven and while you are waiting for the timer to go off do a quick workout.
• Pick healthier versions of your favorite recipes.
• Wash your dishes by hand then dry and put them away.

[Side Note: when you are baking watch your posture.  Ever notice that low back pain you get after standing too long??  You are probably relaxing your abdominals.  Pull your navel to your spine and squeeze your glutes (a.k.a. your tush) and add in some toe touch stretches and your back may not “hurt” as bad).

HoliDAY Fit Tip

Fast Food For the Holidays

I know you are in a hurry this time of year (who isn’t ?)  I am all for convenience and how to make the most of your time.  (We all only have 24 hours in the day).

But at what cost to our health?

I highly recommend carrying food with you.

You could bring a small cooler shopping (leave it car and take what you need inside)  or you can get a good quality protein bar or protein shake.

If you don’t feel that is an option for you and you are relying on fast food joints … Do your homework!

Check out your best bad choice in advance.

Fast Food Options:

If it’s popular food chain you should be able to find the nutritional  information  online. Look at your options and make the healthiest choice you can.

Here are some links to some popular fast food places:

• Chick-fil-A
• McDonalds
• Salad Works
• Subway
• Wendy’s
• Wawa
• Look for items that are grilled or baked.
• Have dressings and condiments on the side.
• Always have a healthy snack in your pocketbook that way you will never be “starving” and want to eat everything in sight.

Happy Holidays!

Your Trainer,
Nicole Simonin

HoliDAY Fit Tip

Power Shopping!

• #1. Park far, far, far away from the entrance.  You will have a nice hike getting to the store but just wait until you are carrying all those bags of heavy gifts and lugging them to your car.  Great calorie burner!
• #2. Time yourself!  See how fast you can run around the store to complete your shopping.  (Just make sure you don’t run anyone over with your cart!  ‘Tis the season to be nice too!! 🙂
• #3. Stuck in line or waiting for someone to move so you can get your hands on the next available iPad?  Do a little march in place or a slight sway…maybe some calf raises.
• #4 If you really don’t care a hoot about what people think about you…do some walking lunges down the aisles. (If you do this one PLEASE send me a picture or a video!!! 🙂

For those who are power shopping online:

• #1 Set a timer.  Every 5 minutes you are online, stand up and do 10 jumping jacks.
• #2 Ditch your desk chair and hold a static squat while scrolling for your perfect gifts.
• #3 Every time you get an awesome deal, jump for joy!! Do 10 squat jumps.

HoliDAY Fit Tip

Fitting in Fitness

So we know that our workouts are one of the first things to go during the holidays…”I just don’t have enough time…”
“Why bother?  I am just going to gain weight from all the holiday parties…”
“Working out is the last thing on my mind right now…”Any of those ring any (jingle) bells for you? Or maybe you have other excuses???…

This is probably the BEST time of year to keep working out!!

Why?? …

Because this is typically a high stress time of year.

Exercise decreases stress and gives you that feel good feeling when those endorphins get released. It also gives you a time to focus on YOU. PLUS you don’t have to bear the post-holiday aftermath of feeling guilty about over indulging in some yummy holiday treats.

Treat your workouts like they are your life line…like an important date that CANNOT be missed.  If you have been working out on a regular basis then you can cut your workouts down to 10-20  minutes and kinda go into a maintenance phase.

If you have no idea how to get started with an effective quick workout please click here. It does not have to be an “all or nothing” approach.  It can be a “something” approach too! For those of you who are just starting out on a fitness program or who want to start to be active or for those who just don’t believe me that fitness can be fit into your busy holiday schedule …everyone has 5 minutes to do some sort of workout.

Here’s a quick workout you can do:

Depending on how much time you have you could do a couple rounds 😉

• 20 Jog in Place
• Push Ups (As many as you can)
• 20 Wide Sprint in Place
• 20 Squats
• 20 Alternating Lunges
• 20 Plies
• 20 Plank
• 20 V-Ups