Moving Forward Fitness

5 Savvy Tips to Keep Your Sanity This Season

By Sonja Boggs, M.S.

The holidays are a special time for enjoying the company of close friends and relatives.  For many, however, they can also bring additional stress and, with that, unwanted weight gain.  Prepare yourself this holiday season with these sanity saving tips.

Tip #1:  Take Short, Frequent Breaks

You may be pressed for time and feel like you are stretched to the max between organizing holiday plans, family demands, and work.  While long relaxing breaks may be out of the question, short five or ten-minute breaks can work wonders for a refreshed mindset.  Take a few moments to enjoy soothing music at your desk with a set of headphones, get a breath of fresh air, even if it’s only in the parking lot, call your best friend, or retreat to the bathroom or bedroom for a few deep breaths.  Short breaks give your mind a chance to let go of the constant chatter and, as a result, relax your muscles and improve your focus.

Tip #2:  Schedule an Hour a Week of “Me” Time

While it may seem that an hour to yourself is unproductive within your demanding schedule, having some regular “me” time brings energy that will boost your efficiency.  Whether it’s a lunch-break, evening, or weekend afternoon, for just an hour (or at least 30 minutes), set aside the to-do lists and do an activity you enjoy.  Read a book, watch a favorite movie, take a yoga class, or go for a walk in the park.  You deserve the time, and the to-do lists will be there whether you take the time for yourself or not.

Tip #3:  Say “No” Sometimes

It’s okay to say, “No,” even if it may feel a little uncomfortable.   While helping out and being liked feels good, taking on too much responsibility can decrease your effectiveness at what you already have on your plate.  Before agreeing to a new demand, decide how you might benefit from the task and how it would realistically fit in with your previous time commitments.  Perhaps the task can be delegated or delayed until you have the opportunity to finish a project near completion.  Or, it may simply not be a good fit for you.  Be honest, first with yourself and then with the person requesting the commitment.

Tip #4:  Indulge a Little

The holidays are a time for indulgences of sweets and treats.  You can allow yourself these simple pleasures while still maintaining your weight.  Rigidly controlling what you allow yourself to enjoy will likely lead to overindulgence.  Instead, have a little taste, even if you can’t decide between your Aunt’s delicious pie, your sister’s new cookie recipe, and your mother’s chocolate cake.  Have a small piece of each and savor the taste and texture instead of gulping it down in guilt.  Think in terms of moderation as you enjoy the holiday treats.

Tip #5:  Just Add Water

A quick way to add up calories fast without even noticing is to over-do the alcoholic beverages.  A peppermint martini here and a holiday daiquiri there can up your daily caloric intake to nearly 1,000 calories if you aren’t careful.  One basic alcoholic beverage, which is a 5-oz glass of wine, a 12-oz beer, or a 1.5 oz shot of distilled spirits, has approximately 100 calories.  Add to it sweet, tasty liquors and mixes and multiple glasses and you can have as many calories as a meal would provide.  To moderate your consumption of alcohol, have a glass of water between each drink and consider spritzers that are made of a mixture of wine and club soda.

While everyone is a little different in how they handle the holidays, a little tender, loving care (TLC) amidst the hectic activities of the season can have numerous benefits.  Consider how you can apply the tips above to your lifestyle and enjoy some TLC for yourself this holiday season.

For the next few weeks I will be posting information relevant to weight management through the holiday season.

If you have any healthy holiday recipes or tips that have worked for you to share, please add your comments.

Looking forward to a happy & healthy holiday this year!

I urge you to pay attention to how the food you’re eating affects you.  Throughout most of my life I simply chose foods that I considered “good for me” and minimized the amount of foods that are known to be “bad” and left it at that.  When I felt tired or energized, sick to my stomach or at ease I attributed it to outside factors like my job, my relationships, or activities I was engaged in.  While these factors definitely contribute to health and well-being, and the presence or absence of ailments, a much more powerful influence on our health is the food we eat.

Unfortunately, I didn’t look closely at how different types of food were affecting me on an individual basis.  What might be good for some, such as certain whole grains, may not be good for others, who, for example, are gluten intolerant.  I have learned more recently to pay attention to my body signals after every meal and snack.  Do I feel tired or alert, bloated or comfortable, calm or anxious?  Does my digestive system feel good and regular, or upset and irregular?  I am surprised to learn that some foods that have been a part of my diet for years, such as flaxseed oatmeal, are not yielding a good response in my body.  I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that when I go out to eat, my stomach feels the most upset, although I’ve been noticing this more closely now.

The best way to pay attention to how food affects you is to keep a food journal, either online, on your computer, or with basic pen and paper.  Record what you ate, how much, and how you felt immediately after and hours later.  You will likely start to see some patterns that will help you make choices that affect you better so that you can have the most energy and productivity every day.  You will learn what you need to reduce or eliminate and what you need to add in place of the items you’ve eliminated.

Our bodies know best, if we will only pay attention to the messages they are sending us.

Over the Labor Day holiday weekend Shaun and I decided to visit the butcher in Del Ray to get some quality meat for grilling.  Let’s Meat on Mount Vernon Avenue offers local cuts of meat, fresh milk and eggs.  We bought 2 pounds of steak and two large chicken breasts.

We grilled the steak with mushrooms.  It was really tender and juicy, although it didn’t have nearly as much flavor as the last time we purchased it from him.  The chicken was absolutely delicious.  We had it with a mole sauce that Shaun made and some brown rice with broccoli.  Fabulous.  Even the cat and dog scarfed it down and kept following us begging for more.

There is something about buying local.  You can really taste the difference.  And this butcher is in such a convenient location that it makes sense to go there for our meat purchases regularly.

I decided to try these cookies over the Labor Day Holiday.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-healthy-cookies-recipe.html

I liked that I could make a cookie without adding sugar, except of course for the natural occurring sugar in the bananas and, well yes, the chocolate chips.  I used dark chocolate chips, although Heidi from 101 Cookbooks says you can use carob powder instead.  I also used olive oil instead of coconut oil to reduce the saturated fat, which I thought tasted fine.

The end result?  Tasty and addictive!  While the banana flavor was a bit overpowering (wonder what I could use in place of bananas with a similar texture and level of sweetness?), the overall texture and taste of these healthy cookies was delectable!  I think in the future I’ll need to share more with neighbors and friends so I am not so tempted to overdo it.

Shaun and I stopped for lunch yesterday in between running errands at the Chipotle in the Lowes shopping plaza in Alexandria, just off of Route 1.  This Chipotle is much bigger than the one in Old Town and has a much larger number of staff to handle the influx of people continually coming through the doors.

The line was long, but moved fast.  The staff were friendly and really hustled to keep the line moving.  I ordered a chicken fajita burrito and Shaun got a chicken burrito bowl.  The food tasted good, and in fact seemed to have more flavor than the one in Old  Town.  My burrito did fall apart on the first bite…so much stuff crammed into it!  I think I’d get the bowl next time.

We both noticed the eclectic music playing in the background.  This Chipotle had a distinct feel to it, hip and modern, yet laid back.

Overall, a positive dining experience.  An hour or so later, though, Shaun and I both felt like we had a bit of an allergic reaction to the food.  Congestion and some stomach upset.  We think it may have been the mild tomato sauce or something in the seasoning added to the rice.  We do still plan on going back though, trying it without the rice and the mild tomato sauce.

Chipotle makes an effort to buy its food locally and to treat animals with respect.  We think people go there because of the taste, but Chipotle’s efforts, in addition to their good food, make it stand out from the rest.  Check out their link:

http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx

Shaun and I ate dinner last night at Vermillion, one of only three restaurants in Old Town that offers local food on the menu.  I love to workout, and I also love to eat, so dining experiences are a vital part of my lifestyle.  Vermillion met my standards, on every level.

We were greeted with a smile upon walking in and seated at a cozy table within their modern, contemporary, exposed brick, upper level.  Our waitress was courteous and there at the exact times we needed her.  We were offered a complementary appetizer and served warm bread while waiting for our meals.  The steak was flavorful and tender, with unique tastes in the truffle & spinach that came along side it.

Overall, a very positive experience, which we have had every time we have visited.  One time, it was too hot to stay and the waitress brought us wash clothes dipped in ice.

If you are looking for a unique place with delicious, local & farm-raised food and courteous staff, consider Vermillion.

http://www.vermilionrestaurant.com/index.html

Our experience at Miss Saigon restaurant in Georgetown was a good one today.  I tried a tofu stir fry that was delicious and Shaun had a shrimp dish.  We were both pleased with the food, the speedy service, and the modern atmosphere.  Another place to add to our list, and one more check for me in eating a vegetarian meal.

I decided to eat my lunch this afternoon without any distractions.  My gut instinct was to reach for a magazine or turn on the television.  Well, with the cable being out thanks to Comcast, I chose to practice Mindful Eating instead.  I focused on the taste and texture of the food and I noticed that I ate more slowly.  The whole eating experience took only a few minutes and I felt better afterwards than I do after shoveling food in my mouth while reading an article or responding to email.  Perhaps we need to slow down a little sometimes and experience the present moment.  Time will move forward as always, and our bodies will thank us.

On short notice, my husband and I considered where we could go out to get a bite to eat that would be healthy.  We knew we had to go food shopping as well.  We decided to combine our trip and eat from the salad bar at Whole Foods for dinner before doing our grocery shopping there.  It worked out well.  They have a range of cold and hot salad bar items, a meat carving station, and pizza.  While I would have preferred more hot salad bar options, we both got a satisfying meal, and the grocery shopping task checked off conveniently.