Holiday Fitness Tips
With the holidays all around us, it's more important than ever to exercise everyday. I've put together some tips to help you stay fit and healthy during the holiday season. Aloha!
How to exercise and eat healthfully during the busy holiday season:
During the Holidays, the days fly by and I'm always trying to complete my every growing to do list. It gets darker sooner and I feel like I still have so much to do! One thing I always do is exercise and eat healthfully. After 25 years in the fitness industry, I've come up with many simple & time saving ways to make sure I get my workout in to keep me energized, strengthen my immune system during holidays. There are easy ways to make sure I eat as healthfully as possible while surrounded by tempting holiday cookies and cheer.
Hope these tips help you stay your fitness self during the Holiday Season 🙂 XO Kiana
How to workout around a busy schedule:
- Workout first thing in the morning before the day gets started. Try to be active within the first 15 minutes of waking up. Exercising first thing in the morning helps set the tone for the entire day and makes healthier choices seem easier.
- I've said this on Kiana's Flex Appeal and I still do this now: every little bit counts: park a little farther. Take the stairs. Practice good posture in the car. Do isometrics in line at the grocery store. Do arm curls with your Nordstroms bags...it all ads up to a fitter stronger body.
- Trick yourself: Just tell yourself you'll workout for 15 minutes, it usually ends up being much longer because the hardest part is just getting started. You know this is true 🙂
- Put on your workout clothes right when you wake up. Don't take them off until you've done your workout.
- Save time by investing in your own home gym. You don't have to drive to and from the gym. Make sure to get quality gear, no junk. I've curated a some select gear that I personally use in my home gym. Your gym doesn't have to be elaborate, just some quality hand weights, medicine ball, fitness mat (not a flimsy yoga mat) that protects your knees when you jump, a jump rope. Do squats, push ups, chest press, shoulder presses, curls, dips, jump rope, crunches and you're good to go! After years of training in sweaty hard core gyms loaded with germ filled weights, I personally like nice, clean, quality workout equipment, it makes me want to train even more!
I created Kiana's Flex Appeal Home Gym Workouts. I do these workout all the time!
- Exercise benefits are cumulative: Break up your workouts into morning, noon and night: Do 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes at lunch time (or when the kids are at school /napping) and 20 minutes before or after dinner
- Train around your busy schedule. Can't make it to the gym? Browse YouTube for online workout videos or take a professional structured online fitness class, they're available 24/7. on Kiana's eGym, I broadcast LIVE workouts for members worldwide! You can also access 100's of videos and tutorials online.
- Involve the whole family! Spend time together during the holidays doing something healthy together! We busy moms know that the days get so busy, that it's often hard to find quality time together! Get fit together and help your kids learn to love fitness at a young age.
- Power walk: go for a walk (not stroll) but power walk. The pace should be fast enough that it's challenging to carry on a conversation. Better yet, find a street with a hill and walk up and down several time. (Never run down a hill. Walk. It's easier on the knees.)
- Interval Training is a great time saver and is the BEST way to reduce fat: My interval training workouts average 15 minutes per session. Who can't fit 15 minutes into their busy day? Here I'm leading Kiana's eGym Members in the USA, Canada, UK... through a full body blast in 15 minutes! Jump rope, split jumps, bent over rows, push ups, curls, plank jax.
How to eat healthfully during the tempting holiday season:
- Winter White: Stay away from all white sugar cookies & cakes. End of story.
- Sweets on Steroids! During the Holidays, we all love sweets! But I like to make sure that ALL the sweets my family and I eat have some nutritional benefit instead of empty calories. For example, my Dark Chocolate Tofu Pudding recipe is a decadent, rich, creamy pudding that literally has silken tofu in it for protein and anti oxidant rich dark chocolate with 70% dark cocoa for maximum health benefit.
- Ladder your cheer: just like we ladder our workouts in the gym, ladder your drinks. Alternate cocktail, water, water etc. I really love sparkling water and I like a glass of Chardonnay. Sometimes I'll mix them into a spritzer & add a pretty flower 🙂
- Eat BEFORE you go to a party. I like to eat something with protein such as: grilled chicken, cheese and crackers, protein shake, protein bars, hard boiled eggs. This is key to not eating too much at the party and making sure that the cocktails don't hit you too hard on an empty stomach. I have so many Mini Meals as I like to call them and free Fit Fast Food recipes. I always eat snacks that include some form of lean protein. I love my Mini Spinach and Egg Protein Bombs!
- Sleep! Studies show that if you are sleep deprived, you will eat more sugary foods! I like to take a little 30 minute cat nap during the day. I feel recharged and I swear I look 5 years younger! If that doesn't motivate you, what will?
- Be Sneaky! Add healthy kale & spinach into your smoothies! Add diced squash into your marinara sauce! Serve grape tomatoes, nuts, organic chips with spinach & Greek yogurt dip, crunchy organic bell peppers with hummus for snacks.
- Snacks! I always always always carry snacks in my purse. I seriously think I could live out of my purse for a week! I have Kiana Bars and pre packaged trail mix in my purse. I carry a little cooler in my car with string cheese, multi grain crackers, single serving hummus, fruit infused water.
- Cut the Frap: Ever notice the tempting variety of super rich, 500+ calorie creamy coffee drinks that pop up at holiday time? Love how they smell but don't love the ridiculous amount of calories in 1 cup of joe. Enjoy the same thing with 25% less calories by asking for only 1 pump flavored syrup (instead of the normal 6) and using almond / coconut or soy milk instead of whole milk.
- Portion your food: Never eat out of the serving dish or bag of chips. Always serve yourself a little slice or handful of nuts. (My kids have been known to try and eat Cheetos out of the bag, then before you know it, the whole bag is gone! Eek! My mom loves Cheetos and buys them for the kids all the time.) Try my Pie in a Cup recipe, you can make any type of Pie: pumpkin, apple, cherry...it's fun and is the easiest way to portion dessert.
- Drink Water! Studies show that most people don't drink enough water. Many times when we think we're hungry, we're really just thirsty. With all the rushing around during the holidays, many people don't drink enough water. Period. Alcohol dehydrates the body so it's a double whammy. Staying hydrated flushes toxins from your body, improves the appearance of your skin and hair. Infuse your water with fresh fruit to add natural fruit flavor, color, vitamins and nutrients to plain water.
- You're so vain: You took the time to do your date night hair and makeup, why ruin it with creamy dips and messy food? Select foods that are easy to eat, which are usually healthier to eat too: (celery, chicken skewers, sushi, carrots, etc.)
- Cut the Cream: Avoid heavy creamy soups, creamy sauces, creamy dips
- Locked and loaded! Load your refrigerator and pantry with healthy foods! If it's not in your house, you won't eat it! See: Top 40 foods to put in your grocery cart
- TMZ: Don't eat anything that you wouldn't want TMZ to snap a photo of you eating.