Oh come on, just admit it! We’ve all used the holidays as a reason not to start a personal training or bootcamp workout and nutrition program and even worse, most of us have used it as a reason to stop our existing ones. I’m going to be the voice of reason for a moment and force you to get real. That’s just a big old lame excuse, nothing more, nothing less. Let’s face it, even if you did go completely over board eating and drinking everything in sight on each of the actual holi-“days” and a few parties, but ate clean and worked out on other days during the season you would probably not gain a pound.

The holiday season reminds me a lot of the “Star Wars” movies. There’s a very good side to the season with all of the parties, gift giving and getting together with loved ones. But along with the good side is a “dark side” that we all visit at some point during the season.

Holiday eating isn’t all on the dark side, but you must admit that most of us consume excessive calories in the form of second or third trips to the buffet, baked goods and alcohol. Don’t get me wrong, there is great enjoyment in savoring all of the holiday flavors and cuisines, but there comes a day of reckoning. The indulgence in excessive eating comes with a price. We pay the price in added pounds that seem to find their way directly to our hips and waist.

Calories Add Up
The good news is it takes around 3,500 excess calories to add one pound of fat to your body. That’s a ton of calories! The bad news is that many holiday meals can total 3,000-4,000 per sitting and that doesn’t even factor in the alcohol, soda or sparkling cider. Unless you’re eating your dinner on an exercise bike, you could put on nearly a pound in just one meal!

Although the calorie content of holiday meals can be very high, they don’t have to spell disaster for your waistline. The key is to carefully manage your exercise levels during the holidays and the weeks leading up to extravagant meals and eat clean on all of the days you won’t be at a party. One of the best ways to manage your exercise levels and crank up the intensity is to hire a personal trainer and Define Fitness Studio of Bellevue is the place to do it. Our small group format makes training fun and affordable at around $25 per session. We’ll even help you manage your nutrition and hold you accountable during the holidays.

Damage Control Methods
There are two strategies to holiday Damage Control. One is preemptive and the other is reactive. If you want to keep the damage to a minimum or even make progress toward your weight loss goals, I would suggest using both methods.

Preemptive Damage Control
The key to Preemptive Damage Control is planning ahead. If you fail to plan you plan to fail. During the holiday season, you should increase both the quality and quantity of your exercise. This can be like putting money or “burned calories” in the bank. If you are planning to eat a huge holiday meal in the 3,500 calorie range, try and increase your calorie burn by about 500 calories per day for 7 days leading up to your meal. You are in effect, losing the weight before you put it on. The net result will be zero weight gain and you’ll be able to enjoy a guilt free feeding frenzy.

Reactive Damage Control
The main holiday meals are not the only source of excess calories. What about the extra piece of pie or other late night snacks? Don’t forget about those glasses of eggnog or the chocolate chip cookies you munched on either. These are typical food items we all end up eating during the holidays. They’re hard to resist and we often eat them without even thinking about it. No worries! These unplanned “sneaky” calories can be taken care of after the fact. This is called “reactive damage control”. Utilize the help of the best Personal Trainers on the Eastside by asking for Personal Training for Christmas. At Define Fitness Studio, we offer single month gift certificates as well as discounted rates for 3,6 and 12 month packages.

The Exercise Equation
Sometimes knowing the calorie content in a food isn’t enough of a deterrent to keep us from eating them. However, learning how much we must exercise to burn them off can have more of an effect. Here’s the distance you must run to burn off some popular holiday fare.

Eight ounces of eggnog 3.25 miles
Three ounces of turkey 1.25 miles
One slice of pumpkin pie 3.00 miles
One slice of apple pie 3.75 miles
Three ounces roast beef 3.00 miles
One slice pecan pie 6.00 miles
One cup mashed potatoes 3.00 miles
One cup sweet potatoes 2.50 miles
One cup of bread stuffing 4.00 miles
Two rolls w/butter 3.00 miles
One cup of gravy 2.00 miles
One cup of cranberry sauce 4.00 miles

Janelle G. Miller
Fitness Guru | Personal Trainer | Nutrition Coach
[email protected]
206.369.7216

“Fighting America’s Health & Obesity Epidemic One Person at a Time”