Healthier LIFE D WORDS BY LIZ JONES
A healthier holiday season
As most people know, staying fit and healthy over the holidays can be a challenge. First of all, I recommend not attempting to lose weight over the holidays. Do not try to make drastic changes in diet or exercise plans. The most obtainable goal to work toward is to try to maintain through the holiday festivities.
There are a few factors that play into the reason people seem to gain weight and move away from healthy choices during the holiday season. The first is time; schedules begin to get more hectic, trying to figure out how to have holiday dinners with more than one set of relatives can really cut into the time that you commit to your health and fitness. It also can translate into a lot of pumpkin pie. To help with this, it’ s vital that you make yourself a priority. Yes, it’ s important that you take time to spend with your family and friends doing special holiday events like volunteering, going to see Memaw, and taking time to have some fun with your co-workers, but continue to make your time in the gym, going for a walk, or taking a fitness class. A lot of my friends call putting effort in their training,“ Beer Miles.” Over the holidays we can call them“ Pie miles”( or more accurately,“ Pie and Bailey’ s Miles”).
Next, let’ s talk about that pie. Many holiday recipes are loaded with sugar, butter, cream and other rich ingredients. There are a lot of great tasting recipes that offer healthier options. One of my favorite resources is Tosca Reno’ s“ Eat Clean Diet” cookbooks. A few recipes that I recommend for holiday meals are a crustless pumpkin pie, Zain’ s Raw Pecan Pie, sweet potato pancakes, and brown rice and apple stuffing. These recipes are available at https:// tinyurl. com / 5x4t8skn.
Also, many people deal with low energy and depression during the holiday, sometimes from the stress of too much to do, a lack of money, not having family and friends around( and sometimes from having your family around and managing family dynamics), or many other reasons. Be sure to keep yourself active. Find a support system and talk about how you are feeling.
8 GREENVILLE LIFE